Day 55: Male Showers

[scintillatingly]

The conversation that Sora had had with Sam had definitely made all of the cleaning far more bearable. It wasn't even that they had talked about anything that groundbreaking, but the man had been kind to him and it had given him something else to focus on. All in all, being forced to clean hadn't been as bad as he'd expected

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[moarnomsplz]

Being punished for something he'd had no part in still stung Ax's pride, but he was pleased he had spoken to someone able to understand the difficulties of finding oneself in a very different body. Brainiac 5 had been helpful, even if their conversation had raised more questions than it had answered. The purpose of this place was still a mystery. Ax wondered what Prince Jake would have told him to do, and decided that continuing to blend in as much as possible was the best strategy

[livesbyinstinct]

Kiba was not in the best of moods. He could take scrubbing floors, though it was stupid and menial and irritating, and he had wanted nothing more than to smack his "escort" in the face-and Kiba just about had, though he had by some miracle managed hold himself back. Perhaps it was because he had been able to convince himself that getting angry was exactly what the bitch woman barking orders at him wanted, and he was stubbornly determined to not give the woman any sense of satisfaction. She wanted to break them, just like Landel had. Well, whatever. Like they could ever break him anyway. The Landel bastard with his air-headed staff and deranged pets certainly hadn't. This new management wouldn't either.

Kiba could not, however, tolerate being treated like a child. He wasn't some stupid snot-nosed kid who didn't know his head from his ass. He had stopped being a child the moment he was taught how to kill. So when it became obvious that the guard was escorting him not into the courtyard but into the showers instead, he had visibly

[moarnomsplz]

Ax looked up from his efforts when the young human male, who appeared to be approximately his own age, spoke to him. He was reasonably certain he recognized the tone of voice Tobias had once called 'snide.'

"I am not familiar with this type of clothing-ing," he said, sulkily. He did not wish to request assistance. However, the armed human whose job appeared to be making sure he did not wander off had already objected to Ax's unwitting mistakes with the artificial skins. In the interest of blending in, he needed to keep from calling further attention to himself.

"I prefer a classic look." He used the phrase Rachel had, which had seemed to him to be, unlike Marco's choice of words, complimentary. "Which does not include this strap. Or buttons. Butt-ton-zuh."

The human had not yet completed the strange ritual, in that he had not replaced the garment that was to cover his chest, or the thing called a beray. This did not seem like the most prudent time to bring these omissions to his attention.

[livesbyinstinct]

Kiba arched a jet black eyebrow at his neighbor. "Right." He could only guess at what this "classic look" consisted of if belts and buttons weren't in the running. Who knows, if the guy kept on butchering words like he did, Kiba might even be galled into believing that maybe he hadn't ever set eyes on a button before. Might.

Hell, maybe the kid was just plain weird, and that's all there was to it. Well, whatever. There were weirdos lurking in every corner, and this guy had nothing on the freak that was Shino-not by a long shot. He needed a few more insects crawling out of eyes and a dumber face.

Kiba smirked, flashing a fanged half-grin. "Well, guess you can't help it if this look ain't your thing, but those morons will be up your ass if you can't get yourself looking all nice n' pretty,and you're looking like a wet cat from where I'm standing." Kiba jerked his head towards the belt the teen was holding. "That's called a belt, by the way. You wrap it around your waist-thread it through the loops on your pants. It ain't complicated

[fuzzy_diablo]

Kurt had never been a huge fan of the communal showers either, but he had to admit, getting clean after scrubbing down a dirty cafeteria did sound appealing. Even if he was going to be naked with a bunch of other guys. It had gotten less weird, at least, as time had gone on. In fact, now the only weird thing was how hard it was to get undressed for showers. Belts, buttons, fitted pants--but at least he was out of all those fancy clothes now. Even if he was in... nothing, now.

Eh, it made sense in his head.

Given soap and a towel, Kurt walked into the showers, spotting Peter despite the lack of hair-puff. They hadn't really talked in a while, had they? Since Terry and Logan had disappeared, it seemed like they were at arm's length. Or passing each other briefly.

"Hey Peter!" Kurt said cheerfully, starting up the showerhead next to his friend. "Some morning, huh? Glad to be out of that, strangling collar, yeah?" he grinned.

