damned_institute | Dayshift 42: Main Street

"Even if it's not much, it's certainly a bit more than our normal playground, don't you think?" Yukari pointed out reasonably. After all, if it weren't for what happened at night, Yukari might have already gotten so bored of the institute as to just go into hibernation until it went away.

"A toy store, huh? I don't suppose there's a candy shop too?" suggested the youkai. Sure, some of their meals at the institute came with dessert, but that just wasn't the same as sweets. "Though perhaps obtaining some real food first would be better? What do you think, lunch or dessert?"

Ohhh. Ohhh. Why did she have to make her decide? She was so conflicted. Any place worth existing HAD to have a candy place somewhere. She'd never heard anyone say anything about one though. If she had, there was no doubt she'd want to go there first and foremost. On the other hand, she was kinda hungry, too, and there was only so much candy they could yank before someone caught them and started chasing them down the street. Decisions, decisions.

Suddenly, Harley remembered something. She shoved her hands in her overall pockets, turning them inside out until she found where she put the coupons from this morning. If she remembered right... "Hah! How's about both?" she grinned and held out one of them like proof. "Lookie. This place gives out a meal and ice cream."

Yukari smiled at the suggestion and dug around in her own bag, pulling out the little booklet of coupons and flipping to the right one. Tasty Burger, huh? It sounded like it had all the class of a child's birthday party, but there was ice cream.

"Well, then, sounds like a plan!" she agreed happily. Looking around, she spotted the garishly colored sign for the restaurant just down the street. "Shall we be off?"

[To here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/660443.html?thread=54998491#t54998491)]

[For Grell and Luxord]

Celes was still somewhat annoyed with Luxord. Date or not, he'd still butted into a conversation to lead her away. She had cooled her temper some, but her expression remained far away. "Where do you suppose Mr Sutcliff got off to?" she murmured as they walked.

[Notice: will be extremely slow, so feel free to skip Celes as need arises]

If that turn of events surprised Celes any, surely she didn't know the Gambler half as well as she might have thought she did. Nobodies could be very petty creatures when it came to something they wanted.

"Hmm..." He brought a hand to his chin, pondering her question. "I'm not sure. He claimed to have never visited this town before, so one can only assume he may have lost his way." Yes, specifically said in a manner as to suggest that if she had done as kindly asked of her, they wouldn't have been looking for the butler now. Must everyone really ignore his requests?

Celes was relieved that she didn't need to look up to give Luxord a rather pointed look, not bothering to honor his tone with anything more than a singular, "Hm." She felt not an iota of sadness for not immediately tottering off to find the other man. Celes closed her eyes a moment. "Well, he couldn't have gone very far, Luxord."

Two could play this game, and her tone reflect that they would've been better off without the third wheel.

And unfortunately for Celes, that third wheel had just managed to pry himself away from the bath and beauty store and was walking her way. The morning had gone so well! The store had been a lovely way to start his day and now he had a beautiful gift wrapped with red ribbon (just how did they know?) and a note to stop those horrid nurses from taking it away from him. Ah~ But if only he could use the lotion right now!

But that, unfortunately, would have to wait. He couldn't very well open the present now anyway. Not when there was the chance that someone could ruin it. Like Sebastian.

Right.

Holding the package a little closer to his chest, Grell wandered down the street, without any real purpose in mind. Shops were lined up here and there, but really, this place was rather... well, quaint. In the way the English countryside was quaint. After awhile, one grew tired of it and needed to return to the city. Luckily for him, before he got bored, he caught sight of a familiar blond and waved before he realized Luxord was already with someone.

Oh, lovely. General Ice Princess. Moving a little closer, he bowed properly and tried not to do anything terribly out of character for a weakling butler. "Good morning, Madam General. Mr. Luxord."

"Indeed not." For there was the redhead now, some sort of gift in hand. X tilted his head, eying it. Grell truly was a magnificent actress to be receiving presents from a town such as this. ~~Jealousy, if only he could feel you.~~

"Afternoon, Mr. Sutcliff. Ms. Chere and I were just searching for you." Well, Luxord was, anyhow. It was obvious from Celes' demeanor that she could care less about the God. Wonderful.

