Day 49: Evening - Bus 3

[doneinthree]

Kirk had barely begun to dry when a nurse appeared to order them to the buses, but he left the warm shelter of the sheriff's office without complaint, and without even bothering to do up the buttons of his coat. The apprehension which had been edging around his thoughts all day was unignorable now, although probably only those who knew him could read it in the urgency of his movements. To the nurses he passed, he simply seemed like another patient in a rush to get out of the rain.

Last week's trip had apparently ended with everything exploding into mayhem at the end of the day, so fact that they were getting as far as the bus was a good sign — probably. Kirk for one would let himself relax once he was sure they weren't all about to be drowned. With this rain, there was little chance of gathering the crew again to discuss their findings, but he'd still rather get there soon enough to make sure they were all accounted for.

As luck would have it, Kirk's speed put him among the first dozen to board the buses. The nurse giving pat-downs before scolded him for not dressing properly, which he deflected with a grin and a cheerful suggestion of how else she could handle him. With how quickly she pushed him on the bus after that, it was too bad Kirk didn't actually have anything to smuggle back.

He chose a seat near the front, and settled in to look out the window for familiar faces. You had to hand it to Landel's staff — at the rate the prisoners were being rounded up, they'd be off in this hellish storm in no time.

[Roxas]

Comments

[notthistrain.livejournal.com]

Well, this was a surprise. It looked like they were being taken back to the buses after all. After all the warnings he'd been given, Cloud had expected all of hell to break loose once it started getting dark, or for nighttime to fall instantaneously like the dropping of a curtain. But here they were, being led back onto the same monstrosities that had brought them there.

Joy.

The screwdriver he'd stolen earlier was so small he managed to fit it in his sock just under his foot and walk without limping, though they didn't even ask him to take off his shoes - possibly due to the rain. He might have been slightly distracting the nurses by asking if one of them would just walk back with him instead so he could avoid the ride (which this nurse seemed to take as flirting, though that was purely unintentional).

Yuffie had a good idea, and Cloud decided to sit closer to the front this time. That would make escape just that much easier once the buses had stopped again. Though maybe he'd be more prepared this time, now that he knew what the ride would be like? ...Probably not.

[for Tifa]

[36-24-35.livejournal.com]

After all her inner reprimanding at the nurses for their obsessive compulsion over the rain and the patient's well-being, because god help them if they get some water on them, Tifa felt like an ass now that she had to run from Pearl's to the buses in this shitty weather. She felt like--and probably looked like--a soggy Coeurl and with the same attitude. Okay, so yes, rain wasn't very fun to traipse about in. Lesson learned. The brunette was glad her bright yellow hood was up to hide the scowl she was finally able to wipe off once she made it onto the bus. Stomping on the steps to dislodge what water she could from herself, Tifa moved on down the line.

She was too involved in pondering how the hell she was going to dry her hair that young fighter almost missed the one person she had been looking for all day. Backtracking only a step, Tifa's mood instantly brightened as she smiled down at her friend. "Saving that seat for anyone?"

[notthistrain.livejournal.com]

At the voice, Cloud instantly looked relieved and shook his head. "No, please take it." Before someone more likely to belt him if he tossed his cookies on them did.

It was good to see Tifa. He'd caught a few glimpses of her on the ride over, but had completely missed her while in the town itself. It wasn't as if a few grumpy townsfolk or a bit of rain was going to give much cause for worry, but you never knew in a place like this. That's why he'd rather keep track of everyone, and why the fact that he hadn't seen Aerith really bothered him. She had to still be around.

But he wasn't going to immediately bother his new seatmate with those concerns. "So, how was your day?" Cloud smiled as he asked, then reached down to remove his shoe and relocate the small screwdriver before he forgot about it. If they did run across danger soon, he'd hate to be fumbling around for it then.

[not-rly-fai.livejournal.com]

The day had been rainy, but all in all, uneventful. After meeting Ranulf, he'd only wandered and eaten and now, thankfully, they were on their way back. Everyone was being rounded up to the buses like usual, making it seem as if last week had never happened.

