Day 28: Mystic Spa

[byakushi]

[from hereByakuya entered the spa in a somewhat less grand manner than normal; he felt deflated, due to the unpleasant business that had been occurring all day. But, then again, that was why he was here, was it not? To release some of that stress. He wouldn't be able to function, otherwise... and the next - or, rather, the FIRST - task he'd set

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[usoppsenchou]

[From here]

There was a line. Of course there was a line, he realized, and felt a bit like smacking himself in the forehead. Other people would want to relax too. What was surprising was the fact that the line seemed so short... and, well, that it seemed to consist of two other guys. He'd expected girls wanting facials. Maybe skin care wasn't a high priority with the ladies at Landel's, or maybe everyone who wanted beauty treatments was at the manicure place instead.

Usopp kept up his manful determined face as he waited a respectful distance from the two other men, hovering not quite at the desk, crossing his arms while holding the two coupons in one hand. The line was short, it wouldn't be that long a wait... probably.

[tsunagari]

[coming in from ABSOLUTELY NOWHERE...]It was a rather dazed Sai that entered the shop just a few minutes after Usopp. He was being led gently by the shoulder by his nurse, who was chattering on happily about how wonderful this particular spa was and how she was a regular customer. He hardly seemed to hear her, gazing around blankly as though nothing was even registering to him

[usoppsenchou]

Losing his stiff 'manful' pose, Usopp's expression brightened into a wide grin as Sai walked in. The first friend he'd seen all day in this stupid town, and even though Sai wasn't one of his crewmates it was a relief to not feel alone in a strange place. Even if he didn't wind up getting his massage, he felt better.

"Sai! Hi! Are you here for a massage too?" Usopp displayed his tickets. "I have a spare--one of us could get a facial." Not that it was particularly important, especially since Usopp only had a loose idea of what a facial was, but it was nice to have someone else around to show off his wealth to. "I brought my notebook into town too, although I don't think we can talk too much about, um, 'business' in here..." He glanced around shadily. Even though the employees were off, probably massaging or facializing people, there were still two unknown men at the counter.

"Don't worry about breakfast. Are you hungry?" He stopped himself short, realizing he was babbling.

[tsunagari]

"A massage?" Sai was still pretty confused, and this place wasn't helping with that. Why would he want a massage? It seemed like a rather trivial thing to be doing given their situation. But then, with all the watchful eyes, there probably wasn't much chance of them getting far if they tried to make a run for it. "I'll see, I suppose."

What an odd situation.

Usopp's question about him being hungry gave him pause. Thinking about it then made him realize he hadn't eaten yet that day, and all at once he was quite hungry. It was a troublesome thing, how the body worked that way. He frowned.

"I am hungry," he admitted. "But there's no hurry if you have things to do here."

[usoppsenchou]

"Nothing important," Usopp glanced at the counter again. He'd already had lunch, but he wanted company more than he wanted a massage at the moment. "And it looks like the wait here might take a while. We can always go eat, then come back later."

Sai frowning was unusual, but it was kind of nice in a weird way. A visual sign of Sai's feelings--those non-existent feelings which were only buried, and sometimes not quite so deeply as other times--was rare. Hunger might not be an emotion, but it was close enough. "So, what do you feel like? I tried the Twin Pines, it was all right, but nothing great. We can go back there, or to the Tasty Burger. You pick, since I ate already. We'll talk over your lunch." They could even do the planning they'd hoped to do at breakfast.

[tsunagari]

"I shouldn't impose upon you if you've already eaten," Sai responded, replacing the frown with another fake smile. That was the polite way of things, after all. Unfortunately there was no going back now that he'd thought of food. His stomach was now going to be constantly reminding him of the fact that it was empty until that problem was resolved.

Only then did he remember his own coupons, stuck neatly in his pocket by his nurse. He pulled them out to flip through them, finding he already had one to match the ones Usopp had just shown him. There were also ones for the other places the pirate had mentioned, which explained why those were the only two restaurants he'd mentioned in town.

Looking at coupons for food wasn't helping either. But a ninja shouldn't show hunger. This was apparently something his stomach needed to be taught as it gave a quiet growl.

[usoppsenchou]

The smile was back. Well, that was Sai, after all, it was no big deal.

"Don't worry about it! It beats just standing around here." Usopp gestured at their surroundings. "Besides, if we go eat... lunch can take the place of our breakfast meeting. Right?" He glanced over at the other customers again, even though it was unlikely they were listening or would care. It just seemed they should be secretive about as much as they could, even little stuff like plans to go raiding tonight, the same plans half the Institute probably had to some degree or another.

"So now it's up to you." Usopp held up his Tasty Burger coupon. "Though if we go here, I can get a free ice cream."

[tsunagari]

Sai took out that particular coupon again, checking both sides and looking for what fine print there might be. He then put it back with the others and returned the small stack to his pocket with a nod. "We'll go there, then." Having not been to either place before, one was as good as the other. Even if he rarely ordered hamburgers.

He still needed to get his bearings. Knowing so little about his surroundings put him at a serious disadvantage in a combat situation, and who knew what would happen while in town today - especially if the man who ran the asylum was supposed to be there. "I'm afraid you'll have to show me the way," he added to the pirate.

[usoppsenchou]

Maybe he'd get the whole meal that the coupon offered. It wasn't as though he couldn't handle a little more food, even if that grease from the fried fish was sitting a bit funny in his stomach, and it would be a waste not to use the coupon for its full capacity.

"Sure, no problem. It's just down the street--I haven't really been far either, just here and the neighboring street." Usopp paused, frowning a little in concern as he opened the door for Sai. Sai seemed to not know anything about the layout of this place, but that was odd...

[Back out to Main Street]