After all, the more she assumed the man to be as useless and helpless as he acted, Brainiac 5 would need a bit more leverage to drive his wedge between them. Meaning X had a bit more time with her, in any case. He would hate for things to run sour too soon.

"Well, now." Luxord clasped his hands together, smiling kindly at the two before him. "Since we are all together, shall we find someone place nice for lunch?"

"Mas... Mr Sutcliff," The momentary slip in titles was quickly smoothed over, and Celes tried to keep herself from ~~punching him in the nose in the hopes his balls would drop~~ being too frozen. It was working. A little.

Celes raised both of her eyebrows, but nodded, "That would be nice." She didn't care either way, but if it kept her civil...

"A-afternoon!" Right. The passage of time. He'd barely even noticed it since he'd been in the shop all this time and really, why would he notice anything besides his euphoria at being in such a lovely place? Without realizing it, he had spent the entire morning in there, browsing and chitchatting and just enjoying himself. It was like shopping through London, minus the crowds and a mistress. "I apologize if I kept you both waiting... I didn't realize we were meeting so soon."

Or that he'd sour this conversation so quickly. Celes' distaste for Grell was almost tangible, which made sense in a way. A general, one who reeked of the upper caste, would always find mingling with the hired help unsavory. And that was just fine with Grell. If the Ice Princess didn't care to look at him, she wouldn't notice that he wasn't what he said he was. And as long as that kept going? Grell stayed alive.

"Ah...yes, that would be a good idea..." He trailed off as his eyes wandered the area, looking for anything that resembled a restaurant or anything that could serve their purpose. Unfortunately, Grell knew nothing about this town and he had little interest in learning about it. "Um, do either of you have a suggestion?"

"No, no, that's alright." X smiled, patting the butler sympathetically on the shoulder. He acted so sweet while wearing this facade... "It seems we've both managed to keep ourselves busy." Pointed words, pointed words.

But yes. It seemed there were only two places to go, and Luxord was never going enter an establishment entitled "Tasty Burger." He held his hands out to both Sutcliff and Chere, making a motion for them to take them. "Twin Pines it is, then, if neither of you mind."

[Dragging his dates over here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/660209.html)]

Hmph. So the meeting with this "Sheriff Scotch" had proved fruitless. Of course, why should this have surprised von Karma? From what he could already tell, the townspeople were just as useful to him as the blasted staff in the institute.

He did recall that along the way to this wretched little shack that served as the town's only law enforcement agency, there had been a bookstore. Most likely, he would find little of use there, but at least he could try to obtain a newspaper or something that gave more information about this rustic town than what anyone was willing to tell him. Briskly, he headed westward along this road towards the bookstore.

[Closed to a certain shinigami with a fetish for apples. X3 ]

Edited 2009-07-04 23:30 (UTC)

Ryuk was in trouble. He hated that. Ok, so he was technically in trouble in the Shinigami Realm too, more often than not, but the difference was that Shinigami couldn't be bothered to really do much about it.

Unlike here. Where Ryuk had finally gotten his Wheelie Chair, but at a cost. It didn't move on it's own, so his nurse had stuck with him until his body started seizing up. She ran off after that, to find him sugar and lunch and maybe a cigarette! Like that would HELP? He wanted his damn apple.

Before this, he'd been attacking a tree with his crutch to see if it had any. Seemed like they didn't so he began pushing a wheel and...going in a circle.

He supposed he coul-

"GRAGH!" Ryuk's shoulders tenses and his free limbs began to pull in awkwardly. He managed to wrench his arm free of the pain and grab a passerby. "Hey! Buddy, you gotta help me!"

von Karma had just gone only one block, crossing an intersection and passing by several shops that held no interest to him, when suddenly, he felt someone grab him by his right arm. At first, he thought it was one of the blasted nurses again, but then the person spoke in a masculine voice -- deeper this time than that of his seatmate on the bus.

He turned around to see who had so brazenly latched onto him. It was a wheelchair-bound man, who looked -- and was right now acting -- quite wild and mad. Judging from the appearance of his bruised face and his injured leg, the man had apparently been in some recent scuffles.