He took a seat, fairly exhausted after a long day and still recovering somewhat from his injuries a few nights before. They were no longer dangerous, but he wasn't at the peak of health either. It was tempting to just sleep the night away and wait for tomorrow. In fact, as he took a seat and leaned his head against the window, it might even be nice to get a head start. He let his eye close and pulled his jacket a bit tighter around himself.

[Oh Sechsy you're so fine, you're so fine you-]

[sixth-attack.livejournal.com]

DAMN that stupid PAIN in the ASS, WALLY!!

UGH!! The NERVE of that guy! Sechs couldn't believe he had lost that stupid dare! He didn't care about losing his coupon to Twin Pines; it was too late to visit that restaurant anyways. It was the fact that Wally could continue to pester Sechs and tease him about his loss was what bothered him to no end! That and the blasted polish adorning some of his nails! As soon as he had escaped the hellish bowels of Pearl's salon, Sechs was already picking and chewing away at the fresh coats of nail polish like a wild dog ripping apart an unwanted leash.

His recent loss and the unwanted colors on his nails brought Sechs into such a foul mood that he wasn't as relieved as he should have been when everyone was led to the buses without any violent incidents. No zombies or catastrophic weather so far, and Sechs managed to catch glimpses of those he knew entering the three buses, so there wasn't a need for any emergency meetings. That was good and all, but right then Sechs just wanted to tend to his wounded ego and vandalized nails in peace.

After receiving a troublesome pat down from the staff (the nurses wouldn't let Sechs keep his hands in his pockets during the inspection, but at least he managed to hide the colored nails by tucking them into his fists) Sechs stomped into the bus with a scowl. Once inside, he was dismayed to find that most of the seats had already been taken. So much for having a private spot to safely scratch the paint off his nails...

Stuffing his hands back into his pockets with a gruff sigh, Sechs slouched down the aisle and heavily plunked himself down on a seat. He had been too muddled up in his humiliation to see who he was sitting with until it was too late.

Oh crap. It was Fai! One of the last people Sechs needed around now that he was suffering the consequences of his lost dare! Sechs didn't need another pest to take amusement out of his colored ordeal! But by the looks of it, the blond was taking a nap. Maybe if Fai stayed that way, Sechs could still pick the polish off without harassment before they returned to the institute.

Ever so carefully, he brought his hands out of hiding and began scratching off the paint, occasionally eying his seatmate with caution...

[not-rly-fai.livejournal.com]

It was hard not to notice when someone nearly threw themselves into the seat beside you. He hadn't had time to fall asleep, but it didn't keep him from startling slightly when disturbed. Opening his one good eye, he glanced over, only to see it was a familiar face, though he was scratching wildly at his fingernails.

"Aw, and it's such a pretty color," he commented with a yawn, not at all trying to hide the pale blue gloss coat he'd gotten on his fingernails earlier in the day. It was a pity he hadn't been there when Sechs had gotten his painted. It probably would've been even more fun than seeing Ranulf's reaction.

Without so much as a word, he leaned over onto his companion's shoulder, propping his wrist and his chin atop it so he could better see the carnage on his poor cuticles.

"Or are you trying for the bad boy look?"

[dualistic]

It shouldn't have surprised him, really. This was the exact thing he could see Landel getting a kick out of. Even if the zombies hadn't been in the doctor's plans (and that was debatable), Harvey could see how he would want to scare the patients with the possibility of another round of it, only for everything to go smoothly.

Well, other than the townspeople having "glare" as their default expression and the rain, but those could be handled.

While Harvey's trip hadn't been great, it hadn't been terrible either. Except for that annoying kid that he'd had to deal with in the pet shop, but that was hours ago and he could put it from his mind easily enough. And even though he knew he shouldn't be thinking this way, he was glad to be going back to the institute. The town had nothing to offer as far as he could tell, whereas in the hospital itself there might actually be the potential for progress.

