damned_institute | Day 42: Lil' Tyke Toys

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Day 42: Lil' Tyke Toys

Sora had been glad enough to get further into the quarry, but that had all changed when the shack he had Allen had been searching suddenly got clogged with fog and covered in blood. He'd woken up disoriented and shaky, but relieved rather than frustrated. They hadn't gotten a chance to search the whole area, but they had seen a lot more of it.

Had things suddenly turned strange like that because of them getting too curious, though? He wasn't sure if that had been some kind of warning and if it would be dangerous to head back there...

Whether or not he actually got to report to Momo about it remained to be seen, though. Today marked another trip into Doyleton, and Sora was outfitted with warm clothes and dumped on the bus. He was distracted on the way down, staring out the window, and so before he knew it they had arrived and he hadn't even gotten the chance to talk to anyone.

Well, all he knew was that today he was going to explore some more. His wounds weren't as bad as they had been yesterday - he wasn't feeling great by any means, but he could manage - which meant that he had the freedom to wander around as he pleased. He exited the bus with coupons in hand and then deliberately turned away from the park. He'd spent far too many of his trips in that place.

As he started down the main road, he quickly spotted the toy shop that Allen had mentioned the night before. Figuring he might as well check it out (even though it might not be particularly helpful), he stepped inside. It looked like he was the first customer of the day - the store was empty except for the clerk - but Sora didn't mind. There was a lot to look over, and so he started browsing the shelves with a certain nostalgia for Santa's factory.

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Once off the bus Hanatarou had realized that, well, he didn't really have anywhere to go, or plans to spend time with anyone. Last week there'd been that game of tag in the park, but the others he'd played with were all gone now anyway. And...that train of thought was far too depressing to think about for too long, so he'd wandered away from the park again, hands shoved into the pockets of his jacket (http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g291/ragamuffinzx/Hoodies/P1010113.jpg) and hood up against the chill.

As he turned a corner he thought he saw a familiar figure disappear into one of the stores and, lacking anything better to do, followed. He paused a moment to eye the display windows before wandering in, wondering if maybe he'd been mistaken. Was Sora really interested in toys...?

Apparently so, since that was most definitely his roommate inside. The shinigami paused a moment to blink at the brightly colored assortment at the candy counter, then moved over toward where Sora was wandering the shelves - but once there hesitated uncertainly. Maybe Sora didn't want to be disturbed?

Even though Sora realized that most of the toys were for kids, it was still kind of fun to see some new things. He had to stare at the same walls of the same rooms day after day, so just having a new environment to explore was nice enough. Besides, they hadn't exactly had a lot of stores on Destiny Islands - he, Riku, and Kairi had usually made their own toys or made up games that didn't require anything other than their surroundings to play. Seeing what other kids got to play with was interesting.

He was scooping through a bin of toy cars when he heard some movement from behind him and glanced over his shoulder.

"Oh! Hanatarou!" He turned around fully, looking his roommate up and down. It was strange to see the other boy in clothes other than the uniform (or his shinigami outfit), not to mention what he was wearing stood out quite a bit. Sora's poofy jacket and skinny jeans didn't really compare.

"It's good to see you! Was your night okay?" Sora's had gone pretty well except for the end there, so he hoped it was the same for his friend. It was kind of nice to be talking to the boy in a place that wasn't their room, too.

Hanatarou blinked a little as Sora turned toward him, self-consciously pushing the jacket's hood back again. It was comfortable and it was warm but he imagined he probably looked a little silly in the thing, so that was probably why Sora was looking at him like that. Probably best to minimize the silliness of it when possible, since he didn't really need the hood up while he was inside. (And he'd forgotten once again about the mushroom drawing on his cheek and why he'd wanted to keep it hidden.)

"Oh...it was okay?" he replied, giving a small shrug as he glanced over at the toy cars, wondering just what his roommate found interesting about them. Maybe they didn't have cars where Sora was from. Or maybe they did and he liked them? Hanatarou had to admit that he didn't really know all that much about the boy. "Most of it. The end wasn't, um. So much."

He could've done without the inexplicable bleeding and all. But at least he'd made some friends? Or so he hoped, at least, if they didn't decide he wasn't interesting once they didn't need him.

