Dayshift 42: Morning - Magus Park

[windstwilight.livejournal.com]

Senna stepped off the bus to wind blowing through the clothes she was given. A sad face at one of the nurses allowed her a long red scarf as well, and once she had draped it around her neck and let it hang down her back, she had trotted off.

The park she had saw last time seemed a good place to be on the look-out for the chicks from last night. It was close to the buses, and a big enough place that if they remembered that they had a race date, it would suit its purpose. The girl ran to a place in the middle of the field and waited there, shifting her weight from side to side. After a while, this wasn't enough, and Senna traded back and forth between jogging in place and acrobatics--the easy flips and cartwheels keeping her warm.

Her mind had changed in the night before. She had gotten a taste of what leadership entailed, and she wasn't sure she had rose to the occasion or not. She knew she had tried her best, and had been willing to give as much as she had, but it hadn't been enough. She knew this. Hokuto, at least, had gotten hurt, and in the end, they still hadn't explored more than the schoolhouse. They really needed a different approach with that place.

She went back and forth internally, body going through the motions and reflexes of her movements.

[for... Falis, Hokuto, Meche, and Soma?--and down to here]

Comments

[loyal-soldier.livejournal.com]

622 took the coupons he was given and stepped off the bus, immediately glad for the jacket he was wearing, but not needing to do it up quite yet. Even though he couldn't quite tell if he should anyway, with the confusing message on his shirt (http://shop.cafepress.com/design/13285333).

He found a place out of the way of all the other prisoners to watch for Armand, finishing the last of the food he'd gotten. He'd been so caught up in the argument with that kid on the bus, he hadn't finished his food. That said quite a lot. He really did hope that the kid would see sense, but... He probably wasn't the most convincing person. He didn't know how to do that sort of thing.

[for Armand and Chise, if you're joining us this shift!]

[secret-orchard.livejournal.com]

In the chaos of people disembarking, Armand felt himself lost, but he knew his friend was tall enough to show over most crowds. He tried to shy away from a nurse belatedly offering him a coat, but the air was too frigid. Armand accepted the nondescript gray wool coat and slipped it on.

Then he spotted his friend off to the side and waved. When he had TK-622's attention, he ran to him.

"Hello!" he said, trying to sound cheerful. There wasn't any good reason not be happy to see TK. Armand simply had a hard time shaking the seriousness of his bus conversation. "How was your ride?"

[oftemptation.livejournal.com]

The first thing Endrance noticed when he woke was that his hair felt a lot different than it had before. The end of it flipped around to the front of his body, and he noticed someone had braided it and added a scrunchie to the end. It could have been worse, though, and he shrugged it off even as his nurse handed him a thick coat and a pile of what appeared to be coupons, which he stuffed into his pocket without looking at them.

The chill in the air reminded him a little of what he'd imagined feeling like inside Indieglut Lugh. That didn't bother him as much as it might have. In fact, it was kind of...nice, he decided, wandering into the park nearby and sitting on a bench.

[for Haseo and Tsukasa]

[feartehreaper.livejournal.com]

"I don't even know where this is," Haseo complained sharply, reluctantly taking the coupons he was being handed by a sickly-sweet-smiling nurse.

"Magus Park, dear," the woman said, not at all wavering in patience or otherwise indicating a joke on her part. By the time Haseo finished staring at her in bewilderment, she had moved past him and the moment was gone. Magus? Is there a Skeith Street too?

Haseo was too preoccupied to look at the coupons, reminded unpleasantly that he had been unable to convince someone to provide a map earlier, as well as experiencing the restarted concern for finding the rest of the people he'd been... adventuring with the night before. Not that he really wanted to think about it too much, but it was likely inevitable anyway.

"Look for Endrance or Leon," he said to Tsukasa vaguely, but almost the very moment afterward, he spotted the Blade Brandier and without preamble approached him, crossing his arms tiredly in the process. Of course, it really, really didn't help that his Avatar decided to protest, painfully, at the proximity. He didn't really intend to say anything about it though, unless the topic was brought up... if he was lucky Endrance wouldn't even notice.

[byname-bynature.livejournal.com]

Artemis stepped down off the bus, looking around at the familiar surroundings. It was nice to get out and stretch one's legs, to be certain, but at the same time he wished he didn't have to be there--or anywhere in relation to the Institute, really. If anything, he wanted to be asleep in his own bed, preferably with someone at his side. God, he'd probably never sleep soundly again, once he was out of this.

His nurse gave him yet another coat to put over his hoodie, which he supposed he was grateful for. It was yet another thing to cover up the heinous and reprehensible shirt he was wearing.

Putting his hands in his pockets, he looked around for Haku. In the new-coat frenzy, he'd lost track of him.

[Closed to Hitsugaya for now!]

[itstaichoutoyou.livejournal.com]

As Hitsugaya got off the bus, his eyes took in his surroundings. Doyleton's sights were a welcome change to the stuffy walls of the Institute, but Hitsugaya never forgot that even here they were still prisoners.

His thin jacket didn't do much to shield him from the elements, but the cold weather barely bothered Hitsugaya. He was used to more chilling temperatures.

Without wasting any time, Hitsugaya began searching for Hughes, but he was having a little trouble in this crowd. Locking onto the person closest, a young man wearing a coat over a hoodie, Hitsugaya decided to approach him.

"Excuse me, I'm looking for a man named Hughes. He has dark hair, glasses, and a beard. Have you seen him?" he asked.

[thatdamnedninja.livejournal.com]

Yuffie made it out of the bus and into the bush in record time. She'd just barely managed to grab the coupons and stuff them into her pocket before the nausea hit her again, sending her dashing--stumbling--away into the nearest foliage.

It was lucky that she'd barely eaten anything the day before. Her stomach was mostly empty, and before long she was reduced to painful dry heaving, coughing and spluttering in what must have been a really undignified way. Bent double on her knees, the paper bag tossed aside, she clutched herself and rode it out. M-Man. She could probably win an award for this performance. Not that she wanted an award; that'd mean having to give a repeat performance.