Immediately, von Karma tried to pull himself away from this madman, but so desperate was the man that he held what felt like quite a death grip on von Karma's arm and seemed unwilling to let go. It didn't help that it was the arm that had recently been operated upon; it hadn't completely healed yet. Internally, von Karma cursed the doctors responsible for this unauthorized surgery.

After unsuccessfully trying to liberate himself, von Karma faced the man directly, bearing anger in his eyes but keeping his voice steady and controlled. "Release me this instant, fool." He snapped his fingers to punctuate the next word. "Now."

Edited 2009-07-05 21:50 (UTC)

Ryuk's hand started shaking despite the power of the death grip. And then his arm. His shoulder. His entire body. And he was...sweating. It was gross.

But his eyes had turned mean, even through their unmatched strangeness. He was past the point of caring about broken bits of body. he needed an apple as if....he'd die without one. This wasn't what he was used to. Sure it hurt before, his body twisting into a pretzel, but this was a pain he couldn't even define or find the source to. His whole body, inside and out, needed an apple. He felt like he was dying... And Death Gods did not die. Unless they were idiots.

Ryuk pulled the man closer, with strength he hadn't had before, and looked him dead in the eye. "Listen, von Karma," he hissed, "if I don't get an apple real soon, you're first on the Death List."

As this insolent man blatantly disobeyed his direct order, von Karma tried -- quite futilely -- to extricate himself. What a grip this insane man had! He grimaced, noticing that the man started perspiring profusely... he could feel it seep through the thick flannel of his shirt. Disgusting. He had to get away from him, immediately!

No longer caring about creating a scene, von Karma looked around wildly, preparing to call out to the nearest nurse available. But before he could do that, the madman wrenched him closer and looked him straight in the eye. The "evil eye" von Karma generally gave his courtroom opponents had nothing on the crazed look this one was giving him.

"What are you doing?!" von Karma started to demand of the man, but before he could say anything more, the man spoke in a low, determined tone of voice. The words especially gave him pause. How much did this man know about him?!

"How-- How do you know my name?!" After his initial shock, he composed himself, speaking firmly without a single stutter this time.
"Who are you? And what is this 'Death List?' ...Are you threatening to kill me over your ludicrously desperate desire for fruit?" He wanted to look around for the blasted nurses again but feared that if he took his eyes off this madman, he would leave himself vulnerable to an attack.

Edited 2009-07-09 21:02 (UTC)

"Stop. Asking. QUESTIONS!" Ryuk complained, flailing. A moment later and he roared in pain. Even if he hadn't broken this body, it would be refusing to bend and twist the way his usual withdrawal wanted.

"Just hurry up," he growled. He didn't want the nurses coming over. Why did everyone question him now? Whatever happened to fear?! He didn't care what the others said once he got back to the Shinigami Realm. He was going on a spree.

"Nnnghhhh!" was von Karma's response to this... wild outburst, as he struggled once more to break free. In his career, he had questioned many defendants and witnesses who ranted and raved. But never had he seen from them this magnitude of unbridled lunacy.

Though the last thing he wanted to do was admit defeat to such a person, the man's raw strength compelled him to make an exception -- a temporary one. "Very well! I will get you your blasted apple." And then you will answer my questions! he added silently; he had to find out what this man knew of him.

He recalled having passed a grocery store along the way, so he would try there first. von Karma started to march towards the store, but found that the man still held his arm tightly, hindering his progress. "Let me go so that I can proceed to there, fool!" he snarled at him. "Or do you expect me to drag you along?" Surely, such was possible, since the man was in a wheelchair. But what a ludicrous scene they would make.

Any other day and Ryuk probably would have been intimidated by von Karma. Even as a Shinigami. Guy might even make Light uncomfortable. As it was, Ryuk was beyond any sort of thought beyond the need for an apple.

Finally somebody was obeying.

"Not letting you outta my sight and I can't push this alone," he explained. He didn't want the old geezer doing a runner.

Hn. Fair enough. Not that von Karma typically played fair himself, but the man's reasoning was convincing enough. At any rate, he was by now eager to get this taken care of as quickly as possible.

Wordlessly, he just glared at the man as he grabbed onto the wheelchair with his free hand and started tugging it along with him down the street. This was a very literally awkward arrangement, but von Karma had little choice in the matter.

