damned_institute | Day 43: Sun Room, Second Shift

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Day 43: Sun Room, Second Shift

When the shift changed, HK stayed put. Even after a long night of zombie killing, he had no interest in meatbag fuel, especially after all the discussion of chocolate with that rather strange meatbag. It was just making him crave the stuff even more than he had previously, if that was possible.

Oh, right. He was supposed to be looking for someone who was "VERY LARGE, WITH DARK HAIR." And also seemed to not know what lower-case letters were on the bulletin. As if that would help. He'd seen a likely candidate last shift, but talk of chocolate had distracted him.

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Overall, Kakashi couldn't complain about brunch, aside from his company. And even then, it wasn't so much the boy himself that had bothered Kakashi, but his presence there. No one should be brought to such a place, but some people were obviously less suited for it than others. Whoever he'd been, that kid was one of the people who'd suffer the most here, if only because he seemed the least prepared to go up against all the horrors the prison could put him through. Kakashi was a genius ninja, had been trained and fighting one war or another for nearly his entire life, and Landel's was a trial on his patience. How much worse was it on a kid like that?

Still, he couldn't keep too focused on it. Kakashi let himself be led into the Sun Room, and asked the nurse for a favor while he checked the bulletin for any updates. He'd just finished adding a few new notes when the woman returned, obviously more cooperative than the first nurse who had gone. Though Kakashi had never heard of Harlequin Romance, the lady promised it was just what he was looking for--or at least, that's what Kakashi thought she said between all the giggles. Keeping the urge to roll his eye in check, he politely thanked the nurse, then claimed a couch for himself as he settled in to read.

It only took a few pages for Kakashi to realize he wasn't going to be disappointed.

Though it seemed more geared towards a woman, Kakashi's inner fanatic was already cheering in excitement. While White Fang had been an interesting diversion, this new novel was exactly what the jounin had been seeking. The drama, the romance, the scenes he wouldn't read out loud under any circumstances: it was everything Kakashi had hoped. Eagerly he focused on the pages, maybe more than he should, but he'd still be able to keep an eye out on his surroundings. Enough to know what was going on.

But what was going on with Patricia was important too. What would she do now that her childhood friend Raul had once again shown up, and only a week before her wedding?

[Free! If you'd like to try diverting his attention from the book.]

Well-revitalized after breakfast, Leon let himself be led to the sun room without complaint. He kept his eye out for anyone familiar, but in the end he didn't really feel like chatting much. Perhaps he could just find himself a kitten to cuddle and relax for a while.

He didn't succeed in snatching up a cat, but he did find an empty seat. He was in the process of stretching out and making himself comfortable, when he noticed a man nearby with a book. He hadn't thought to ask for a book while he was in the sun room. It could be a reasonable way to pass the time despite there not being much nonfiction there.

The mage scooted to one end of the sofa, peering over the side and trying to catch a glimpse of what the man might be reading. "Is it interesting?" he asked without preamble.

The sounds of someone moving closer didn't disturb Kakashi much; he was on guard as much as the next ninja who wanted to remain living for another day, but he'd also just come to the moment when Patricia and Raul's eyes met for the first time in years. The shock, the drama, the forgotten emotions that surged to the surface--

Is it interesting?

"Very." Kakashi murmured his approval, much like he'd answer one of his students before they realized trying to talk to him while he was reading might not always be the best idea. For better or for worse, however, Kakashi couldn't claim to have paperwork in this situation, so he forced his eye off of the page enough to get a better look at just who he was talking to.

Huh. He remembered when Naruto and Sakura used to be that age. They'd never been curious about his books, however, particularly after they discovered the content.

"But you might be a bit too young for this kind of story." Kakashi's smile reached his eyes, and the jounin tilted the book just enough so the boy couldn't quite see the words. "Most of the kids I've met just thought it was perverted trash."