[For one of Eli's crew. ♥]

[timedork]

Another trip to town, was it? The Doctor couldn't say he was disappointed; he'd wanted to investigate on their last visit, but Donna had dragged him into getting a manicure instead.

That morning, he'd been given the same clothes as his last trip--same shirt, blazer, jeans, trainers... everything except the scarf. He still had a scarf, but this week's scarf was different. It was whiter. Well, no, it wasn't white, not exactly. More of a cream...

He'd spent the bus ride quietly (no arguments about alchemy and the probability of magic this time), the things he needed to do running through his mind. Find Donna, find Rose, find the TARDIS, find out what was really going on, find a way for everyone to return to their homes, find out what impact this place might have on time, and so on and so forth.

There was certainly a lot of finding to accomplish.

He had planned to get right on it as soon as he stepped out of the bus when they arrived, but he was distracted from that goal by the sound of heaving coming from the nearby bushes, where a girl was doubled over.

Well, he could always delay the search for answers for a bit... He headed for the girl. "Are you alright?"

[hajike-tobiume.livejournal.com]

[for one human-loving alien, but open to others if Zex is busy. Check with Zex-mun first for an ETA before poking the shinigami.^^]

It was a bit chilly in Doyleton this time. Momo was glad she'd been given the red sweater and black slacks and not a dress like some of the other women. She didn't have much meat on her anyways, and something that breezy would whip the wind right through her.

Slipping the coupon book into her pocket, Momo walked into the park. It felt good to not have the cast on her arm anymore and she rubbed the appendage briefly. The ride with Taura had been pleasant, even if the woman didn't believe her about being shinigami. To each their own. She hoped the woman faired well and may seek her out after a few more days passed.

A bench by the pond definitely had her name on it. Sitting udown after brushing the frost off, Momo shivered once before she settled down. She didn't want to think about anything. She didn't want to think about how odd it was to feel Hitsugaya's presence again. She didn't want to think about what the absence of Ichimaru's meant. She didn't want to think.

Clearing her mind, she watched the waters of the pond and tried a meditation technique she hadn't used in decades. Slowly her eyes closed. If it wasn't for how rigid her posture was, one could mistake the shinigami for being asleep.

[wantsyourzex.livejournal.com]

[ack sorry for lateness D:]

ZEX shivered when he stepped off the bus, definitely not appreciating the wind with his thin human skin. How did humans survive on this planet if they couldn't even hold in heat? His body was spasming in short bursts which didn't seem to be helping, although he didn't know enough about it to say. It was possible that it was a human thing to help keep themselves warm for all he knew. They had to do something when they were cold, surely.

He glanced around, not catching sight of anyone he knew, and decided he might as well walk around a little and see if there was someone new he could talk to. After all, he'd had a pleasant chat on the bus... and he did need to expand his pool of potential partners.

Naturally drawn to water, ZEX held onto himself tightly in an effort to keep heat from escaping through his sweater and walked over to the pond. It seemed he wasn't alone... there was a human sitting nearby. A female human, by his guess... and a small one. Finally, a human that wasn't bigger than he was!

He came closer to her, noticing that her eyes were closed. Humans didn't seem to communicate with their eyes as much as VUX did... what was she doing?

Well, if she was going to sit there and not move or notice him, then ZEX felt perfectly content to admire her from a short distance away. After all, it was a fine way to spend his time! And each human's uniqueness made them very engrossing...

It was possible she might feel his eyes on her, but ZEX didn't much care if she did. Besides, ogling a human helped take his mind off of how cold he felt. He was still shivering.

[whos-da-man.livejournal.com]

Yes, Mitsuru had her Super Senpai Powers back; she got Junpei to calm down and be okay with things without threatening execution even once. That was a pretty awesome turn of things - the not-getting-threatened-by-execution bit.

Taking the jacket and the coupons a nurse gave him when he got off the bus, Junpei shrugged the jacket on, wondering if it was going to snow eventually, and flipped through the book. Twin Pines. That looked promising for a date-meal. The teen glanced up, looking for Chidori, as he continued to look through the book. Only four things? Lame. That whole making out in the bushes thing was sounding more and more appealing since there didn't look like there was going to be anything else to do in this dinky American town.

Iwatodai was like Tokyo compared to this place.

[Chidori!]

[bewarethecute.livejournal.com]

Ururu left the bus thinking that Yukari seemed nice, which was good, since she was one of Ken-kun's friends. She also left wearing a pink jacket that the nurses had given her, since Doyleton was going to be cold. She hoped it would at least be warm enough to wander around though. She had a lot of people she wanted to find, so she could see how they were doing.

And the first person she wanted to find was Ken; Yukari had said she thought everything was okay, and the girl wanted to trust that. But she also wanted to talk to Ken herself, just to be sure. So when she got off the bus, she went into the park, but not too far. Hopefully Ken-kun would come that way too. If he did, Ururu was determined not to miss him, and she made sure to look at everyone that went by.

[For the boy-cute, strict reserve]

[rectifies.livejournal.com]

As he hopped off the bus, Ken gave a thought in listening to Phoenix's suggestion. The group was staying for an entire day; a little fruit sounded pretty practical. If only said fruit wasn't orange slices... They were a degree lavish for someone like him.

With some regret, he tossed the bag into a nearby bin and walked away. There were a couple of things he wanted to accomplish before lunch time, most notably finding someone Ken hadn't had the chance to see awake for over a day. Who happened to be situated not far from the drop off point.

Ken couldn't believe this string of luck. "Ururu-san!" the boy called out as he jogged over to her location. "I'm glad you're okay."