The shinigami edged a little closer to the bin of cars and started to reach out to pick one up, but drew back again before he touched one. What if they didn't want him to look? What if he broke something? "Er. Do you...like these?" he asked, with a sidelong glance at Sora.

While the jacket had taken Sora by surprise for a moment, he didn't think it was a huge deal either. Usually the clothes other patients were given for the trip were more normal, so that had been the main shock. He had personally worn some pretty interesting outfits (and taken on some interesting forms, even) in the past, so he was hardly one to judge.

Sora raised both eyebrows when Hanatarou turned out to have something to say about the end of the night. "Did something happen where you were too? I was exploring the quarry for Arts and Crafts when suddenly there was all this blood everywhere," he explained. He hadn't seen anything like it before, so he was glad that night had ended soon after that had happened.

It might be easier to talk about something as simple as toys rather than the horrors of the institute, though. That was partly what this trip was about, wasn't it? Just having a chance to forget about all of that in the face of something much more normal.

"Well, I guess?" Sora responded with a shrug. "I mean, I never had them as a kid, so I guess that's why I was curious. But..." He frowned down at one of the cars that was a shade of green and remembered the thing that had attacked him and Allen last night. Did something even as simple as a toy have to remind of Landel's? He sighed.

Blood everywhere? But...if Sora was at the quarry, then he wasn't anywhere near the building. And Hanatarou had definitely been well inside the building when he'd seen it. He looked momentarily puzzled, but still agreed with Sora's thought that daytime was time to not think about night. Not unless he absolutely had to.

He glanced around at the shelves, absently rubbing at the back of his neck as he considered the rather welcome change of subject. "Oh. I probably didn't, either," he replied, sounding thoughtful even as he quickly glanced away from one of the antique-looking dolls up on a shelf. Hopefully he was only imagining the way its eyes seemed to follow him. "They sure have a lot of them here."

And no children in the store, either. Unless one counted Sora, which Hanatarou really didn't. "Um. So. Do you...know what there is to do in town?" If he didn't want a manicure, that was, which he was pretty sure he didn't.

Sora paused when Hanatarou said he probably hadn't played with toys cars - shouldn't he have known? - until he remembered that shinigami barely remembered their mortal lives. It was somewhat similar to how it worked for Nobodies, come to think of it, except that shinigami still had to have their hearts.

He followed Hanatarou's gaze to one of the dolls, which he also thought was pretty creepy. He quickly glanced away, settling on something that was much nicer to look at: candy. Not that they could get any if they didn't have money, but Sora was still allowed to look. Getting a ton of sugar in his system might be what he needed to have the energy to run around town even though he was still kind of hurting. He usually crashed after doing something like that, though...

Distracted from that train of thought by Hanatarou's question, Sora turned back toward his friend and sighed. "Sort of. Even though I've been here a few times, I haven't gotten to look around that much 'cause I've usually been injured," he explained. Now it was going to sound like he got hurt all the time, but that wasn't really the case! He'd just been around for a while, that was all.

"There are the places named on the coupons, obviously, but I know there's other stuff too. We could always look around," he suggested. Sora didn't have much of a need to spend more time in the toy store unless Hanatarou wanted to.

It really did sound like Sora was injured a lot, and of course Hanatarou couldn't help but be concerned. It could mean that Sora just happened to get hurt the night before the trips to town, but it could also mean that it wasn't an unusual thing - and considering that Hanatarou only remembered seeing him really badly injured the time he'd healed him, maybe Sora was hiding it?

That wasn't a terribly reassuring thought. But Hanatarou made a mental note to watch his roommate a little closer from now on, just in case.

"Oh. Um. Well, last week I...think I spent almost the whole time in the park." The healer glanced around another time and gave Sora a somewhat uncertain smile. "Guess I didn't see a reason to go to the shops if, um, I couldn't get anything? But," he added quickly, lest his roommate think he was trying to get negative, "it might be nice to look around too."

"That's usually where I've spent my trips too," Sora said with a shrug. Once again, it hadn't been by choice, but that was usually as far as he'd been able to get with the wounds he'd been stuck with at the time. Hanatarou had a good point about there not being much point in looking around when they couldn't actually buy anything. Sora wasn't big on begging or stealing, either.