As he carted the man towards the store -- thankfully, a short distance from here -- von Karma saw a couple of nurses standing by. He returned their sickeningly bright smiles with a rueful scowl. Why in blazes is it that they are only around when I least wish to encounter them? he grumbled to himself. Indeed, he didn't want them to get involved right now... especially since he needed to interrogate this man after he had gotten him the damned apple for which he kept hounding him.

[To here]

[from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/660209.html?thread=55031537#t55086321)]

Celes stepped back out into the cold and pulled her coat closer about. There was something strange about that weak little butler, and she'd be damned if she could make heads or tails of it. Actually, it made her want to scrub her lips clean of the feeling Luxord's skin had left behind.

Hm.

So strange. Still, now that she'd left Luxord's company, Celes had nothing to do. She started off towards the park. Perhaps she could rest herself there.

Edited 2009-07-07 07:24 (UTC)

[this way (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/660625.html?thread=55114129#t55114129)]

[[from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/654401.html?thread=54796865#t55120961)]]

Sasuke had to focus as closely as he could on the sound of Sakura's footsteps as they made their way down the main street of the town. There was enough traffic in this place that he needed to note the particular sound of her movements and concentrate on making sure he was still on the right track.

In some ways, it was better than groping his way around as he'd had to do the last time he was here -- and yet it was almost worse, relying this heavily on someone he wasn't in the habit of considering particularly reliable.

Hopefully that had changed over the years, although the habit of his former teammates seemed to be consistently maintaining their worst traits.

Sasuke kept up, if only motivated by his stubborn pride. Still, Sakura tried to relax and enjoy his company, even if it wasn't easy. She wasn't about to just give up!

As little as Sasuke said, it was still more than enough for her to piece together her own conclusions. Why she hadn't thought of it sooner was beyond her. The reason Sasuke was more irritated than usual, the way he was avoiding talking about his plans and the fact that he'd not mentioned his revenge outright was all terribly suspicious. There were only a couple possible conclusions; Itachi was no longer here, or Sasuke had already completed his revenge.

Much as she wished it might be the first one, the change in Sasuke's attitude, the defensiveness and the outright anger when they mentioned going back to Konoha... was this what'd become of him in her own time? Was that why he hadn't come home?

Maybe it was just her imagination running wild. But the facts lied so rarely. "Shifting?" she forced herself to sound only mildly curious, a feat made easier without his intense eyes on her. "I didn't think it would ever change."

"We're making slow progress," she said once it was easier to speak normally. Her eyes flicked from one building to another and once again she couldn't help but think how alien their architecture was in this world. "But slow is better than none."

The fact that Sakura sounded surprised and what she said confirmed it -- she hadn't heard about Itachi. Sasuke wasn't sure whether to be grateful or not for that fact. On one hand, it meant that he wouldn't have to put up with sympathy he neither wanted nor needed (and questions about what came next). On the other, it was clear that Sakura suspected something, and Sasuke had no other explanation for acting differently today.

And telling Sakura was ... Sasuke was hardly going to lie about what had happened, but telling Kakashi yesterday had brought too many things that he didn't have the luxury of dealing with to the surface. He needed much more time before he could handle Sakura's response (or Naruto's, for that matter) in the necessary way.

So for now, Sasuke merely shrugged in response to her comment, choosing instead to continue the second thread of conversation. "What areas are you focusing on besides medical information?"

Ugh, why were boys so dumb sometimes?! There was definitely something wrong and even if he thought he was hiding it, it was so obvious! Why else would he shrug of his lifelong goal of revenge as if they were just discussing the weather!? What the hell was going on? And he'd acted even more defensive about her just talking to him or wanting to spend time together than he had anything else! It was so hard to understand what was going on inside his head!

They'd made little progress and already she could feel her stomach starting to grumble at her. Now of all times?! Couldn't it wait? Ugh!

She ignored it for now and focused on the conversation, taking a slightly different stance this time. "Why are you so interested now?"

At least it seemed that Sakura was willing to go along with the subject change. Sasuke was internally grateful and externally coolly indifferent, frowning slightly at her question.

