Day 28: Bus 2

[misterprince]

The group hadn't made it to the Twin Pines before the nurses started ushering them back to the buses. Sanji didn't believe the small sack dinner he was handed would make up for the meal they would have had at the restaurant, and aside from that he'd still wanted to check the place out. Now he had no way of comparing it to what they served at the

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[notachick]

Okita was entirely too pleased with himself to care that he was back on the devil machine. He'd ended up getting bruised up by the orderly, but he'd also managed to "accidentally" step on his insole seven times on the way back from his sparring match. The orderly was so pissed by the time they'd reached the buses, he'd just thrown Okita on the closest one and hoped someone else had to deal with him. The swordsman was absolutely ecstatic that the nurses hadn't found his candy stash, and the elation was only amplified when he was given something called a cookie. He had no idea what a cookie was, but it looked tasty and filled with more of that chocolate stuff

[notachick]

He hadn't really stopped to ask the detective's age and touched a finger to his lips as he thought about it. He noticed that Kenshin was in a considerable amount of pain and couldn't stop himself from smiling. He would have liked to approach the man at night with his sword as incentive for their upcoming talk, but this was going to have to do. It was disappointing that he had to restrain himself or risk whatever was worse than sedation. "I...don't, mm, know," he managed to say, looking out the window. "Teens, probably

[notachick]

Okita slid his gaze over to Kenshin. His usual smile was gone, replaced with a thin line of tension. Sedation was great for making Okita slow, but it also reduced his inhibitions. Certainly, it calmed him down, but relaxation wasn't exactly something the swordsman needed. What he really needed was restraint, but no amount of drugs or training had been able to give him that

[notachick]

He knew it. He knew there was no way to entirely leave the blood-stained path they both walked. Somehow, hearing Kenshin acknowledge that made Okita feel a little closer to the other man. Okita also wished he could leave all the killing behind, but he knew it was the only thing he'd ever be able to do. It was second nature to him, and seeing Kenshin walk so carefree through life after leaving it behind had bothered Okita to the core. Demons like them weren't supposed to be able to do that - not entirely. It was part of the pain that came with choosing their way of life

[notachick]

That determination to do the near impossible - Okita admired that, but he would never admit it. He hoped Kenshin could succeed where countless others had failed. It meant there was hope for all of them who had stained their hands red in the name of some cause or another. "You have someone to protect then?" he asked, keeping his head against the glass as he continued to trace patterns on it. "That's good

[notachick]

It was just another thing that he and Kenshin had in common - mismatched families. The Shinsengumi were the closest thing Okita had, but they weren't exactly what someone would call a conventional group. Figuring out who the mother of the Shinsengumi was would probably cause someone's head to explode - most likely Hijikata. Tetsu was definitely the puppy/little brother though. At least that role was clear

[notachick]

"It would be awful," Okita drawled. He drew a little bone for his piglet and turned to his meal as the fog drawing disappeared. Bread and meat put together apparently constituted a meal in the future. Okita found himself yet again disappointed in what lay ahead for Japan should the Shinsengumi fail. "Being stuck in bed is just the worst! It's so boring and no one lets you play at all