[fuzzy_diablo]

Kurt felt a little bad for not keeping in better contact with Peter--they both had their well-guarded secrets, and that sort of connection warranted checking in at least once in a while. Peter being worried was a sign to Kurt that he hadn't really been keeping up that connection, so he'd have to do better in the future.

"Yeah, I heard something was going on so I just stayed in my room," Kurt said lamely. He risked a glance back at the soldiers, then looked forward again, shoulders tense. "Looks like things got serious, though. Probably a good thing I stayed out of it, nothing I could have done. It's not like I can--you know--during the day. And if all we got was a slap on the wrist and no breakfast..." Well, whatever had happened must have been put down quickly.

"What did happen yesterday?" Kurt asked, starting in on washing his hair. "I asked someone, she didn't really tell me."

[sdatislife]

The conversation with Minato - the other boy's presence - had helped bolster Shinji throughout that long, long morning of cleaning. It had seemed to take an eternity, but there was finally an end to it and then he had been hustled off to the showers by a grim-looking, rather unfriendly soldier. Once inside and undressed, he had found a shower head for his own use and he stood there, letting the hot water beat down on him.

Maybe he could stay here for a while. Maybe they wouldn't try and drag him back out again. He sighed and let his shoulders drop. Some of his tension was bleeding off and he felt a bit better already - even if he was still in public. Right now there was just him, the water and the echo of droplets off of the tile floor. It was almost peaceful. He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.

He'd wash when he felt up to it.

[For Kaworu.]

[moral_liberty]

The soldiers didn't need to explain much of what was required of him, and so they didn't. Again, they were satisfied with his silence, as long as he complied. There was no reason to change this pattern, and although it was different than it had been in the past, those differences were not substantial. The result was the same. Kaworu didn't register the change of scenery, at least not as a new experience. The presence of these escorts was easily substituted into his memories of the hallways before, and then the showers that he was led to afterwards

[sdatislife]

He didn't notice Kaworu's arrival - his head was bowed, eyes closed. Too focused on the water and trying to lose himself. Trying to figure out who he really was. Shinji Ikari. Sean Inoue. Another Shinji. Which one was he? And why did he try so hard to be different for different people? He wasn't sure. He didn't know.

And then he felt Kaworu's hand on his shoulder. For a moment, he was aware of the texture, the thin, bony strength. Then he was elsewhere for a brief moment, memories (or dreams) swimming into his mind .

It's sunny out and he remembers this - these are the ruins of Tokyo-3. He's talking to a pale boy. Kaworu. Kaworu's fingers tighten and Shinji recoils as the cat's neck snaps-And with a gasp, he was himself again. That had never happened. Had it? He hadn't met Kaworu there. There had been no cat. At least that was how he remembered it. He swayed and braced himself against the wall with one hand as he turned his head to see who had wanted his attention, cringing slightly. Why

[moral_liberty]

Kaworu blinked, but it didn't clear away the uncertainty. With each time it took longer to fade. Or he was becoming accustomed to it. The confusion (Shinji's confusion, Kaworu's confusion) gave way to happiness. It was happiness that they shared, although Kaworu could now separate which undercurrents were not his. He didn't understand all of it, and he felt no ownership. That joy was the only thing they shared, at least in this moment. In a large scale, they shared a past. Moments that defined them. They also shared what Kaworu saw when he lost himself, but Shinji wasn't aware of this. They were thoughts that Kaworu had never been invited to see, to feel. Doing so didn't comfort him, but he wanted to understand Shinji as much as one individual could understand another. It was a need that many Lilim shared. The struggle to understand the one they loved, which was impossible, and would lead to suffering

[ran_on_empty]

In the end the shift had gone as smoothly as he expected, which wasn't exactly much considering everything they'd gotten used to was flipped sideways. Still, this was nowhere near the trouble he had to worry about back with the Oracle Knights, and that alone deserved little room for complaint. Regardless, the God-General left the cafeteria without much in mind, following his designated soldier to the shower room in order to get cleaned

[sasuke_of_sound]

Despite Sasuke's determination to complete as little washing as possible (some mixture of anger and habitual rebellion against mundane commands), by the time the end of shift was called his arms were slick with soap and his fingers wrinkly with water despite their calluses. This was, he reflected, probably the civilian attempt at meaning business or whatever it was Aguilar claimed he was here to do in Landel's place

[sasuke_of_sound]

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