damned_institute | Day 52: Sun Room

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Day 52: Sun Room

No better way to start the day than with a bucket full of sunshine, huh? Too bad that'd been the opposite.

In the end, Yuffie had been more than glad to escape. All the angst and sap and drama; it'd been too much, and way too personal. She'd done her best, for her friend's sake, but that Tomoe chick was gonna be hard work. Why couldn't Kenshin have asked for her help in something simple, like killing the big bad of the day?

… Oh, wait.

Groaning, the young ninja gave up on just walking through the sun room. What kind of a way to cheer herself up was that? No, she needed something interesting—she needed a distraction. Walking on her hands wasn't a whole lot better than walking on her feet, but it did get Plucky going.

"Hanna, stop that this instant! You'll break your neck."

"Oh, come on; only a moron'd kill themselves doin' a handstand. They're child's play!" Yuffie, after shifting her weight to her left hand, waggled a finger at her nurse. "It's a waste of my prodigious talent, actually. You really should be grateful." She hopped forward several more paces before dropping her hand back down.

"Be that as it may," Plucky replied, doubtfully. "I must insist."

"Insist away," said Yuffie, nonchalantly, pausing just long enough to let a cat stroll past her.

"You'll disturb the other patients!"

"Your face'll disturb the other patients." It was petty, and it was childish, but Yuffie didn't care; it was getting her what she wanted. And what she wanted was something to laugh at, something to poke at, something that, while it kept her wandering attention in the here and now, didn't really require her to think.

[For Kaito~]

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Poor ol' Plucky didn't stand a chance, Yuffie thought victoriously. The kill-joy old bat was falling for it hook, line, and sinker.

… 'Cept, maybe she was falling a little too far.

The argument was looking ready to escalate; Plucky looked harried, and two wrong words short of going for the needles. Yuffie just grinned, blasé, a whole repertoire of choice insults and asides waiting in the wings. She wasn't looking to get sedated, but geez; she needed to do something…

"Hey; I've been looking everywhere for you!"

She knew that voice! And—yeah, there he was, striding over casually… Kuroba Kaito. But what was he playing at? He wasn't seriously trying to help her out, was he? Surprise flashed across Yuffie's face, too quickly for her to stop it—and, luckily, too quickly for Plucky to catch it. The nurse was startled, too, anyway; she'd puffed up like a chocobo, whirling around to face the interloper.

"Yeah, and you sure took your time about it," Yuffie replied, affecting amiable exasperation, before Plucky could get a word in. If Kaito was offering her a save, she wasn't gonna turn him down. It wasn't like she'd be losing out on much, since he'd make just as good a distraction as the nurse.

"I— oh, very well," Plucky snapped. "I'll leave you to it. Behave, Hanna. I will be watching."

The nurse walked away, shaking her head. Yuffie waved cheerfully after her, calling out a chirpy "don't break any mirrors!", before swivelling around to eye her unexpected aid. "Feeling generous this morning?" she asked, with just a hint of gratitude mixed in with her casualness.

Kaito only paid the nurse any attention once she started walking away. He gave her a small wave of his own as Yuffie called out her farewells, and he watched until she was well out of ear-shot before turning back towards Yuffie.

"Amused is more like it," he answered. "I got a laugh out of watching you, so I thought I'd return the favor and get the nurse off your back. But yes, I guess I am feeling generous, too. I'll take that as a 'thank you'."

He glanced in the nurses direction. She'd obviously been startled by his arrival, but... He gave her a playful smile and added, "Then again... She certainly didn't waste any time beating a retreat, so maybe I was actually doing her the favor in the end. Tell me, Yuffie: do you often harass nurses?"

Thank you? How presumptuous.

… Well, as long as he'd been laughing with her, and not at her, Yuffie supposed she could let it slide. And it was, she had to admit—privately, in the back of her own mind—close enough; he had saved her from the sucky fate of sedation, without depriving her of the distraction she was craving.

"It's a give and take relationship," she replied nonchalantly. Any time with her nurse that wasn't spent bickering was time wasted, as far as Yuffie was concerned. She'd just as soon be rid of all of 'em; nurses, orderlies, therapists… but, hey. If she was here and they were here, might as well put 'em to some good use. "And a great way to blow off steam."

After shifting her weight, Yuffie pushed up off her hands and flipped out of the handstand.

Kaito laughed, taking a seat nearby. "I'll take your word on that," he said. "Maybe I'll even try it myself; I could do with blowing off some steam lately."

Between Hattori and Kudou and trying to cover his tracks, and being no closer to getting out of here than he'd been weeks ago, he was getting frustrated. It was easier, somehow, to focus on the little things, like cheering Hattori up when he needed it or saving Yuffie from getting disciplined at the point of a needle, so that he wouldn't break, but... As much as he hated to admit it, he was starting to get worn. He was ragged around the edges; he wasn't as careful in his acting as he should have been, and he was slowly becoming more concerned with just making it through the night instead of trying to investigate what he could. Yukari might've been gone now, but he, at least, still needed to look into the matter of their fathers...

He watched in silence as Yuffie flipped back onto her feet, and gave a small round of applause. "Very nice," he commented, deciding that he really did feel generous today. The gymnastics were simple, but it still was kind of fun to watch.

