damned_institute | Day 49: Late Afternoon

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Day 49: Late Afternoon - Black Rock Inn

[From here]

It had been a longer walk to the Inn from the park than some of the other buildings they could have taken shelter in, but the reward of the crackling fire was more than enough to make up for it. Bidding the orderly who had guided them there farewell so he and his umbrella could go round up other sopping patients, Yukari, still holding Sheena's hand, immediately gravitated towards the flame.

"Ah, like coming back to life~" she said happily as they came within the radius of its warmth. Throwing back the hood on her jacket, she pulled off the scarf which had gone from warming accessory to neck-chilling sponge. Borders of hot and cold, wet and dry, it seemed she'd be forced to get rid of the chill the old-fashioned way - sitting in front of a roaring fire. Finally letting go of the ninja, Yukari plopped down on the rug before the fire, holding her hands out towards it to bask in its glow.

[To be crashed by some pink dead thing]

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Once inside, Sheena shook her head to fling water off her now restrained hair. She had to admit, the warmth indoors was nice and more so when she spotted the fire. Shedding her jacket and setting it to the side to hopefully dry off before they had to leave, the ninja sat on the hearth, a bit to the side and her back to the fire. Now that felt nice, the heat seeping into her.

"The stones are warm," she idly commented, shifted her foot so it brushed against the youkai in a light form of contact. She liked contact. "I wonder if they bothered to check the forecast before bringing us here today?" Even Sheena had to admit, it was raining far too much now.

Starting to warm up, Yukari likewise shrugged off her jacket now that it was just becoming a moisture trap that felt uncomfortably humid, setting it on the hearth. She didn't really care if it dried much or not considering they'd have to brave the downpour outside again anyway. Yukari never thought she'd think this, but she wanted to return to the Institute, so she could crawl in bed and know she wouldn't have to go out in the rain again.

"I doubt it - he'd probably send us out even if it was hailing," she said, leaning into the touch. Once her hands were nice and toasty, she joined the ninja on the hearth, turning around and sitting beside her, taking the girl's nearest hand in between her own, which were plenty warm from the fire. "For all we know, it's Landel's fault it rained."

Just how much of this world did that man control? This town and its people were his playthings, so why not the weather?

"On the bright side, this is a great excuse to cuddle for warmth," giggled the youkai, leaning against Sheena's shoulder. There was always another side to things, something Yukari knew best of all.

Sheena hadn't realized exactly how cold her hand had been until Yukari took it. It seemed tumbling through the rain-soaked grass in the park had not been the smartest thing to do when it came to the health of her extremities.

"I doubt he can control the weather," the ninja pointed out, even if there was no real way to confirm or deny that theory. "It's really kind of... piss me off if it were true. You know, elemental summoner and all..."

Seeing as there really wasn't anyone around, when Yukari leaned against her, Sheena ninja'd a soft kiss to the youkai's cheek before smiling. "I suppose you're right."

Yukari's fingers curled between the ninja's to help warm her hand up, the icy cold slowly melting away between her palms.

"Yes, that would be another weather-manipulating person who annoys me more than a little," mused the youkai. "People who do that are never up to any good." Even if Yukari was sometimes one of those, but that probably just served to prove her point.

She chuckled at the kiss, turning and nuzzling the girl's cheek in response. "Of course I'm right. I'm always right." Except when she was wrong, but that hardly ever happened.

No sooner had Yukari said this than did a certain ghost of summer snows and absent (or from her perspective, abundant) springs chime in. "Troublemakers to the last," she agreed as she plopped down beside the two with a familiarity rather at odds with the intimate atmosphere they'd been generating, "But always in good company."

The ghost's wanderings around the town had produced little more than a list of foods she was not allowed to eat far longer that the list of those she'd eaten - not an abnormal state of affairs for her, certainly, but being scolded by Youmu afforded opportunities for play the nurses sadly did not. The poor things seemed quite incapable of turning a phrase, so their reprimands lacked the compensatory entertainment value she was used to. Faced with such deprivation it was little wonder she'd sought out her old friend... especially when she had a plaything of her own she might be willing to share. And a fire to warm at besides...

"It's no surprise they're so restless with such well-fed spirits," Yuyuko finished happily. They'd have their pick of the puns now.

It was a good thing Sheena never manipulated the weather, even if she did think she could if she asked the Great Spirits. Which, she supposed, lead to supporting Yukari's claim that they were never up to any good since Sheena tended to be one of those do-gooders.

She snorted, though. "You're not always right," she said, leaning her head against the youkai and closing her eyes.

The ninja felt the approach of the other, figuring it to be one of the staff or an inn employee until the person got closer. Then opening her eyes, she caught sight of that woman, that friend, of Yukari. Her hand tightened about the youkai's a bit possessively. "Restless... who are you talking about?"

Oh? It seemed good things did come to those who waited. Yukari smiled at the approaching ghost, happy to see the one she'd spent all morning search for instead come to her.

"The best of company," the youkai agreed, sitting up and freeing one hand to reach over and squeeze that of her friend. To Sheena's inquiry, she replied, "The troublemakers, no doubt," as Yuyuko was hardly in the habit of explaining herself. Of course, the youkai wasn't a whole lot better.

Ah, but this was probably the first time they'd met, wasn't it? Since she doubted Sheena would seek Yuyuko out and no doubt would have told Yukari if the reverse were true. It seemed introductions were in order.

"Sheena, this is Yuyuko Saigyouji, Princess of the Netherworld," she told the ninja, lifting a hand she was holding at the each name, and again when she did the reverse. "Yuyuko, this is Sheena Fujibayashi, Summoner, Ninja and all around amusing-to-tease person."

