Day 42, Afternoon: T&M Electronics

[fooledintuition]

Adachi hadn't expected the town to be so...tiny. A nice enough conversation on the ride over only did so much to aid the disappointment he felt. This whole mental institution thing was supposed to get his mind off of the whole "small, boring town" bit, not toss him right in the middle of another one.

Wonderful.

There had to be something that he

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[whohitreset]

Leading Sen around all day had been an adventure in itself. The whole place was pretty much new to her, even the style of the buildings. It was really... incredibly cute. Of course, half their attention had been secretly diverted to their quarry. The young man had been meeting with others for the first half of the day and therefore hadn't been entirely approachable.

But now it looked as though he'd gone and wandered off on his own - and to an electronics store, no less. Wasn't that just fortunate for them? Matt had hoped to see if there were any hand-held gaming devices worth trying to steal, but the nearby nurses gave him a disapproving glance whenever he so much as looked at one. This whole not being allowed to play video games thing was going to cause him to punch in one of their faces someday.

So it was time to say hello to the ponce. "Hey!" He waved, grinning. "Lelouch, wasn't it? I ran into you last night."

[tostepforward]

There were so many things that were different and strange here that even Ayumu almost felt overwhelmed for a while. Information gathering could be difficult when there was so very much and she had little frame of reference with which to determine what might be useful and what wouldn't. It was fortunate that she had Robin along to answer questions, though she'd had to be careful with what she asked and how, seeming innocently confused and fascinated by the strange town.

Still, Lelouch was a constant, and hadn't been too difficult to at least keep an eye on for most of the morning. Robin had apparently managed to remember his assignment, and had been doing the same, and this way both of them provided each other some cover under which to pretend to not be watching the young man. It was working out rather well, really

[whohitreset]

"No problem." Lelouch didn't seem embarrassed about the situation at all, which said a little about his character. "I'm just glad to see you're okay. The effects have always been temporary, from what I've seen. The dangerous part comes when you're by yourself when it happens and something nastier comes along." Like what had happened with Mello. If he and whatever samurai he'd run into hadn't been there, the spider that showed up later probably would have made a meal of his friend.

...Not that this mattered now, since the damn bastard had disappeared on him.

He wrapped an arm around Sen's shoulder, easing the woman a little closer so that he could introduce her. Not that he wanted to show her off in an I-bet-my-girlfriend-is-hotter-than-yours sort of way. Of course not. (It was looking more and more like Lelouch swung the other way anyway.) "This is Sen. I was just showing her around."

[tostepforward]

So apparently Lelouch actually had been the injured member of the group the night before. Ayumu hadn't stopped long enough to figure out exactly what had happened, though she hadn't noticed any signs of fresh blood. He could have been wounded, judging from some things she'd seen earlier in the day, but it was difficult to be certain (especially when he wasn't moving much at the moment).

He didn't seem terribly interested in her, though, which was all the better in her mind; the less he paid attention to her then the more she could keep an eye on him while he was occupied with Robin. She had to make her own reports back to Okita and Homura, after all.

But, of course, then Robin had to go calling attention to her instead. It was polite, she supposed, to introduce the third member of the group, especially since the other two had met already, but she would've preferred to remain somewhat invisible. Ayumu just bowed her head slightly in polite greeting, though, and offered a quiet, "Nice to meet you."

[whohitreset]

"Just once." Robin shrugged. "Wasn't all that eventful." The hand that wasn't on his shoulder was placed on his hip as he gave the shop another look-over. "Would you look at this place?" he muttered. "It's like an antique shop in here."

Perhaps 10 year old appliances didn't count as antique in most people's worlds, but Matt was the sort of person who'd keep up with the latest - devices that were already ahead of the current norm. This was as good a time as any to learn a bit more about their new acquaintance. It didn't seem as though he was from a time as far back as Sen's.

[tostepforward]

Ayumu would've liked to know more about exactly what had happened the night before, but if the boys weren't planning to talk about it she'd just have to talk to Robin later. At least now that it had been brought up in conversation, she'd have a reason to do so, rather than trying to come up with an excuse to ask about his night. After all, she'd really rather not say anything to indicate that she'd seen both of them in the hallway the night before.

She glanced over at Robin with eyes wide at his comment about the antique shop, though, then looked around once before lowering her attention to the floor. If these were considered "antiques," things that she'd never even imagined existed, well. Being from a time as far before Robin's as she was (a concept she was still working to grasp fully, though that was helped by the tour of this town) then she should qualify as an antique as well.

"I haven't been here before," she offered, in a shy-sounding murmur, still watching the floor.

[whohitreset]

Matt knew what he'd said about the items there being antiques might make Sen feel a little awkward. He'd apologize to her later. What time period she'd come from really wasn't any of Lelouch's business either, so he hoped to avoid the subject. At least he knew that the other young man was from a time period as late as, if not later, than his own. That was something. Barely. "Well, yeah. I think whatever world we're stuck in is at least a decade behind, if you know what I mean. They probably think this junk is current."

That television still had a VCR, for Christ's sake.

"So, did you come looking for anything in particular? We're just looking." Man, he was prattling on like an idiot, but whatever got the job done... "It's kind of annoying, really. Sending us out into town without any cash. I mean, it's not like they'd allow us to decorate our rooms or anything. The whole 'look but don't touch' aspect of this trip sucks ass."

[tostepforward]

The conversation so far wasn't really telling Ayumu very much except that Robin wasn't all that good at making small talk. That part wasn't terribly surprising, though, nor was it what she was trying to find out. But Lelouch didn't seem like the friendly and open type, so it had to be difficult to get him to talk.

It was too bad she was here with Robin and not alone, otherwise she might have been able to attempt other methods to get him to talk. Although...she did have to wonder if that would even work, given that he'd barely even looked at her at all, even in the rather tight clothing she'd been given to wear. No matter, though; it wasn't an option so she wouldn't consider it.

"I think it's kind of interesting." This time a hint of petulance entered her tone, as though she were growing bored or irritated with the conversation. "I haven't seen anything like it."

[whohitreset]

This guy was something of a bastard, wasn't he? Matt held back a smirk. Sen's tone caused him to pause for a moment, though. Had she been bothered by something he said? Or was it because she felt out of the loop due to the time period she was from. She would be finding their tour interesting, he supposed. And he'd wanted her to, so he should be pleased with that.

"Well, I mean... the trip would have been a complete bust if I hadn't had you around." He gave the woman a light peck on the cheek. "But it's been fun walking around with you. I'd do it again any time you wanted."

[tostepforward]

A slight blush touched Ayumu's cheeks at the affectionate gesture, and she glanced briefly at Lelouch before lowering her eyes to the floor. It clearly said that she was a little embarrassed that a near-strange was there to see it, though the tiniest hint of a smile would also let Robin know that she still wasn't displeased with him.

"It is educational," she agreed, though ostensibly still focused on the flooring at her feet rather than either of the two men. "Though quite confusing. This place seems like another time and place entirely than what Robin is accustomed to, and very far removed from my home in Kyoto. Is it the same for you...Lelouch-han?"

She paused just a moment before the name, as though uncertain quite how to address him. People had such odd names around here, it was hard to know which were given names and which were family names and just what it was polite to call them. Still, he should correct her if she was wrong.