[mizuhomaiden.livejournal.com]

Smoothing down her skirt, Sheena looked around. With the temperature being as cold as it was, she was half-expecting to see a bit of snow on the ground. Sadly, there wasn't any. She was a bit surprised to feel a tiny bit of disappointment in this; maybe she needed a trip to Flanoir once she got back home and had taken care of the Tree. Maybe it was just another symptom of her feeling the emptiness where her pacts should be as the chill in the air should have stirred Celsius.

Oh, yes, Rainier. She was going to see if he was hanging out near the candy shop again. She hadn't seen him since the last trip and was afraid he may have disappeared. She turned back to check those exiting the bus (to aide in her task of Avoid the Youkai) when all thoughts of what plan she might have had left her mind.

Kristoph. He looked so... gentlemanly in that outfit. The nurses were very kind in the choice of clothing for the older man. He looked so refined and...

Hey, when did she get over to him? Sheena didn't remember walking over to the man. Taking a quick moment to make sure all her clothes were in their proper places and her hair was out of her face, she stepped up to the man and gave him an a slightly shy smile.

"Hi, Kristoph," she said, putting a hand on his arm to draw his attention. "How have you been?"

[closed to Kristoph]

[dasgift.livejournal.com]

The early chill was quite nice in Kristoph's humble opinion. A bit of bite, nothing too overwhelming-- A weather fit for man of his temperament. He stepped off the bus, genuinely pleased with his environment for what was a very first since his admittance to Landel's.

Then again, much of that mood was thanks to a few slips of paper in his pocket. Specifically, an invitation (coupon was such a vulgar term) to the local nail salon. He did not much like the name, but a chance to remedy the effects of his last unfortunate encounter was a better fate than he could have ever hoped for. The man would have to thank the original tipster, should they have the pleasure of conversation again.

It wasn't until a hand touched his sleeve that Kristoph noticed his attention was being required by an equally taken young woman. Sheena, was it? The coarse little ninja.

"Good morning, Sheena," he returned, smiling pleasantly. "I have been quite well, as fortune would have it. And yourself?"

[denied-future.livejournal.com]

His talk with Soma had been interesting, albeit depressing at times, though Rey supposed that was his own fault. A part of him hated himself for acting this way, while another part claimed it was perfectly normal. The events that caused this certainly weren't--how many people could claim to do what he did?--but his grieving was. As someone who'd never known what it was like to be ordinary, Rey found this small bit of normalcy comforting.

He sat down on a bench, staring at the pond with a melancholy expression on his face. It was surprisingly relaxing, in a gloomy sort of way. Even with all his conflicts, whether they be years or days old, accepted realities of his life or things he was struggling to move past, he could still be at peace. He was far from all right, and still didn't want to live in the long run, but times like these affirmed his belief that all life was worth living.

((Free with no limit, although be warned that I'll be on hiatus starting from July 3rd.))

[emotionl4arobot.livejournal.com]

Brainiac 5 shivered slightly as his nurse helped him off the bus and bundled him into the wheelchair, tugging his coat more firmly around him as she did so. Unfortunately that also meant that any entertainment he might have gotten from the shirt (http://designcrack.com/v2/wp-content/uploads/2007/03/rhombuswear-2007-shirt.jpg) he was wearing would also have to wait. At least until he had either warmed up enough or become bored enough anyway.

His nurse also handed him a packet of coupons, though after a quick glance over them he decided that none were particularly interesting. He should have thought to ask Peter to look into obtaining some items for him before they arrived here, but he had been understandably... distracted yesterday.

He'd simply have to ensure he wasn't going to be as indisposed today as well.

Lost in thought, Brainiac 5 didn't really pay that much attention to his surroundings as the nurse pushed him into the main park and found a relatively nice spot to park his wheelchair in.

"If the sun comes out, you'll warm up in no time, Michael," she informed him. "But until then keep your coat on and let me know if you get too cold."

He nodded vaguely in response, which seemed to satisfy her enough that he was left alone for the time being. Of course, he didn't imagine it would be long before she decided to either find someone for him to talk to or something else for him to do. She seemed to have a vendetta against him being left alone to think.

[free for the poking! If people want a short conversation to touch base, feel free to start a subthread.]

[tightsofmight]

[Got a minute for your errand boy?]

The nurse had slipped him a thick green hoodie as he wandered off the bus, briskly apologizing for grabbing the wrong size. He grimaced when it fell past the seat of his jeans and swallowed his arms whole. God, could he look any more like a dork? No doubt he looked as tiny as 'Hannah' did (he was only going to mangle her real name if he tried). The nurse frowned at the sight, but handed him a small packet of coupons regardless and shooed him off into town.

Maybe another time, Peter would have marveled at a town where the biggest building was only two or three stories high, but now that he wasn't talking with Hannah he just felt...empty.

He pushed the sleeve cuffs up to his wrists and rifled through the coupons, but found nothing of interest and stuffed them into his pocket. Took a quick peak inside his brown paper bag and quickly closed that too. His stomach had been calling mutiny for the past few days, coasting on a bite or two of fish dinner and suffering for it all the while. He just felt too sick to eat.

Though the rumble was getting so hard to ignore. He started moving to distract himself from the painful growl, ignoring the tiny shops and parlors that lined the tiny streets (barely any stoplights, god that was so weird), practically blind to anyone who passed. It wasn't until he hit the park that he saw a familiar face.

He watched Brainiac 5 from a distance as the nurse wheeled him to an open spot and abandoned him there. The guy probably wanted to be alone right now, but that was a little...yeah. Kinda sad. The wheelchair really wasn't helping him look any less dejected.

Peter remained still for a while longer, toying with options before thinking Screw it and making his way over. No point in putting off apologizing. Better get it over with now rather than have him stewing over it the whole day. Hopefully he wasn't that mad. Peter would have been.

He stopped a few feet away, greeting the other boy with a weak smile. That was still a peace offering in the thirty-first century, right? The awkward please-don't-hit-me grin? Everybody used it, even if it never worked.