"The troublemakers, the dead, and the lovebirds," Yuyuko expanded on Yukari's answer with some oblique teasing, then put a thoughtful finger on her chin. "Though if we fed the birds to the dead, the spirits and the spirit's spirits would both be well-fed."

She clapped her hands and looked to Sheena. "A wonderful state of affairs, wouldn't you say?"

Sheena couldn't help but appraise Yuyuko as Yukari introduced them, still feeling a spark of jealousy despite the events of the previous night. Princess of the Netherworld, huh? She didn't look like a ghost, but then again Forte didn't look like a robot. It made her wonder what Yuyuko normally looked like.

"Hi," the ninja replied after the introductions, mostly to be nice more than anything.

Sheena was a reasonably smart girl, but sometimes she wasn't as quick on the uptake as she could be. At least she was miles ahead of Lloyd and Colette in that department, but that didn't actually say much. She wasn't sure what Yuyuko was referring to. Troublemakers - that would be the weather manipulators, right? The dead - was she referring to herself there being a ghost and all? Except maybe being Princess of the Netherworld didn't actually mean she was dead. Hell, she couldn't remember all Yukari had told her before about Yuyuko.

Lovebirds... Did Yuyuko just call her and-- Sheena looked over at the youkai, a bit of confusion in her eyes. Then her cheeks colored a little. So help her, Martel, if that damn youkai told Yuyuko earlier today what the two of them did the previous night, she was never going to let it happen again. But then, if Yuyuko was talking about feeding them to the dead and--

Nope. Sheena couldn't follow it, but got a distinctly creepy feeling. "Umm... I don't know," she finally said to Yuyuko.

Yukari smiled, pleased that they at least were making the appearance of getting along - though she already knew Sheena's first impressions of Yuyuko weren't going to fade quickly. Of course, at the rate the ghost was going, jealousy might just be replaced by irritation.

"Now, now, there will be no eating of lovebirds in public," she playfully chided Yuyuko, letting go of her hand to swat at her jokingly. "Besides, if you feed the birds to the dead, what will the troublemakers be left with?" Even if she'd already eaten this one. She smirked over at Sheena before turning to the ghost again.

"Why, are they not feeding you enough again? Those mean nurses," Yukari asked with an amused look. How ridiculous that being alive didn't cure her friend of being a hungry ghost - though she supposed, hungry ghosts were far more ridiculous in the first place than hungry humans.

"I would," Yuyuko said, as though there was any doubt. "You should try it some time. But I am pleased to meet any friend of Yukari's, Ms. Uncertain Ninja."

"I can't eat enough," Yuyuko replied to Yukari, affecting a despondent tone. "And they won't even let me eat all I can."

Her eyes turned up to Yukari's, the very image of childish pleading. "Just a nibble?"

...Sheena did not like that nickname any more than Super Destiny Ninja, though she supposed she could tolerate it since Yuyuko was Yukari's... bizarre friend.

"You mean, there's actually a limit to 'all you can eat'? Huh. I didn't think that was possible." food was a conversation that Sheena could follow and understand. She was looking forward to there being non-convoluted talk she couldn't quite keep up with when Yuyuko asked for a bite.

Okay, that's creepy. Just what the hell did the dead princess want to nibble on? Sheena looked both confused and defensive. Yuyuko wasn't talking about her, was she, being Sheena was the human in the room?

"A time limit, perhaps," chuckled the youkai. Though she'd seen some nurses try to curb patients who piled up ridiculous amounts of food, even if they didn't, they would be sure to move her ghostly friend when the shifts changed.

Unfortunately for said ghost, even if it worked on that gardener, Yukari was immune to Yuyuko's pleading - some of the time. This happened to be one of them, or at least the ninja could hope.

"Not even a nibble - this one's mine," she said, wrapping her arms around Sheena possessively. "You'll have to get your own~"

Yuyuko nodded, pouting through both Yukari's quite-correct appreciation of the obstacles she faced and her refusal to offer any help.

"Ah," the ghost gave a theatrical cry of feigned dismay, "Her prison has turned my good friend into a miser that finds good things diminished by sharing. She is the only thing I must want to be mine again."

"Yes, what a cruel, cruel place this world is, for you to be so betrayed," said the youkai. However, rather than theatrical sympathy, Yukari looked more like a villain, smirking and petting the ninja's head like a she were a cat. Bad guys in those movies always had cats, didn't they? All she needed was a high-backed chair, the kind that swiveled.

Still, that didn't mean the currently flustered ninja could remain a passive object in her teasing, at least not for long if she knew Sheena at all. Picking up the girl's hand by the wrist, she raised it up, tapping it against her lips in thought since her own hands were busy at the moment.

"Well, I suppose if it's just a nibble..." she said, offering the hand to the ghost.

And finally Sheena snapped out of her confused stupor, snatching her hand out of Yukari's grasp.

"Hey! Don't you be doing that, you damn youkai. I am not a chew toy, no matter what you might think or any past evidence to the contrary." Oops, she hadn't meant for that last bit to slip out and her face heated up. She crossed her arms despite being held onto by her youkai, and looked away with a 'hmph'. No, she wasn't pouting. She wasn't.

"Ah, she's swallowed her own foot before I could get any~" Yuyuko whined. "And when she's cooking so nicely."

She leaned closer to Sheena. "Such a peculiar meal to be so particular about who eats it..."

Yukari chuckled in amusement at the ninja's slip-up, amusement that only increased with Yuyuko's humor - or possibly serious complaint, it was always hard to tell. Yes, what a lively little party this was now. She smiled and leaned forwards with the ninja in her arms, further trapping the girl between them.

"Peculiar indeed, but that's part of why I find her so interesting," the youkai chuckled. "You'll likely never find another quite like her."

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Day 49: Late Afternoon - Black Rock Inn

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