Too young. Leon pouted (except if you mentioned it to him he'd tell you it most definitely wasn't a pout, but a 'glare of displeasure'). He fought monsters, saved worlds, cast magic that others decades older than him couldn't even hope to be able to control. Surely he could handle a raunchy book or two. They were just about naked women, right? He'd walked in on his mom when she was naked once or twice. That was no big deal.

He moved a little closer, trying to get a better view of the cover around Kakashi's fingers. Perverted trash? "It's about girls, right?" All perverted things involved girls somehow - at least they were always the ones yelling at guys for it. He didn't see many guys throwing things at women when they entered the wrong side of the bathhouse. "I'm almost thirteen."

The pout was cute. Kakashi thought the boy should keep using it while he still had the age to go with it. It might actually work on someone who wasn't a jounin happily engaged in a romance novel.

"Really? Well. That makes you almost older than I thought you were." Thankfully Kakashi had more subtlety at his disposal than certain students of his. When Leon moved, so did he, bending the paperback so the covers came together and hid the picture. It wasn't something he'd ever do to his own books (largely because he always bought hardbacks on the day they came out), but this was a borrowed copied, and the spine had already long been broken.

"It's about men and women." An important thing to distinguish when one was talking to a twelve-year-old. "Doing things that adults do when they, uh. Like each other."

Now that he started thinking about it, trying to explain what he was reading to the boy was almost as bad as actually reading it out-loud. Maybe Kakashi would get lucky, and the boy would suddenly become distracted.

Too bad it wasn't Naruto. Kakashi could just say they opened a ramen stand in the cafeteria, and be gone before the ninja realized he'd been tricked.

"What, like kissing?" Leon wrinkled his nose a bit. He'd seen plenty of people kiss. There was nothing wrong with that. Kakashi might just be the sort of person who got embarrassed easily. "Or do you mean having babies? Because that's a perfectly normal aspect of a relationship that some people seem to have more interest in than others."

He frowned at how the man wouldn't allow him to see the cover. It couldn't be that bad. It was just a book. Words on a page. Leon had read countless numbers of them over his lifetime.

For a twelve-year-old, Leon had a way of putting things that threw even Kakashi for a loop. It almost, almost sounded like he already knew what critical steps came between kissing and labor, but it wasn't strictly said. And more importantly, it wasn't something Kakashi wanted to exactly ask. He hadn't even learned this kid's name yet; no way he was getting roped into explaining just where babies came from.

...But then again, maybe he didn't have to. The boy wanted to read the book anyway, right? And if he was a typical twelve-year-old, he'd probably be too disgusted to keep going after the first few sentences.

"well, sort of in the middle." Flipping ahead until he found the beginnings of a particularly promising scene (page 67, for his own reference), Kakashi checked to make sure none of the nurses were watching too closely before he handed over the book. "Here. You can read for yourself, but only a couple of pages. If you really like it, you can ask the nurse for one of your own." Because Kakashi's generosity only extended so far: sharing his books crossed the line, even if it wasn't technically his.

But it did give him a good idea. "In fact, if you have any questions, you should probably ask the nurse to answer them." The nurse, and not the ninja laying on the couch. The one trying very hard not to think about a kid reading a sex scene so he wouldn't turn redder than the dress Patricia was wearing on the cover, and that Raul was dropping to the floor--

No. Not thinking about it at all.

That sounded like a cop-out if ever he'd heard one, and Leon's nose wrinkled in disapproval. Still, the man was offering to let him see at least a little. A little was better than nothing, especially now that he was genuinely curious rather than interested out of boredom. (It was still disappointing that he wasn't allowed to see the cover.)

Just as he'd begun on the first few lines, however, he suddenly found himself pulled away by the back of his shirt by a short little red-faced nurse who'd appeared from somewhere around the corner as though she'd been just waiting for the opportunity.

Admonishing Kakashi for allowing someone 'far too young to understand' to read that 'filth disguised as fiction,' she then directed the young mage toward another room before the shift had officially ended. Leon's protests went completely ignored.

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Day 43: Sun Room, Second Shift

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