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]

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[donetakinorders.livejournal.com]

If it wasn't for the fact Raphael knew he'd be sedated in nothing flat, he'd have been across that table in half a second and wiping that stupid little smile right off Pinky's face. As it was, the best he could do was take out his frustrations on his lunch, brutally tearing chunks out of the pizza slices like he hadn't eaten in weeks.

"No, not just sai," he practically snarled. "Me an' my bros all know a buncha weapons, I just like the sai. An' this place is a cakewalk compared to what else we dealt with before. Don't see what all the fuss is about. That is, unless you're from some lame place where things are so easy this is gonna make you fold."

He smirked at that, hoping to get some kind of reaction from the girl. Anything other than that stupid giggling and smiling act.

"So, if you're so good, what stuff do you use? Other than lame magic tricks that is."

[see-my-back.livejournal.com]

How Kakashi could even think for a moment that she and Raphael were similar was completely beyond her. Especially seeing his reaction to doing something as simple as ignoring the majority of his comments. While it was difficult, seeing him squirm for once was pretty satisfying.

"Of course it's easy," she returned. "If it weren't for the fact that we somehow wind up in our beds again every morning, our team would've escaped the very first night without breaking a sweat." That, she was sure, was no idle talk either. She had full confidence in their team!

"The ranking exams we took back home when we were only twelve were much more difficult than this and we survived those just fine," hadn't passed the first time, but then... of the many who entered, only Shikamaru had been able to pass his first time through.

"Anyway," she said with a casual shrug, tossing the remnants of her pizza back on the plate "Taijutsu, that's hand to hand combat," she paused to explain, whether or not he actually knew what it meant, "is something I've been learning since I was a child. It would be a much shorter list to try to find things I haven't excelled in. Shuriken, kunai, bladed weapons, chains, it doesn't really matter. But I certainly don't rely on something like that. My fists are just as good a weapon as anything."

Yes, it was boastful, but most of it was completely true. She hadn't studied and practiced her ass off in the academy for nothing. And after Tsunade's harsh years of training, her power was strong enough to bring down a member of Akatsuki with a little help. And how often did she actually get to brag? Well, aside from the occasional snide comment to Ino-pig...

[donetakinorders.livejournal.com]

Raphael shrugged, obviously unimpressed by how long Pinky said she'd been learning ninjutsu. "My father is also my sensei," he said, and for once his smile wasn't mocking or smug, but rather nostalgic.

"He found the four of us, my brothers an' me, an' raised us. Taught us ninjutsu from the moment we started learnin' how to walk. Everythin' from unarmed to all the weapons a ninja should know. Not to mention how to survive on our own, in case we ever had to split up an' escape anyone." And that part had been pretty damn important as well, since Splinter had always stressed that they never get caught or seen by anyone in the outside world if they could avoid it. Their lives and the safety of their little family depended on it.

Raph chuckled. "Even learned how to make all our weapons from scratch," he said with a note of pride. "So, while I say I like my sai - 'cause I do - it ain't like I can't do just fine without 'em. So I'm gonna be more 'en capable of keepin' up with your little team."

[see-my-back.livejournal.com]

The change in attitude was strange. He wasn't being obnoxious or mad or giving her lip about her ninjutsu, he was just... talking about his family. For about half a moment she felt guilty for picking on him, but she knew all too well exactly how he felt. And dammit she didn't want to know how he felt! That meant they might end up being friendly or something!

Her false smile faded as she gave him one last appraising glance. He knew weapons and taijutsu. He knew how to work as a team and he was probably pissed about this place just as much as she was, even if he showed it in a completely different and moronic way.

Nurses were starting to herd the patients off to the next shift already and while she hadn't eaten much, maybe it hadn't been completely pointless to sit here after all.

"Fine," she said at last, though her voice had lost a mark of venom from the last time she'd addressed him. "We'll see what you've got." It wasn't much, but she was willing to give him a chance. Even if he was a complete jerk.

[donetakinorders.livejournal.com]

Raphael stared at Pinky for a moment, realising he'd probably said a little too much about himself and his family, which felt sort of weird and stuff considering how much they'd been fighting before. His eyebrows drew together and he looked away, pointedly watching the nurses headed in their direction.

"Yeah well, don't think I won't show you up without even tryin'," he said, his voice slightly more forceful than it might have been before. "So you better make sure you can keep up, Pinky. 'Cause I don't make time for people who ain't worth it."

That said, Raphael pushed himself away from the table and turned to follow the stream of patients and nurses out of the cafeteria.