"So I guess I owe you an apology."

[screwthegods]

With a black jacket draped over his shoulders thanks to the nurses, Homura left the bus, and headed into the park where he knew he'd likely be found. It was a rare occasion where the demi-god hadn't made any specific appointments, instead leaving the day open for the people who wished to speak to him. After all, it'd been over a day now since he'd seen most of the people who would still be concerned about his condition. And those people were all stubborn, the kind who would refuse to let the matter go or let him pass by without prodding first.

Not that he minded it, of course; that stubbornness was part of what attracted Homura to those people in the first place.

Grinning slightly to himself, Homura walked one of the paths that cut through the park. For now, he simply took in the scenery in silence. The chill was enough to ensure there'd be no blossoms that day, but he still enjoyed looking around. Thinking had become a hobby of sorts, for the demi-god. It could be chalked it up to the imprisonment of his child, no doubt; Homura simply was used to the silence and the solitude, enough that he didn't mind either quite so much as some.

[Nataku, strict reserve]

[stringless-doll.livejournal.com]

Before he left the bus the nurses handed him a pair of black gloves and a white jacket on top of his panda sweater thing. His own nurse seemed to be growing fond of him and she pulled his hood up over his head before he left. He didn't mind; it was getting pretty cold anyway.

There were a few people he wanted to see in particular today, and one place he really wanted to visit: the park. Unfortunately, the latter was the only thing he knew how to find since most of his friends could be dispersed throughout the city. Homura, at least, might be similarly interested in the largest green space in town so Nataku headed there as soon as he'd gotten off the bus.

There were people in the park already, but not very many, and mostly nurses and orderlies. Nataku ignored them, searching for familiar faces while he wondered the paths. He felt like running, or climbing trees, or wondering off the path to explore until he couldn't see eyes on him anymore. Before he could decide on that course of action, he spotted Homura further along the path. Nataku jogged up to him.

"Hey, Homura."

[winged_moon]

Once they'd disembarked Sakura had bid the two of them farewell, heading off to explore the town on her own. Yue was still somewhat uncomfortable about the idea; after days in this place he'd only become even more concerned for the safety of those trapped within it, especially when it was Sakura involved. And when he'd already failed her enough the night before.

He watched the girl until she was out of sight, only then turning back toward Touya again. As he did the guardian traded places with his other self, the change clear in the shift of posture: Yue was, as always, stiff and straight as though nothing was wrong, but Yukito slouched just a little to take the strain off the stitches along his stomach. Even more obvious was the way he dug into the thus-far-ignored paper bag as though starving.

"It's not a big town, but it's cute?" Yukito grinned at his friend as he took a bite of the muffin, juggling the bag and the coupons he'd been given until he finally shoved the latter into his jacket pocket. "Anything you wanted to see?"

[for Touya, ask if you want to join?]

[guardiancomplex.livejournal.com]

Touya, on the other hand, wasn't exactly concerned for his sister's safety. He'd seen how the nurses and orderlies would leap on any troublemaker, and it appeared that they were out in full-force this time around. He only hoped she wouldn't be the source of any trouble...

He noted when Yue left Yukito in control, wondering briefly if there was really any point in keeping it from Sakura. Sure she wasn't the most observant when it came to some things--and she couldn't sense magic or whatever as easily now (he thought), so she wouldn't be able to tell unless Yue told her or 'Yue' suddenly started tearing into the buffet lunch with reckless abandon.

Speaking of which...

Touya pulled out the fruit slices and handed them to Yuki. No doubt he was probably starving from Yue taking control for so long while Sakura was around. "Yeah, cute. And I dunno," he looked through the booklet of coupons. "Looks like we have a few meals, so I guess we could do the food-tour of this place?" he said with a relaxed smirk.

[madeinthehrl]

Soma's nurse had seen fit to swap her sweater for a slightly thicker beige jacket, despite her protests that she was perfectly fine without either. The air was pleasantly crisp, and she inhaled deeply as she stepped outside. While the ride had been pleasant enough, if somewhat bumpy, and she'd had the chance to meet someone new (she filed Rey's name away in her mind under 'Fellow Pilots'), she definitely preferred being on her feet. Besides, the park was surprisingly beautiful, and she found herself relaxing a little as she headed away from the buses.

Pushing her coupons into her jacket pocket, she spotted Senna a short distance away. She didn't seem injured, judging from the way she was doing flips; now the only member left of their team to check up on was Hokuto.

The attack last night had almost erased the suggestion of a race from Soma's mind, but now that she thought about it again, it didn't sound like a bad idea at all. Being cooped up inside all the time had started to grate on her nerves; a little friendly competition might do wonders for her. The jeans she had been provided with were less than ideal, but they were at least worn with use, and she doubted they would slow her down significantly.

She jogged up to Senna. "Good morning," she said, trying to make her voice sound a little more casual than it had the night before.

[windstwilight.livejournal.com]

Senna had been in the middle of a cartwheel when the pilot walked up. Surprised enough to almost ruin the whole thing and fall, Senna finished it quickly, then bounced once in place. Yep. Good. Still had all of her agility, and the sore feelings she could ignore well enough. Her shoulder was feeling more out of sorts since she started her exercises, but hey. You win, you lose. As long as the people you cared about were okay in the end, that was enough.

On that thought, Senna smiled widely, looking extraordinarily happy. "Soma!" she greeted. "Hey, you're alright! I'm so glad." The girl kept up the smile as she shifted from side to side. "Did you come here for something in particular? Or did you remember about that race?" At this, Senna's smile slid into an easy grin. Soma had been the one to take her up on her challenge last night, so the girl got points. Soma was quiet, and seemed pretty formal, but she had what it took. Senna wasn't blind to the fact that Soma had followed her into the fray last night first.