"I guess there are always those coupons, but I see what you mean. I think looking around is more interesting than just hanging out at the park, is all," Sora pointed out. He got to stretch his legs and get a look at something new, which was really all he was hoping for at this point.

Two other patients had stepped into the store. Sora sent them a quick glance before turning back to Hanatarou. "Are we done here, then?"

[dragging daedalus in from here]

Once inside the store, Anise released her affectionate grip on the doctor's arm and immediately skipped over to where the dolls were kept. Some of them were simplistic in design, some had tacky, weird-looking clothing, but it wasn't long until her eyes landed on the group resembling the ones in the window: the ones with lifelike faces and beautifully detailed dresses.

Anise leaned close to the shelf, looking over the features of the dolls, and at the same time, discreetly catching a glimpse at the price tags. It looked like the cheaper ones among them went for around forty, and the more expensive ones, over one hundred... whatever that meant. It would be dirt cheap if it was close to the value of Gald, which meant it most definitely wasn't anywhere near the same.

How much was the doctor willing to spend on her? Anise was curious to find out, but she wasn't sure asking directly would be a good idea. Naturally, she was going to try to get as much as she could out of him, though.

This was going to be a good day, she could tell.

What he cared less about how his intentions were being perceived than the sudden physical touch he was being subjected to. He blinked down at the arm that had closed around his, brown eyes widening slightly before he was forced to move with her, or risk a stumble.

‘Sweet’ wasn’t the right word, but he was sure she felt much better, indeed. Daedalus was also sure he could shake her off if needed, but that action was a little premature. If not a pleasant fantasy that ran through his mind while following her into the store that had so captivated the girl’s attention. Touch not of a specific kind was touch he could do without; he breathed easier when he was released, though he held onto his amiable (though a tad disoriented) mien with an ironclad grip.

Just two patients he could make out in this store. Daedalus glanced over them briefly before following in Anise’s wake, settled back into his role. Dolls weren’t an unexpected choice for young girls as a whole, or for this girl, who displayed a considerable attachment to the one she had on her back. “Pretty,” he commented, zeroing in on her choice selections. These were the dolls better left to collecting, not to playing. “These were what you were looking at?”

It was hard to even start picking favorites out of the dolls in front of her. Part of Anise wanted to just go for the most expensive one, but she worried if she pushed the doctor too much, he'd reconsider his offer. Although, she wasn't going to go for the cheapest right away, either. Best to stick around the middle range unless he turned out to be totally loaded, she supposed.

She found her gaze being drawn to one dressed in pink, with white frills and a matching bonnet. With the nurses failing to let Anise so much as touch any clothing in her favorite color, it seemed like it would be nice if she could get something in a pretty shade of pink...

"Yep!" Anise chirped in response to the doctor's question. The girl then turned around to face him with a radiant smile and the best doe eyes she could manage. "Something like this is okay, right?" she asked in a voice that made it sound more like a humble plea. No man could possibly object to such a sincere request from such a cute girl! Right? Besides, it wasn't like a doll could be used for anything dangerous.

...Well, any doll that wasn't Tokunaga, anyway.

He inspected the toys, too. “The Institute doesn’t offer much to brighten your rooms up with,” replied Daedalus, in a way that clearly meant she was correct.

Not that the lack of personalization in the hospital was strange or even an incorrect method of treatment. Personal effects were kept in storage for a reason. And had they been talking about another object personal to her, an item she would have recognized before her time here not unlike the doll she already carried, he would have said no. This, though, was fine by him, regardless of what any of the other staff would have to say about it.

But he hadn’t given her the green light in so many words yet, and that was on purpose.

Daedalus looked back at her. “Which do you like?” he asked. Although he wasn’t oblivious to what she was doing, the lack of reaction her attitude received was hidden behind a mask of general agreeableness. She’d probably get her doll, or whatever she wanted in the end, but he was more interested in what was decided on and why rather than what she walked away with.