Or so he tried to tell himself. Harvey had gotten to a point where hope and belief were feelings he almost had to fabricate, but he knew he'd eventually get fed up with trying and spiral back into cynicism again. If he wasn't already drowning in it as much as he was in this rain.

Sighing to himself, the man took a seat in the bus and then finally pulled his hood back. He'd done a decent job of keeping his bandages dry, at the very least, but right now all he wanted to do was get back to his room so that he could peel them off.

[For Nam.]

[vitale.livejournal.com]

Oops.

By the time the bus began to move, Bella couldn't stay asleep anymore. Jolted out of her dreams (almost literally. The bus was rather rocky, after all. Weren't most bus trips as such?) the teenager blinked low lidded eyes and peered around, groggy thoughts assaulting her for a moment before she turned and looked out the small window.

Oops indeed.

"Uh oh," Bella said aloud to no one at all but herself, a frown crossing her lips. So, she had apparently slept the entire day away. Great. Finally, a chance to explore something that wasn't an insane asylum and wasn't populated by killer creatures (she hoped.) and she had missed it.

Sighing to herself and leaning back in her seat, she crossed her arms over her chest and proceeded to stare unhappily out the window.

At least I'm well rested? she tried to tell herself as she watched the scenery pass her by. However, her mental attempt to look on the bright side fell on deaf ears, and she simply continued to pout.

[runner-up-robot.livejournal.com]

After sitting just outside the rain and feeling sorry for himself for the entire second half of the day, Forte pulled himself together enough to be shepherded to the buses. The emotional numbness was wearing off, and he was trying to cheer himself up and regain some of the enthusiasm from the morning.

After all, he wasn't worried about Sheena before, was he? It's not like his life had to revolve around the one girl. And it was Yukari who'd told him he was "in love" and she was obviously a terrible source for advice. The best thing would be to just forget the whole thing, and move on now that he was healed up - he had more important priorities and plenty of other allies besides. What did his stupid feelings have to do with anything?

All in all, it wasn't working very well...

Without particularly looking where he was going, he sat next to a sleeping girl, and slumped forward against the seat in front of him. At least it would be night soon. Around here, the nights just made more sense.

He barely noticed when the girl woke up, and didn't even acknowledge as much.

[vitale.livejournal.com]

By the time Bella realized that there was someone sitting next to her she had been awake for a few minutes, and finally she turned to look at the young man in surprise, a slight blush coloring her cheeks.

Oops times two.

She watched in silence as he slumped forward to the seat in front of them, and she chewed on her lip, wondering if she should talk to him or simply let him sit there and think about whatever it was he was thinking about. After all, would it be rude to ask since she had never met him?

That didn't stop Bella either way. They were all kidnapped from their homes, weren't they? They were all in this nightmare together. "Are you ... uh, okay?"

[jouer-sans-voir.livejournal.com]

All of the warnings about the week previous, as vague as they had been, seemed to be proved unnecessary once the nurses started herding their charges back toward the buses for departure. It was more than a little bit of a relief, enough to drown out the mild dismay that they had to venture back out into the foul weather just after they'd managed to dry off from the last time. Nunnally displayed none of that, of course, and only smiled politely at the staff as she left the wheelchair behind and carefully climbed back onto the bus with her brother close behind.

The bus was still fairly empty, and she chose the first empty row, not wanting to test her not entirely trustworthy balance on a walk any longer than that. Once settled she removed her hat again and let it drip onto the floor with her nose slightly wrinkled. "And it just recovered from its last soaking," she observed, with a mournful air. "Poor thing will never be the same."

[kingside]

An immense weight left Lelouch's shoulders when they returned to the buses for the ride back. It wasn't exactly perfect, he knew, but as long as the possibility of being stranded in Doyleton again had been eliminated, he had at least one less thing to be worried about. The rain was a different matter, but as he shook off his coat and took the seat next to Nunnally, he decided that just this once, he might be able to let it go. The nurses' negligence was a far greater crime anyway.