[liveforthispart.livejournal.com]

As soon as the bus stopped, those nurses started filing everyone out as quickly as possible. It really was a lot like a school field trip. Except as soon as he stepped off the bus... that seemed to be it. No one was trying to make them divide up into little tour groups or anything. Just looked like they were setting everyone loose in town.

That might have been okay if it was somewhere interesting but holy shit did this place look boring. It didn't look like it had anything more than Inaba did. Actually... where was this place, anyway? He'd never really been outside of his hometown so he couldn't even recognize it. Would he be able to walk back if he managed to sneak off?

He looked around at all the people who were all standing around with their own friends or wandering off. Kanji felt pretty lost, actually. Maybe he missed something important? Did they give instructions without him knowing or something? What was he supposed to do with himself? He looked down at the booklet of coupons, up at the people around him, and back down again.

...This was going to be a long day, wasn't it?

[for Badou; guessing you can contact us if you want to join in?]

[strayfag]

Once the bus stopped Badou couldn't be more grateful to be out of it. He wasn't used to cars or buses and he felt like a human stick insect that had just snapped in half and crammed into some kid's bug collector for show and tell. Everything was stiff or cramped. Like sucking out people's immortal souls wasn't enough to pay for a few of those nice air-conditioned numbers or some train tickets or something. The head doctor must suck at bargaining, or maybe he just spent all of his money sucking something else entirely.

Cheered and disturbed by that thought, Badou took a look around. Once the blood was flowing in his legs again he had no idea where he wanted to go. He hadn't made any plans for the day and he didn't see anyone he knew wondering around alone, so that left... what? Hanging out by himself or making new friends. Considering his usual run of friends and casual enemies, neither of those options were destined to end well.

So. Options. Badou saw about one. A tall scary one with a scar to match. Best to use the utmost tact and caution then.

"Hey, random loser guy. You waiting for someone?"

[Yup, I'm cool with that~]

[not-rly-fai.livejournal.com]

Daphne seemed like a nice girl, even if their conversation had been brief. The chill air that met him as he stepped off the bus was welcome though. Not near as cold as he was used to, but enough to leave behind frost on the grass and corners of the window panes outside.

He finished his juice box and dropped it in a nearby trash can, keeping the muffin to pick at as he wandered out into the park.

[Totally free. No limits.]

[notachick.livejournal.com]

Okita had been glad that the conversation had trailed off as it had if only because the movement of the buses still made him ill. Why had people given up on horses? Why? They were perfectly good modes of transportation and it wasn't like it would take that much longer to reach Doyleton by horse than by those demonic bus things. And it could have been his imagination, but he swore that the trip was longer this time. Maybe it just felt that way though.

Thankfully, Okita hadn't eaten much on the way over and now that he was off the bus, he could wait until his stomach settled to eat a little more. Once he was certain he wouldn't just throw it all back up again. As he stumbled off, his nurses wrapped him up in a thicker coat and handed him a scarf to 'ward off the cold' as they said. Okita didn't think it was all that cold yet, but if they insisted, he'd gladly accept the use of the extra pockets.

Taking a seat in the park, the swordsman closed his eyes and leaned back, wondering what he should do that day. He had purposefully left his schedule vague, but now he wondered if that was such a good thing. He needed to tell Homura of his acquisition for the club, but he preferred to do so in person. Still, he'd given the nurses a note for them to post on the board, of quite a different nature.

He doubted Hijikata was anywhere in this town, but he couldn't stop the hope that maybe, somehow, he'd get a reply.

Once the nausea passed, Okita fished out his coupons and started flipping through them. He had no idea what they were supposed to do exactly, but he was certain that if he just wandered around long enough, he'd figure it out - or someone would show him.

[Free!]

[piggy-king.livejournal.com]

Ah, such a good way for the day to start. Not only was Porky finally out of that hellhole, if only for a few hours, but he had also managed to find someone to travel with during nightshift! And Citan seemed like such a naive person, too. Porky probably couldn't have found a better partner, barring someone of unsurpassed naivete like that Kagura girl or someone like the commander. Ah, well. Porky shouldn't focus on what he didn't have. As Porky was ruminating on his current good luck, a nurse handed him four coupons.

"Hmm?" Porky said as he snapped out of his thoughts, "What are these for?"

"Oh, they're for some of the stores here, Mr. Reynolds!" the nurse said slowly, "This one is for a massage, these two are for meals, and this one is for a manicure. Do you know what that is, Mr. Reynolds?"

"Of course I know what a manicure is, you fool!" Porky snapped, "Don't talk to me like I'm some ancient fool!"

"Mr. Reynolds, do you want to stay on the bus?" said the nurse in a decidedly icy tone.

"Uh," Porky stuttered, "N-No! Of course not! So sorry for snapping at you! Must be my old back acting up again or something! Ahahaha!"

"Well, then enjoy your time here in Doyleton, Mr. Reynolds!" the nurse said in a more chipper voice, "And you'd better take this jacket along with you! You wouldn't want to catch a cold!"

And with that, Porky went off to eat the breakfast the nurses had given him at the beginning of the bus ride. After looking for a suitable seat for a few minutes, Porky decided to sit with a rather young-looking man.

"Is something wrong, my boy?" Porky said grinning, "You look positively green in the face! Did the bus ride up not agree with your stomach?"

[idolism]

_{[free for all, if you can get his attention]}

The noble didn’t look back once he was free to step off the bus; collecting the coupons without comment, Aidou dropped them inside his bag and didn‘t look back as he passed into the park grounds.

It would get crowded, fast, with familiar and unfamiliar faces alike, and with last night’s events still so fresh, Aidou didn’t feel like getting caught in the squash of bodies and heartbeats. He crossed the crisp grass seemingly with the sole intention of moving away from the unloading area. His thin sweater--just barely acceptable for the weather, if the look the nurse at the bus door had given him said anything--hung open. The young vampire wasn’t bothered in the slightest. He controlled the cold, and right then, he found himself coveting it. The threat of frost, more pronounced than usual, teased his instincts in a different way from bloodlust, a way he enjoyed. He felt as sharp as the chill in the air.