Anise definitely agreed about the dull rooms. That was a big part of why she'd made a felt doll resembling Tokunaga in arts and crafts: to personalize her room. She'd since gotten the real Tokunaga back, but the other one still sat on her dresser, just to bring some color and cheer to the otherwise boring room.

"Right? It's hard to relax in a place that looks more like a prison room than a bedroom," she added without missing a beat, hoping Daedalus would just keep agreeing with her. So far, it seemed like things were going well on that front.

The girl's grin widened when she was asked about her preference. It looked like things were going to go her way! "They're all pretty cute, but I think I like this one best," she said as she pointed at the pink-clad doll with yellow curls. "This dress is my favorite color, after all. And I never get to wear or own anything in pink at the Institute! It's really lame." It seemed like a small, insignificant thing to complain about, but living every day wearing gray was something Anise could barely stand, and it didn't help when her surroundings were just as gloomy.

“I would assume so,” he said. That was if they spent any kind of time in their rooms, and weren’t running about the hospital, dodging threats as seemed to be the official story.

The rest he had little to say on, and instead merely smiled at the doll while she made her criticisms. He had no affiliations with the vibrant colors of which she seemed to be attracted to. Romdo was a city of neutrals, in appearance and in politics. That was, if one didn’t look too deeply. But he liked the blue of Re-l’s eye shadow. The doll, though, was an overabundance of materials to him, but this wasn’t for his benefit, so it mattered little what his personal taste was.

Well, in a way, it was for his benefit, but not in any way that was immediately decipherable.

“Pink, huh?” reiterated Daedalus as he reached out to take the doll. Without gloves, the touch of its stylized dress rasped against his skin. “I’ll keep that in mind.” He lifted the doll so that it was turned to Anise. “Well, if it’s her you want, let’s get her.” But then a touch of cheerful slyness came over him. “But let’s not tell everyone where she came from. Some people would probably be unhappy with me.”

"Yay!" Anise threw her arms up in the air triumphantly. While it hadn't seemed like the doctor was going to retract his offer at any point, it was still a big relief to see he was still going to go through with it.

"Hmm? Well, okay! It'll be our little secret," she agreed with a wide grin and a giggle. It was a lie, of course. While Anise didn't plan to advertise it to everyone, and she didn't mind keeping it from the staff, she was definitely going to mention it to her friends. Besides, it would be hard to keep the present a secret if she had to carry it around until she got back to her room.

That reminded Anise of something important, however. "Oh, but the nurses'll take it away if I can't prove I was allowed to have it."

He lowered the doll to his side. “Don’t worry about that part, you can leave it to me,” Daedalus assured.

Secrets weren’t precisely what he was aiming for, anyway, only discretion. But expecting some silly message not to appear on the lounge’s handwritten bulletin board and alert most of the patients was expecting too much, no doubt. Having a rumour spread that he was some kind of gift-giver wasn’t necessarily a detrimental one, but it certainly could be given the wrong word of mouth.

Like he hadn’t already planned for that possibility.

Daedalus began to retract his steps, leading them back along the aisle and towards the till. “For now, I’ll sign for it, and you can show them that.” And if anyone truly wanted to confirm, he was around, in sight of dozens of staff members.

As the doctor made his way over to the till, Anise followed closely, brimming with excitement. Even back at home, it was rare for anyone to buy her luxuries like that doll. A lot of what Anise owned was either hand made or hand-me-downs.

Anise had expected Daedalus would know something about the security measures of Landel's, and she had been wondering what he planned to do about it. Getting his signature was a simple enough solution, and she nodded eagerly. "Okay, works for me!"

All that was left was to wait for him to pay.

Although he hardly looked old enough to be on such a footing as to be the girl’s medical guardian, all Daedalus had to do was pass over his identification alongside his card, and the questions were waylaid before they were uttered. And he knew there were still questions from each side, patient, co-worker, outsider alike, but that was part of the point in sending him to this nowhere place.

The prince had been demoted to squire, a well-deserved reputation for competence left unknown.

