Day 46: Lunch

[tostepforward.livejournal.com]

The mere fact that she'd been susceptible to whatever hold the Institute had had on her yesterday was sufficient to leave Ayumu both upset and angry - no, not angry, downright furious, both at herself and whoever was responsible for that. But there was also the fact that because of it, she'd lost out on an entire day of work, and in several ways had ruined some of what she'd done already. That little conversation with Himura the day before, for instance, was something she'd sincerely prefer not to remember if she'd had any choice in the matter.

Unless the man was a complete moron, which, unfortunately, was one thing she couldn't believe of him, he had to have realized just who her brother was. After all the effort to keep that fact quiet (not exactly a secret, but certainly not advertised; half the Shinsengumi probably never even realized it because there was no reason to) she'd gone and chatted about it with him. Told him all about it, practically painted a bright target around a weakness that shouldn't have existed in the first place.

She'd spent the shift in the Sun Room pretending to sleep, while in truth forcing herself into calm. After years of practice she could shunt away the useless and distracting emotions, focusing only on what was important and needed to be at the forefront of her mind, and by the time the intercom signaled the lunch period she was feeling considerably calmer. The time to silently observe others had, as well, alerted her to something she probably should have noticed earlier: Mello was back. Would her previous objective be reinstated now? He seemed to have far less of a bulletin presence this time, so perhaps not. Still, though, it bore investigating.

None of her thoughts were visible, of course, as she moved through the line, examining the lunch selection somewhat dubiously. Now with the benefit of Yuuko's memories she might recognize the food, but she certainly didn't share the enthusiasm for it that her imaginary self apparently had. Ayumu skipped past that part and settled for the salad bar and some bread, then positioned herself in a place where she could watch both the door and the rest of the room, setting her journal open in front of herself as though planning to write something. There was far too much that she'd missed, too much work to do now.

[for Okita]

Comments

[zack-fair.livejournal.com]

So it was about gathering information, huh? Zack knew how important that would be, but at this point he knew woefully little about his situation. He intended to find out more, of course, but he wasn't sure if he'd ever be able to learn anything that Aidou hadn't already found out for himself. The kid just had so many more days under his belt that Zack got the feeling that anything of note that he discovered would just be old news.

Still, he could keep things in mind just in case. Aidou was implying that there were still many things he didn't know, which meant that Zack might just end up stumbling on something new or different.

And then came the question about his fighting ability. In a way, that was the best skill that Zack had to offer. At this point, he kind of hated to admit it after being condescended to by the very company he'd worked for for so long (not anymore), but he knew it was what he was the best at. He had a knack for fighting, even for killing, and he couldn't deny that. He'd just have to stay proud of his skills and make sure to use them for the right reasons.

"Yeah, I'm a soldier of sorts, so I've been professionally trained. I'm best with a sword," Zack explained. Materia would have been helpful, but it wasn't the sort of thing he expected he could find here, especially if this was a whole different planet from Gaia. He knew it would pointless to rely on magic in the first place, though, so if he could just miraculously find himself a sword...

[idolism]

“Who isn’t around here…” Aidou mumbled at the pizza he picked up again before saying, louder, “I see.”

Being ‘professionally trained’ in whatever way was common, but not quite common enough to become a general assumption. Swordsman, though… they were getting there. Swords weren’t a rare speciality by any means--everyone Aidou knew was at least proficient with them, and Ichijou favored his style of blade--but every non-vampire under the sun here seemed to favor them, too.

Their practicality gave them points, of course. Still, the vampire wasn’t terribly surprised by Zack’s admission.

“Weapons like that are possible to obtain,” he revealed to the man. “You can get knives and pipes and things on the second floor, but there are also a few prisoners capable of making more complex weapons so long as you have the materials that go into them, I believe. Don’t ask me how. If you ask carefully on the bulletin in the Sun Room, one might get in touch with you and tell you more.” He took a bigger bite of pizza slice and swallowed. “But that’s good, good that you have some skills. There are some areas one can’t venture alone. I might borrow you to make a little group, then.”

If you last. And Aidou could get away with it.

[zack-fair.livejournal.com]

While Zack had already been interested in this conversation, he was even more intrigued when Aidou revealed that it was actually possible to get a sword here. If he could manage that, then he would really be in business. He shot the boy a grin. He knew it would never match up to the Buster Sword, but Zack had already passed that on to someone else. Once again, he hoped that Cloud was safe, wherever he was.

The process for getting a weapon made almost sounded like Materia Fusion. Gather up all the necessary components, combine them all together, and then out came a sword. This talk about a bulletin was new to him, too, and Zack was becoming more and more aware of the fact that he had a lot to learn.

"I'll look into it, thanks," he said sincerely. As for being "borrowed" into a group, Zack realized that it was far from him to refuse. While part of him wanted to work as his own person rather than under someone else's orders, he owed it to Aidou for being so patient with him.

"You got it," he added with a nod. "You ever need me for something, just let me know." He gave the kid a thumbs-up and then straightened in his chair when the intercom went off. So that was all for this meal, huh?

Letting out a sigh, Zack stood from his seat and gave Aidou one last smile. "Thanks again for all your help." Now he'd have to ask one of the nurses about that bulletin board...

[idolism]

He was used to mentoring other people. For all that’d been left unsaid--there were a hundred tips and warnings he could’ve given Zack, after all, some of which were better left on paper--Aidou had touched on some of the more important points. Combined with some sense and the Institute’s swift learning curve, the guy had a pretty good start, didn’t he?

The vampire would keep him in mind, too. Usually if either of them were going to write the other off, whether because Aidou found something lacking, or Zack knew a vampire when he saw one, it would’ve happened much earlier in the conversation. A workable acquaintance was always something to keep in mind. And there was time enough to consider his options… more than twenty-four hours before he could attempt the basement again, and with the preparation that went into it, tomorrow night was an overly optimistic judgment.

“You’re welcome,” the noble replied, and waggled his fingers at Zack in an idle goodbye. He still had a couple of slices of pizza to eat before he was collected by his own nurse. He could do it. “I’m sure we’ll see each other.”