'Now'? He would have been interested in any information they might have discovered at any point, irrespective of whether Itachi was present or not. It wasn't Sasuke who had problems maintaining a professional relationship, after all; he was perfectly able to trade useful information and aid without bringing up unnecessary history and emotions.

"We're allied," he answered, as if it should have been obvious. "If you've learned anything useful, I'm interested in hearing it."

Ally seemed to be a term Sasuke only used at his own convenience. He was the first to want to keep his distance, but the moment some information might prove useful, he of course, wanted to know about it. Well, he probably justified it to himself somehow, she thought with an almost audible sigh.

"Recently we've been sent to the areas outside the institute," she explained. "My team only made one attempt so far, but we found a small run-down village. There were some human remains, which I'll be analyzing later tonight if things go according to plan." Not that they often did. But so long as she had her chakra, that sort of thing should come pretty easily.

"That's all I know of. Most of my assignments have been regarding medical analysis or information." There was that one assignment about getting a sample of the nurse's sedative, though they'd have to stage some kind of fight or disruption to get their hands on something like that.

"So since we're allies, you shouldn't have trouble telling me how your plans have shifted too. Whether or not we share common goals is vital, don't you think?" she added, unsure of how he might answer. She'd tried really hard to be professional, but Sasuke had a way of twisting her words around. Another silent sigh escaped her lips. What a day. Stuck on a not-date with Sasuke and talking about nothing but business. Ino-pig was probably back home laughing her ass off.

Sent to? The phrasing implied the Konoha-nin were actually working as a cohesive group, with somebody actually making plans and giving out commands. Sasuke was almost surprised -- then again, the last time these nin had been here there hadn't been any real authority figure amongst the bunch.

It was interesting nonetheless. And it meant that it was probably worthwhile to find out who was in charge.

"Who's giving out these assignments?" Sasuke asked. "Kakashi?"

Or perhaps Jiraiya, though the Sannin didn't seem the type to take charge with such efficiency.

-- and then, of course, Sakura managed to twist his words into something convenient for her to pry into his plans. It was probably reasonable to want to know what it meant when an ally said something like that, but Sasuke had just barely succeeded in pushing Itachi and what he'd said (that they had never really been the last Uchiha) out of mind and had no intention of retrieving it and all the attendant issues into the open. Especially not with Sakura around.

"Any of my goals that are relevant to you have stayed the same," he said shortly, choosing his words with a certain amount of care. "I am still exploring the basement as my current priority."

The more Sasuke tried to hide, the more obvious the answers became. Maybe if he was talking with Naruto it would've rolled right over his head, but Sakura at least, could read between the lines. If Itachi had merely disappeared, Sasuke would continue to seek power and strength and ways to destroy him. But if he'd already achieved his goal...

She was quiet again, considering the implications. Itachi was dead. She could easily assume that much from what she'd observed. So what now? Sasuke had to be asking himself that exact same question. Technically, he'd destroyed an enemy of Konoha, hadn't he? So he could hardly be branded a complete traitor, right? While it made sense in her mind, she couldn't be sure Tsunade and the village elders would feel the same way.

And how did Sasuke feel about it? She knew how much it hurt to lose people you cared about, but how could she understand how it might feel to kill his own brother? There were complications there that just made it impossible to know exactly what he might be feeling. And that same stoic mask he wore, crushing any emotion that threatened to sneak away didn't make it any easier. But it wasn't herself or Itachi or anyone else she was worried about. It was Sasuke. Whatever burden he was carrying had to be so much heavier alone.

"Yes," she replied, though her voice had grown somber. "Kakashi-sensei and Shikamaru have been doing most of the planning."

She wanted to reach out, but she wasn't sure she could handle it if he jerked away again. So she tried to keep up the act, even if she was failing miserably. "Have... you found anything worth mentioning?"

The fact of the matter was the situation hadn't so much changed as reverted -- Sasuke was aware of another goal he had to complete, one that required that he become even stronger, if Itachi were to be believed. And what reason would Itachi have to lie about Madara's power? Where that left him was where he had been when he had first arrived in the Institute: looking for an escape route in order to be able to continue with his goals. Because there was no way he could become stronger here.