So much so that he didn’t show a notable reaction to once again being in the full light of day without sunblock. Aidou just kept striding towards town, veering more and more towards the pond as he did so until he came up on the ring of willow trees. There, he stepped through the leafy curtain of one and came to a pause against the trunk. Nature’s falsehoods were harder to tell apart than humans’; he put his hand against the trunk and looked around, content with having nothing but the sounds of the trees and water around him. There was the inn, but there was nothing worth returning to. And the pet store was not one of the first places the vampire wanted to go.

Whatever the case, he wasn’t about to let the day go to waste this time. His eyes were the shade of pale ice when he glanced back towards the buses. Not for a third time.

[numberonemonkey.livejournal.com]

Chihaya thought things could certainly be worse, but...well, the Institute was a little rude, making them fall asleep at night and then dragging new friend away from each other off the bus.

Oh well. It would be nice to have a stroll. And he even had enough coupons to take care of him for the day.

Seeing the park, Chihaya made his way through, tickling his fingers through the leaves of various bushes until he came upon a particularly chipper looking weeping willow. He ducked underneath and made a little 'OH!' as he saw another person.

"I'm sorry," he smiled. "I didn't expect to find anyone..." He looked at the boy. Blond. Beautiful. Another one that could pass so easily for an angel. but there was something about this boy, something he couldn't put his finger on. Silly intuition.

"I'm Chihaya..."

[tightsofmight]

[From up here. Also he's free! Have at 'er.]

He wandered some distance away from Brainy, quickly deciding against heading back into town for the moment. He should be looking for Logan (who was still kind of missing in action), or searching for Grell and Luxord, scoping out the stores for supplies. Any number of things. But honestly? He just needed a moment. One damn moment to just sit and think, and not get more horrible suicide-inducing news or wind up beating off shape-shifting cannibals or whatever else the writers decided to throw at him. He was doing a lot better than yesterday, but it was still...things like this took a while.

And it was so weird. He was fine talking to Hannah, but the moment he stepped off the bus it all came back anyway. Cripes, only two days since Harry was gone and Peter was already making nice again. Making jokes with Brainy, too, like nothing ever happened in the first place.

He kicked at the grass, then felt stupid about it. What a sad cliche he was turning out to be.

There were lots of people in the park already. Mostly unfamiliar faces, but there was a head of purple hair in the distance that just might be Senna. Not a lot of places to sit alone. Save for the playground, that is.

Two minutes later and he was sitting on the highest rung on the jungle gym, looking out over the entire park. Well, if he couldn't crawl on walls anymore, he could always settle for a good set of monkey bars. It was like he told Senna, high places were peaceful. He could use some of that right now.

[superdynamic.livejournal.com]

Suzaku really wondered what the point was of giving him a sleeveless sweater if the nurse was going to tell him it was chilly out and hand him a jacket anyway. For the sake of layers? Whatever, it made little difference to him. He didn't think much more of it, not after he stepped down from the bus onto the icy ground and got his first decent look at the town.

There wasn't much to see from here, just the park. There were nurses absolutely everywhere, so they probably wouldn't be getting away with anything too outrageous. He should explore the town and see if there was anything that might become useful in the future, but he had the whole day. Might as well enjoy some sunshine and fresh air, away from the imposing walls of the Institute. Walls that apparently had a tendency to bleed, but he wasn't thinking about that. He was thinking about the lovely park, the -- ooh, was that a playground?

Suzaku strolled over interestedly, what little remained of his mostly-demolished inner child drawing him towards the cheery prospect of swings and slides. He noted as he did that there was another guy sitting up on the jungle gym -- maybe this was as good an opportunity as ever to get to know another fellow patient, see if he had any useful information or skills to offer. "Hey," he called out, drawing a little nearer. He wasn't going to climb up if the boy didn't want him here, because it would be a little awkward if he just climbed back down again. "How's the view up there?"

[sasuke-of-sound.livejournal.com]

Sasuke's nurse had accosted him almost completely out of the blue before he left the bus, fussing over him and babbling something about the weather that Sasuke might have almost completely ignored had she not abruptly looped a scarf around his neck.

"I know this sort of ruins the look, Sean, but it's quite chilly out there!" She said, somewhere between apologetic and chiding. "Make sure you don't take that off unless you're indoors, and keep those arm warmers on!"

Sasuke had manfully resisted the urge to roll his eyes and make a comment on the fact that these 'arm warmers' were every bit as useless as the rest of the clothing (http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a240/LokogatoEnterprisesInc/albumtwo/damnedridic.png) they'd given him. They did keep his arms warm, it had to be said, but only with the added weight of what felt like several dozen useless D-rings that were much like the chains on these pants in that they were too flimsy to be of much use.

The clothing in this world was ridiculous. On the bright side, this possibly meant that Sasuke might be able to follow up on the advice he'd just given Yousuke and steal something of use this time. With that in mind, Sasuke ignored the chatter of his nurse as she tried to 'find someone to be his buddy' (whatever the hell that meant) and tried to plan around getting rid of the coupons he wouldn't need and making it to the shops that might prove to be worthwhile.

[see-my-back.livejournal.com]

Sakura hopped off the bus and glanced around for any sign of the others. She had to pass on that word about the sedatives if she spotted them. Instead, she caught sight of a very welcome figure. Even if the clothing was kind of strange, it suited him, or she should probably say that he could make anything look good. And all those chains made her mind wander into places she probably oughtn't go.

Patting her cheeks to get rid of the dirty smile that'd started creeping over her face, she hurried to Sasuke's side before anyone else tried to sneak him away.