"It lived a full life," he said aloud, doing his best to match his sister's tone and adopt an appropriately somber expression. The faint, amused smile he wore wasn't helping the act very much, but he could let that go, too. "Whatever this experience has done to it, I'm sure it has no regrets."

[jouer-sans-voir.livejournal.com]

"It was a very nice hat, and didn't really deserve that kind of abuse." Nunnally sighed and draped the hat over her knee to let it dry as much as it could before they reached the Institute again. "It's a very cute hat, too, but in this kind of weather I think I would've been better off with something more waterproof. Perhaps they simply didn't think the storm would end up as bad as it was."

Against a mild drizzle as they had in the morning, it would have certainly been sufficient. Against an outright downpour, however, it had done little save keep her head a bit warmer. "Better mere rain than the possible alternatives, though," she continued, glancing back up at him again. "Everyone seemed so concerned, I'm glad nothing happened."

[diamondstorm]

The day had been quiet, comparatively, and she spared a moment to think about the first week she had came, and speaking with Orihime and Jiraiya. She had been more serious, the Digimon reflected, more determined in her actions. And yet, glancing backwards, it seemed so light-hearted. Was it because she had enjoyed their company that much? Or was it something else.

The weight she carried had lessened at Nataku's intervention, and the fact of the rain itself seemed to lighten something on the basis of being from nature. As a Digital being, she didn't know if there was something unbalanced about that reassurance, having nothing natural about her self. But in the end, it held, and even as the past few weeks melded into something unwanted, the rain seemed a comfort--something there, dependable in its chaotic ways. She leaned an elbow on the window, placing her chin in her hand, and watched the drops fall.

[Yukari]

[remedying.livejournal.com]

The day was quiet, spent catching up with those she knew; Yukari was glad to know they can be assured she was all right now, and that they didn't have to worry about her well being any longer. It hadn't been everyone, however, but it was a start.

So when Yukari hopped on to a bus chosen at random, she was gratefully surprised to notice yet another familiar face was amongst the seated crowd-- and alone. Right away she made a beeline in their direction.

"Hey, Renamon-san," Yukari greeted, leaning against the seat before sitting down. She wanted to make sure she was okay with the company before occupying the seat. "Mind if I join you?"

[diamondstorm]

Her brain processed instantly, placing the voice before she looked up. Still the Digimon's expression was perfect surprise, bordering shock. Yukari. After the days gone... Had she gave up or just succumbed? Renamon couldn't say what her thoughts had been, but it remained: She had accepted Yukari as something lost.

And here the girl was, speaking her name. She hadn't forgotten.

The Digimon shifted to face her. "Yukari." And here, what to say. "...Are you... Are you all right?"

[number-crunch.livejournal.com]

Sho's clothes were soaked. He was still hungry. He'd gotten shot up with drugs again. The one, singular trowel Sho had smuggled out of the hardware store, a token victory in his quest to obtain a new shovel, had been confiscated.

Today had not been a particularly good day.

Stumbling and grumbling, Sho flopped down in a seat near the back, not caring as his head turned 45 degrees to lean against the window.

"This zetta sucks," he muttered.

[Free]

[swornandbroken.livejournal.com]

[Hope you don't mind!]

Mello was in a worse mood than ever. He'd run across Mafia hideouts that were easier to get into than that office. Of course, his gun would've made an excellent substitute for an appointment. He kicked at a puddle as he stalked along the sidewalk, awful orange hood up and hands jammed in his pockets again. It looked like the staff was starting to round up the prisoners to take them back to their cages.

Yeah, fuck that.

Mello had accepted that the outer reaches of the Institute's borders, for lack of a better term, were impossible to get past in one night. With a head start, though, say by being in Doyleton already at nightfall... Even if that didn't help, the satisfaction of eluding capture might keep it from feeling like a total exercise in futility.

He didn't hurry; he just walked, as if he were plodding back like a good little inmate, heedless of the rain. There had to be a restroom in that Tasty Burger place. He didn't get to find out if it would've made a good hiding place or not. One of the orderlies was guarding the likely-looking hallway, and he was easily bigger than Rod Ross.