But even if he knew that he had things he needed to accomplish, goals he had to meet -- without Itachi the path of darkness had lost its edges; without Itachi at its end, there was nothing but a murky gloom and a direction that Sasuke understood without knowing the precise way to walk it. As if Itachi had been more guide than goal, had led his spare like a brother.

With effort Sasuke forced all thoughts of Itachi out of mind again to concentrate on what Sakura was saying (for the first time he could ever remember, forcing Itachi out of mind in order to focus on Sakura and not the other way around).

"Shikamaru's doing the planning?" He questioned, surprise evident in his tone. The class slacker? Sasuke did remember that Shikamaru had supposedly done well in their first Chuunin Exam, but beyond that the news that filtered into Sound barely mentioned the Nara. If Kakashi trusted Shikamaru enough to plan for his team, then there had to be something useful about him -- intriguing.

Something worth nothing.

Unlike what Sasuke might have learned the past few days. He tensed slightly, aware that he had nothing to offer, and shook his head. "I haven't yet."

Of all the things for him to show emotion about, Shikamaru would not have been her first guess. How... annoying. Still, it gave her something to focus on instead of what had happened to Itachi.

Sasuke hadn't been there to hear the results of the Chuunin exam. And she knew that Shikamaru's team had been sent after him, only to come back battered and half-dead. Apparently it hadn't been anything noteworthy in Sasuke's opinion.

"He's lazy and obnoxious," Sakura explained flatly, "but he's a very good strategist." It was because of him, after all, that they'd been able to take down both Kakuzu and Hidan of Akatsuki. His plans were nearly flawless.

"What is it," she asked, "that you think might be down there?" The bulletin had been filled with nothing but negativity when it came to the basement. While some thought it held the secrets to escape, others only cautioned against it.

Count on Sakura to make her opinion known so bluntly. Sasuke had to wish that she could muster some of that firm judgment when it came to him -- the only reason she could even be here had to be because she was looking at the situation with glasses tinted so deeply rose they might as well have been a blindfold.

Nonetheless, the information about Shikamaru was interesting. Sasuke made a note to possibly look into speaking with him at some point; though Shikamaru had made little impression on Sasuke when they were younger, people did change. Should change.

As for the basement -- well, there was an example of something that did change when it really wasn't supposed to. Then again precious little of Landel's, creature or building, did what it was actually supposed to.

"I don't have a precise idea of what might be there," Sasuke said, truthfully enough. "But if there were nothing of interest, it wouldn't be set up the way it is. Landel wants us down there, but he only wants those who are able to make it all the way. It's worth finding out why."

That, and Sasuke could hardly go running out into the darkness beyond the Institute without having to rely much more heavily on others than he liked.

Sasuke had a point, but Sakura wasn't sure she could trust that Landel's motives were so simple. She decided to drop it for now so they could get moving.

[to here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/660443.html?thread=55328987#t55328987)]

[from here] (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/663272.html?thread=55081704#t55081704)

Bottle of lotion in pocket, Beatrix left the Bath and Beauty shop and moved to the building next to it. She nonchalantly leaned against the wall and waited for the tattooed man to exit the building. She was a little annoyed that she went to trouble of stealing the lotion for him only to find that the lady running the shop was just giving the prisoners things to take back with them.

So be it.

[from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/663272.html?view=55143400)]

Well, that had been painless. Lockdown now had his lotion.

The bounty hunter turned to the assassin once he saw her. His face stony and tone businesslike, he said, "You can either keep the one on you for yourself or give it to me so I have a spare." Would be a shame to let her efforts be for nothing, after all.

Reaching into her pocket, she pulled the small bottle out and tossed it to the man.

"I have no use for it," she replied, her voice once again cool now that she no longer had a part to play. "Must be your lucky day."

Lockdown caught it easily and placed it with the other bottle. Well, at least now he had some to spare, just in case. This kinda made up for the fact that she had tried to stab his windshield last night.

Using the same face and tone, the bounty hunter said, "You've been very helpful." It was the closest thing to a 'thank you' one could get from the bounty hunter.

"It seems so," the Bride replied.

She pushed herself up off the wall. "Let me know if your... friend liked it," she said as she started down the street, leaving the man to his own devices.

Dayshift 42: Main Street - Noon

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Starting just outside the sheriff's office

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