"Sasuke-kun!" she called out a few steps before she arrived. Hopefully he wouldn't mind company. Someone had to help him out in a new place if he couldn't see, right? Though if it was more than that, she wouldn't mind in the slightest.

[clockmongler.livejournal.com]

Celes took her leave from him with a quick goodbye, to which he said little of as well. Now it was about serious business, as it were. He would see her and Ms. Sutcliff a bit later and lighten the mood then.

...not as though he particularly had any plans for the three of them at the moment. He would think of something.

Once exiting the bus (and shooing McNursingson away from him. Really, he knew he was a bundle of pain at the moment, but that was what the painkillers were for. He could walk barely without assistance, thank you very much), X made his way to a bench and sat there, keeping an eye out for Lelouch.

He did not wish to do this, but it was necessary at this point. Some anvils needed to be dropped, as they said.

[Lulu~ Where are you~?]

[kingside]

Lelouch's nurse had given him a jacket as he'd stepped off the bus, and grateful for the additional warmth and something to cover up the shirt he had on (he still didn't know what the symbol was and it was beginning to bother him), he put it on and buttoned it up. It wasn't something he would have chosen himself, but compared to some of the other clothes he'd seen patients forced into so far, it was pretty good. He'd finished off the last of his breakfast after that, throwing away his trash conscientiously, and with one last disgusted look at the packet of coupons he'd been given, he jammed them into his pocket and started looking for Luxord. Based on the description he'd given over the board, the man was distinctive enough, but with as many strange people as Lelouch had already seen at the institute, that wasn't saying much.

Luckily, it wasn't too difficult to find him even with all the people already filling the park. Lelouch headed over with one eye on his surroundings, noting idly who else was in the park just in case and scowling the faintest bit as he spotted Minch talking to some purple-haired woman. And here he'd hoped the man had disappeared by now.

He forced those thoughts from his mind once he reached the bench Luxord was seated on, though, and summoning up a polite smile, he said, "Mr. Luxord? I'm Lelouch Lamperouge. It's good to finally meet you."

[rope-victim.livejournal.com]

Miku was usually pleased by her ability to pick out faces and bodies from a crowd. It was a handy habit; she was smaller than most people, and having a good idea of how someone else was shaped kept her from mistaking the wrong person. She shivered and pulled her hood over her head, hoping that Sousuke would appear soon.

They had a good day planned and she was excited to begin it with him, eeven as she ignored the buzz inside her head.

[uruz-vii.livejournal.com]

Sousuke had spent most of the bus ride with his arms crossed and his eyes closed. It had been a long night, and he was tired. However his nurse had woken him, dressed him in a pair of jeans and a nice button up shirt, and put him on the bus.

Once he got off, he immediately began looking for Miku. She hadn't been on his bus (he'd checked the moment he'd boarded, slightly disgruntled that she wasn't there), but he spotted her easily enough. He approached her swiftly, a hand in his pocket, his breakfast in the other hand.

"Good morning."

[longlivetheking]

Scar had been eager to move out of the bus. Not because this trip was all that exciting, but because the King was anything but fond of this yellow 'vehicle' he had to sit in. It was only proof that humans were apparently too dumb to use their legs for long distances. Either way, the nurses had to pull him back to press pieces of paper into his hand before telling him to have 'fun' and leave him to his own devices.

The King walked a small distance into the park, not quite sure in which direction to head after he had reached the exit. These human cave-things (or 'buildings', as humans called them) all looked the same to him and he had no idea which one would be remotely interesting, much less . Aside from maybe the one with the horse standing next to it, but the King saw little use in visiting that place. Unless he wanted the fact that he could no longer talk with animals to be rubbed in.

He cast a look at the pieces of paper he had been given. He figured two of them were for meals, though the other two...he didn't quite know. A massage or a facial? In what in the world was a manicure.

Knowing humans, probably something ridiculous.

[von Karma~!]

[lawful_perfect]

Hn. What an intolerable trip. Between the smarmy blond's overly "friendly" demeanor and having been unwittingly right in the line of fire for some imbecile's yogurt-flinging target practice, von Karma was relieved to quickly deboard the bus and get some fresh air to clear his head.

"Wait, dearie," a dulcet female voice rang out, as a surprisingly strong hand grabbed his arm. Oh no! Blast it! She's back! von Karma spun around to see a nurse -- a different one this time, thankfully -- holding up a rather large overcoat.

She smiled as she handed it to him. "Here, you might need this. It's nippy out today, and we don't want a sweet man of your age to catch your death of pneumonia."

... He seethed inside at her words. She was just as bad -- if not worse -- than his regular nurse! "Bah. This weather is balmy compared to what I am used to in my home country. I am already quite warmly dressed, thank you," he said, a subtle growl in his voice. Even were that untrue (the flannel shirt did indeed offer adequate insulation from the cool outdoor temperature), he still would have refused this... garish orange coat that had an applique of a disgustingly cheerful yellow sun emblazoned on the front.

"Well, at least take the coupons in the pocket." She withdrew them from the hideous coat and handed them to him. "Now, behave yourself, Mr. Fuchs! And have fun!" She then walked away to attend to other patients.

He said nothing as he examined each of the four coupons. Two free meals, one for what sounded like one of those "burger joints" in which he would never willingly set foot. A free manicure. And a free facial! ...Utterly worthless! Especially since these establishments offering these "freebies" were most likely profoundly below his standards. Though his fingernails were long overdue for a trim, he could ill afford to allow some lower class cackling hen to butcher them before painting frivolous patterns upon them.

Still... he might as well hang onto these. Perhaps this Twin Pines restaurant served tea. It had been much too long since he had had any. As for the other coupons... perhaps they might prove useful as a bargaining chip for gaining information. Unlikely, since everyone else had apparently received the same coupons, but he had nothing else to offer right now.

He glanced up to see who was around in this park, and standing merely a few feet away from him was the strange, swarthy man he had seen in the file room last night. The man was scrutinizing the coupons; judging from the look on his face, he was at least as disdainful of these "free gifts" as von Karma was.