"Put on a show," Yuffie suggested, raking her fingers through her hair. Walking around upside down for ten minutes had left it a mess, and her little flip hadn't helped any. "Draw in a crowd. People are suckers for a bit of variety, 'specially around here."

It was the same thing, day in, day out. Boredom after boredom after boredom, drama after drama, fight after fight, trauma after trauma. The repetition of it was like a pounding deep in the back of the skull. How many more people was she gonna lose, before it was all over? How had it gotten so bad that she'd even think to ask herself that question? No wonder she had to resort to this—baiting nurses, not just for petty amusement, but to tell herself that she still had it in her.

"And that," she added breezily, after throwing herself down into another empty seat, "was too easy even for a warm-up. There's enough room here that I could really have some fun, but, y'know, getting dog-piled by orderlies isn't on my to-do list."

Putting on a show... Yeah, that could work. He'd done a few odd tricks here and there, but if he could get a few more props, prepare some good tricks... It didn't even have to be anything particularly flashy; just some good ol' card magic might be enough to put on a good (albeit small-scale) show. Yeah. Yeah, he could definitely do that.

He shot Yuffie a grin. "Maybe I will," he said. "Of course, I'd better see you in the front row... Unless you'd be willing to be my lovely and talented assistant."

The sarcasm in Kaito's voice was practically tangible, but it was meant in good fun. What little he'd seen of Yuffie's skills was good to begin with, and if she was really as good as she was claiming to be... Then she was really good. He wouldn't quite believe it 'til he saw for himself, but when it came to magic, quick fingers and a penchant for focusing attention where one wanted it was essential. Her theft in town had proven she had at least that much skill.

Getting jumped by a bunch of burly dudes in scrubs sounded almost as appealing as swapping spit with a Malboro, but the more Yuffie thought about it, the more she wondered—maybe it'd be worth it? Just for a few minutes; just for the rush; just to see how far she'd get…

With a flicker of a gleaming grin at the prospect of upcoming mischief, Yuffie set the idea to simmer. Just in time, too; seconds later, Kaito was whipping out the sarcasm.

"You kiddin'?" Yuffie retorted, her grin turning cocky. "I'd steal the show." And the audience's valuables, she added silently. It'd bring back fond memories: like that time in Costa Del Sol, and, ooh, there'd been that incident Kalm, way back when. She'd been fourteen and on the road alone, like always, and a few quick tricks had netted her enough gil to buy three potions, an ether, and her first inn-stay in a month. Eastern beds had never felt better.

"That is, if it'd be worth my time to show up in the first place."

"You could certainly try to, Ms. Thief... though I think you'll find I don't give up the spotlight easily..." Kaito retorted, laughing easily. "Let alone allow someone to steal it from me!"

He took a few steps around a short table to drop into a chair near Yuffie's. "Any show of mine is definitely worth seeing," he added, raising a hand. With a flourish, he produced one of the paper flowers he'd made yesterday in arts and crafts with Kay. "My performance for you and Yukari the other day? That was barely a 'warm-up'."

Lack of preparation put a bigger damper on things than he cared to admit—he was a magician, and he should be able to do magic anywhere, with anything! He just needed to start improvising more, to collect anything he could get his hands on and keep his pockets full so that he could pull out whatever he needed to make a trick really work at the drop of a hat. He just needed to think of the lack of material as a challenge instead of a setback.

There he went again, calling her a thief!

"Well, Mr. Pickpocket, the challenge is half the fun," Yuffie countered, still grinning. "If I thought you were gonna make it easy for me, I wouldn't bother in the first place." Unless it was a necessity. But, even then, she'd rather get stuck into something interesting—something with spice, something with bite.

She sprawled back in her chair, caught in an odd limbo between relaxed and restless, and watched Kaito 'magic' a paper flower into her his hand. He really wasn't half bad at sleights, Yuffie had to admit… He didn't hesitate, or fumble; it was like he'd practiced so much they'd become second nature. "Nice flower," Yuffie said, rolling her eyes.

(… Actually, it really was a nice flower. It just wasn't as good as one of hers.)

"That stuff, this stuff—child's play," she agreed. Her grin turned challenging. "I could do it in my sleep. And, for all I know, your other tricks are no different."

Another flourish, and the flower disappeared once more. "Thanks," Kaito said cheerily, despite the rolling of the eyes that had accompanied the compliment. He was going to choose how to take it, and he chose face value: a compliment was a compliment.

"You'll just have to see, won't you? A magician should never perform the same trick twice, and I'd rather save them for a larger audience... For the show. And hey, maybe we could just share it," he suggested.

He shrugged a moment later. "Wouldn't be as fun as competing over it, but it would be more enjoyable for the audience. You could do... whatever it is you do as my opening act."

"Or the competition could be part of the show." Yuffie didn't really know anything about these things; she worked alone (except for when she didn't), and while flaunting her abilities was totally cool… "I dunno," she admitted, brightly. "I'm a ninja, not a showman. Tricks, sleight, and kicking ass; that's my game."

Following somebody else's lead… Ah, could she really do it? Did she want to do it? He had said 'my' opening act.

Suddenly, she laughed. "Ah, y'know, I have a friend — he looks real good in a dress." If it'd give her the opportunity to publicly humiliate Cloud, she was all for it! The bruises on her cheek weren't so bad, as bruises went, but they stung—and so did her pride.

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Day 52: Sun Room

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