"Hey, man," Mello said. "I've gotta, you know."

"Not right now, you don't." The giant bastard nodded, and another orderly stepped up behind Mello and took him ungently by the arm, clearly intent on enforcing curfew.

He wrenched his arm away. "You don't have to manhandle me, Christ. I'm going."

Tall, Dumb, and Burly walked him to the bus, where Mello endured in scowling silence the further indignity of being patted down, and flipped the vee sign behind his back as he got on. Here he was again, pissed and miserable, with wet hair as the cherry on top of the cake of horribleness. No, make that no empty spaces as the whipped cream around the-- Whatever. Mello headed for the back, and dropped into a seat next to a guy about his age, who looked as happy as he felt himself. "Charming town," he drawled. "Think I'll retire here."

[number-crunch.livejournal.com]

"Pfft. 'Charm' is garbage. Crunch!" growled the Reaper, smacking a fist into his palm. "I'll add it to the heap. This town is so zetta boring, I'd rather terminate my own function than be stuck here."

He slumped back in his seat, still feeling the drugs and general depression. The scene was so lacking in Imagination - even the graffiti had no Soul. This artificial matrix was just another set-up by the head decagon.

"At least the necropascals last week made it just a milligram more interesting."

[rischiarare.livejournal.com]

Overall, Doyleton had been kind of boring. But with one and a half ice creams sitting in his stomach, the Nobody couldn't really complain. He'd spent the day with good company - he was always glad to spend time with Axel, especially if it was just eating and talking and sitting around like the old days. Roxas was still teetering about his feelings regarding Sora, but every time he did meet up with his Other, he felt a little better about it. He was... nice. It was kind of hard to actively dislike him.

As glad as he was to get out of the rain, the pat-down a nurse gave him while both of them were getting soaked to the bone made him think: he probably could've spent his time doing something more useful. But if Sora was right - if the Keyblade came out when he was in danger - he couldn't have a better weapon. He was made to wield them. Literally.

Seeing as he was only eager to get off his feet, Roxas fell into the nearest unfilled seat, giving the other guy sitting there a glance out of the side of his eye. He wasn't looking this way, but Roxas still spoke up. "Hope you don't mind if I sit here."

[doneinthree]

Even while trying to focus on identifying the figures running past his rain-streaked bus window, Kirk's attention wandered. As far as he could tell, they were right on schedule for getting back to the hospital before nightfall: the sun was still in the sky, the seats were rapidly filling up, and he could see orderlies dismantling the tarp covers in front of the other buses. Yet that instinct which had served him so well in the last few years would not allow him to relax.

What was Landel planning for them?

Distracted as he was, Kirk didn't look over at the person who sat down beside him until they spoke, and was surprised to see a teenage boy. No older than fifteen, maybe a couple years younger — the kid was small, almost too small to be in a nightmare prison like this, if you were judging by appearance alone. But Kirk had seen plenty of kids here, and had even talked to one — Sora — who'd seemed like a Landel's Institute veteran. As rough as it was to see children in this place, he really shouldn't be shocked anymore.

"Not at all," Kirk assured him. He glanced out the window again, then back at the blond-haired young man with a rueful smile. "Figures it rains on the only day you could have a decent date with a cute girl, huh?"

[feartehreaper.livejournal.com]

Of course, it just had to be that in the end, any preparations taken toward a repeat of the last visit to Doyleton fell flat once the nurses began to usher the patients back onto the buses. Haseo was sullen as he boarded, steps deliberately heavy and expression just as dark as the clouds continuing to dump water everywhere. It wasn't that he wanted to fight the zombies again, just that he was sure some people might be feeling more relieved that they probably should. Because they were leaving didn't mean they were out of danger yet.

Being on a bus, weaponless and packed in with so many others while the veiled sun quickly approached the horizon... that was not something Haseo considered a good thing. He refused to feel even a tiny bit safer until he was where he knew the land just a little better and, more importantly, had one or both of the swords Leon had made him in hand.