Wanting to know whether the man had experienced the same oddities last night as he had -- and whether or not he could trust him -- von Karma approached him, a neutral expression on his face. "I beg your pardon. You were one of the two whom I and my daughter saw in the file room last night. I am pleased to see that you are well after last night's events. They were... quite unsettling, no?"

[should-be-dead.livejournal.com]

Before leaving the vehicle, one of the nurses pressed a small booklet into his hands before telling him to "have fun" as if he was some child. His annoyance didn't show on his face, however, instead he casted a brief look at the 'coupons' he had been given only to disregard them.

The ninja glanced around the area. Trees and grass, and though there was little to be said about them it was apparent they were placed there by human hands. Yet, in many ways the area looked different than the gardens he had seen.

Tenzen eventually opted for taking a look around. He glanced into various directions, trying to determine the location of the path that would lead further into this town. It wouldn't quite do to get lost after all.

[Megatron]

[oil-connoisseur.livejournal.com]

Stepping out into bright sunlight was quite the novelty, but the chill that accompanied it was not. Megatron could not help an involuntary huff of irritation, jamming his hands deeper into the recesses of his dark coat as he looked for a hint of anything that might betray his whereabouts. It was obvious that the foliage and the buildings were real, but he supposed that anything further than the outskirts of the town might be holographic. No matter how good a simulation was, even with Quintesson technology, there should be little things that would give the game away – overlaid planes, incorrectly loaded data, missing textures, incorrectly calculated physics….

Megatron could see nothing of the sort.

He supposed he could walk until he reached what he could assume would be some sort of graphical boundary line, but there were surely measures to prevent that. Subtle reconnaissance was probably more of use, but letting the captives out to roam! What an opportunity.

…the Quintessons obviously would not let him get very far.

With a low sigh, he tugged open the small packet that he had been given by the human female. Two pieces of paper would supply free food – ‘Tasty Burger’ sounded quite ghastly to Megatron’s debatable sensibilities – and he had very little idea of what the other two were offering. Who in the right mind would want a facial massage; let alone whatever ‘manicure’ referred to. Manicure. ‘Man’. ‘I’. ‘Cure’. Possibly a health check-up of some kind? Whilst he had noticed no pain in his arm since yesterday afternoon, if it became more problematic, it would no doubt not be a terrible concept to look into.

He found himself standing near a human – a tall, dark-haired man – who appeared to be analysing his surroundings. Megatron could always live with the hope that it was another captured Cybertronian. At this point, he was starting to feel vague enthusiasm that it might even been an Autobot, as his subordinates thus far seemed to be competing for utter ineptitude.

“Lost?” he offered, voice bland.

[moral-liberty.livejournal.com]

Kaworu wandered out towards the park as soon as they were released from the bus and the boy he had been speaking with disappeared into the crowd of Lilim. Though this existence seemed appalling for the human residents, Kaworu felt relaxed for the moment. The chill air was creeping up his sleeves, which was novel. Tokyo-3 had always been warm. It was the climate change, though reading about the specifics of why it was so had never held Kaworu's interest for very long. What was really dominating his thoughts and curiosity was the town itself. By the time the researchers had deemed it fit for Kaworu to go outside, the buildings around him looked nothing like the photographs he had seen. The ones the Lilim had also called Angels were the source of the craters and toppled structures.

This town, however, was whole. The patients that had come with him blended in with the Lilim that resided here permanently, and Kaworu decided to follow the tide. He slipped the bundle of papers the nurses had given him (and he hadn't bothered to read) into his coat. With his hands in his pockets he meandered slowly out onto the grass, enjoying the spongy feeling of the vegetation under his shoes.

[Waiting for Sho!]

[number-crunch.livejournal.com]

Only too glad get away from that annoying, supposed magic-wielding robot-owning mutant, Sho practically leapt from the bus, ignoring the nurse's protests as he took off at a run, the chill breeze running across his bare arms. Maybe later he'd regret not taking a coat to go over the collared shirt (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v348/Hiroshige/14.jpg) he was wearing along with the slacks, but at the moment, getting away from the crowded bus > asking the nurses for a jacket.

With ever intention of leaving these hectopascals behind and deriving the town for workable factors, Sho was about to take a run down main street when he spotted a disturbingly familiar head of gray hair. Sure, it wasn't exactly as wavy, but given the build of body and the way he moved, this was within a reasonable margin of error, given the level of significance this represented. Running up behind him, Sho grabbed the yoctogram by the shoulder and spun him about, his face full of rage.

"You! How the factor are you still alive!?" he shouted angrily, only holding back from just connecting point A (his fist) to point B (the Composer's jaw) on account of the looming probability of sedation.

[fourtharcana.livejournal.com]

Well, damn. The park was fuller than Akihiko had expected it to be when he had stuck the note up about it. Well, maybe the crowds would clear out soon? That was what he hoped, anyway. Shame there were so many nurses, too - way too many for his liking. Maybe they'd clear out when the crowds did.

At least they couldn't stop him from running around the park, though. That's exactly what he did after a minute, stretching out first and then starting to take a long warm-up lap around the perimeter.

[free, no limits at all.]

[adorkabledragon.livejournal.com]

Keman was still shaking a little as the buses rolled to a stop in the now-familiar park. If he'd been in a more stable state of mind he would have noticed the frost and the chill, but all he could think about was getting as far away from Brian as he could. He didn't blame the man, not really, but he didn't even want to see him right now. Not after those questions about Shana.

The dragon was too caught up in his own thoughts to really be paying attention to his surroundings, which was probably why he ended up colliding with another patient. Even then, it wasn't until he was on his bottom in a half-frozen puddle that he realized what had happened.

"S-sorry!" he yelped. "I was...I wasn't looking where I was going." And now his jeans were all wet.