It was an added trouble, but Daedalus would survive. It wasn’t him who was getting the most furtive glances, anyway. He was, at least, a factor that could be (in the minds of others) rationalized, unlike the patients, who seemingly suffered in ways the “normal” person couldn’t or did not want to comprehend. But smiles and polite ‘thank you’s were enough to end the transaction without merit, and then it came time to wrap the purchase. There was always the option of boxing it, or even having it come with him…

Daedalus looked over at the chipper girl. “You probably don’t want to wait for it, do you,” and it wasn’t really a question, not with the knowing smile at the corner of his mouth.

Anise watched curiously as the transaction went through, interested in both the doctor's identification and in the currency of Earth, although the exchange was quick enough that she didn't get a clear look at either.

The doctor's look was met with the girl's bright smile, which hadn't faded for an instant since the moment he first picked up the doll. "You can tell? Hee hee." It looked like he wasn't a doctor for nothing, even if Anise had been hinting pretty heavily at her wants. "Don't worry! I'll take good care of it until I can get it back to my room," she assured him, since the doll looked delicate enough for that to be a possible concern. Anise knew how to treat valuable items, though. And with the look on Daedalus' face, he didn't seem to need the assurance.

...Hm. It was hard to tell just how well he understood her. The thought might have worried Anise, if they were on a more serious subject.

Perhaps merely a fortunate guess?

“I trust you will,” he said. “All right, we’ll take it as is,” and when the doll was passed back to him, he held it out for his patient. The money didn’t concern him, nor did the prospect of a delicate toy being ruined carelessly--he was curious to what she would do with it, but not in the way that would make him fret if she happened to smash it on another patient’s face or something similar.

Such a use for the doll would certainly make him wonder, and that, in itself, almost seemed a good enough reason to spoil her.

When the doll was held out for her, Anise took it from her doctor's hands and for a moment, held it up like it was a trophy. "Yay! Thank you so much!" She then lowered it to her chest, facing outward, and wrapped her arms around the front of the doll to hold it safely.

It was nice, getting another taste of the luxuries she envied in more fortunate kids. At least Anise could find something to be happy about in such a dump.

With their business done, it looked like it was time for them to go. Anise made her way over to the door, stopping next to it and facing the doctor. "So, what are you going to do now?" It would probably be rude to suddenly say her goodbyes and run off right after getting her gift, and besides, Anise was curious about what kind of stuff Daedalus did during his days off.

"Don't mention it; you're very welcome. Consider it a treat," Daedalus said. She wore a smile more often than not, but he supposed in this instance, she had something genuine to smile about. She'd gotten a small amount of free choice back, an opportunity he doubted would likely come around with any regularity. He held the receipt out next, which was a rickety failsafe in its own right, but a suitable solution, nonetheless. "That should do it, and if it doesn't, I'm always reachable."

He gave a half-smile, returning his hands to his pockets. He didn't expect himself to be much of an attraction to the patients, not unless he was to be the object of someone's misplaced scorn--in a way, perhaps he was trading for time.

Ah, how they'd tried to strip him down in the meantime. And then they would need him again, and Rombo would bear its deceptions in silence, as it always did.

He came to a halt beside her, a sheepish half-smile on his face. "That's a good question. I don't have anything in mind. And you?"

Anise took the receipt, looked it over for a second, then folded it and tucked it into her jacket pocket. A treat, huh? Well, she certainly deserved one, with everything she'd been putting up with for the past two weeks.

So the doctor was just wandering aimlessly? It definitely sounded like he was out to see the patients, if he didn't have any other plan in mind. Maybe he was just hanging out with Anise for the sake of observing her... which wasn't so terrible, really. Anise had been putting on her best face the entire time!

When the question was turned back at her, Anise cocked her head as she thought. "Hmm... me neither, really. I guess I'll keep looking around at shops. With any luck, I'll run into some friends, too."

He wasn't so surprised at her answer. From what he was gathering, planning days in advance was less common than planning for the moment.

Daedalus reached for the door and held it open for her, preventing them from further taking up space in the doorway. "There should be something entertaining to do, no?" he asked as he did so. "If you want to go look for your friends, don't feel obligated to spend time on me."

Ironic, wasn't it?

Maybe... a little too ironic. Doing favours and being left behind... Re-l was really no better, but because it was Re-l who mattered, these circumstances were rather inconsequential, given the plans in motion.

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Day 42: Lil' Tyke Toys

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