The Adept Rogue slid into a seat by himself, not really paying attention to anyone else at first aside from ensuring his friends at least followed him on. He still hadn't caught up with Tsukasa, Alkaid, or Kibitoshin again yet, but that was probably half his fault, considering he hadn't expected to get caught up dealing with others'... emotional states as much as he had. He moved close to the window, hoping to wipe off the condensation enough to look out, but it proved to be a lost cause- he was absolutely drenched, and he was forced to give up when he only seemed to make the window wetter.

Instead he looked around the bus and... was that Nunnally with-- that was Lelouch, right? Was he the brother she'd mentioned? Haseo stared ahead of him while he searched his memory for previous indication of that fact, but came up with nothing aside from being re-reminded the institute's staff were absolute low-lifes for bringing in people like that. Probably no use worrying about her any more though. Not that he really had the concern to spare, anyway.

[stlg13bomber.livejournal.com]

"One more hour? Please? Five more minutes?" The trip was over far too early for poor Carter, who'd wandered the town in a gleeful daze and asked the townspeople completely random questions that only solidified their impressions of him as a crazy person. He dug in his heels when the guards came to collect him and nearly had to be dragged to the buses.

The nurses were performing searches, a procedure that Carter was used to. At Stalag 13 they were usually pretty thorough, too, the prisoners usually had to dispose of any unusual supplies elsewhere before their groping Germans hands made their way to the end of the line. But these were girl guards and of course girls were subjected to certain rules about places they could and couldn't search on men...

Carter was walking a little funny when he climbed the stairs, but the animal book made it safely onto the bus. Oh, and there was Haseo! Carter hurried to sit next to him before anyone else could.

"Hi!" he said excitedly, sitting down carefully and putting one arm over his stomach. "So what do you think of our American towns?" Japanese towns were totally different, of course. They didn't have doors on their houses, just sliding paper.

[toobothersome.livejournal.com]

Shikamaru wasn't happy about Sakura's decision, but he wouldn't argue with experience. After she heard about Kakashi she'd fled the room, probably cried and hit a bunch of things and been generally miserable (still was, most likely), but even after all of that, knowing what happened, she'd want to do the whole damn thing over again. Trying to talk sense into her didn't work, and although Sakura's relentless hopefulness was probably good for group morale, it was becoming a pain in the ass for him. There was just so much futility in this place, like running laps around nothing at all with the added bonus of bloodthirsty carnivores. Honestly, if he didn't know that the other Leaf-nin were putting themselves in danger, he'd sleep the whole night through.

But whatever. He had a job to do, and at least now he could do it without the hassle of censoring bulletin notes.

"Hey," Shikamaru said, dropping into the seat beside Sakura when he caught sight of her pink locks. "Great weather."

Hopefully, she knew more about the others than he did.

[see-my-back.livejournal.com]

It'd been difficult to even try reasoning with the nurses about what bus to get on. To her surprise, they'd started loading up patients right on schedule. Apparently a zombie invasion every week wasn't conducive to their mental health. Or something. She tried insisting that she wanted to sit with someone, but even that had only tried the nurse's patience. Luckily, Shikamaru must've seen which one she'd hopped on.

"Yeah, really," she huffed in return. It was hard to tell from the look on his face, but if the bulletin notes were any indication, Shikamaru wasn't having the best of days. If there were more ninja back at the institute tonight, things might get complicated, either way.

She glanced over, sizing him up for a moment. He seemed well enough. "I was going to tell you, I've already got plenty of stuff to treat people. The only thing I'd ask for on top of what I've got is maybe a sewing kit," she shrugged.

"No offense, but as much as I'd love to go running around on research and supply runs, I think I'd do a lot better doing my job and assisting as medic on one of the other teams." It made a whole lot more sense to her to be tagging along with the people going to the most dangerous places. They were the ones who needed a medic after all. But she just hadn't had a lot of involvement in the other nin's assignments, so who knew where they were going? Hanatarou might be on to something with helping out the other patients.