Day 42: Callahan's Grocer [Evening]

[tsunagari]

[continued from here]Sai opened the door to the grocers for both of them and allowed Shikamaru to walk in first. This is where they'd find the bulletin board in town, and the ninja had a couple notes he thought it important to leave - one to warn the other ninja specifically, and one as a general warning. He hadn't seen anyone post something like

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[toobothersome]

Impressively, Shikamaru offered no complaints as he followed Sai toward the grocers, instead focusing on his own feet and the other ninja's shadow to avoid the numerous distractions of Main Street. He thought his question made perfect sense--Sai had survived because he was a skilled ninja, and no one knew why some people disappeared and others didn't. Shikamaru rubbed his face. Talking was such a hassle. Why couldn't people just understand what he meant, rather than what he said

[tsunagari]

Shikamaru seemed set on writing his own notes, though Sai stood by patiently in the event that writing would be too difficult in the other ninja's state and he'd want a hand. He also kept an eye on the rather loud individual nearby. He'd seen the name Lelouch on the board before, and the thin boy that entered to shut up the other must have been the person in question. The ninja kept note of this, but it wasn't particularly relative to his interests at the moment.

He checked only once to make certain the sedative was still in place after all that moving, as patting the area too often would draw attention to it. The knot held firm. "It is," Sai agreed belatedly to Shikamaru's earlier statement, not really caring if the other ninja understood what he was replying to or not. It was something he didn't like admitting to begin with.

[toobothersome]

Yeah, that wasn't much of an answer, but he didn't feel like pressing the subject. Everyone had their own way of dealing with this junk, he figured, and if Shikamaru actually had one of his own, he probably wouldn't want to talk about it either. After a brief have-it-your-way sigh, he looked upwards to block out the very loud, very enthusiastic voice of whoever had just walked into the store. It was less effective than usual.

"Let's get out of here," he half-stated, half-suggested before heading for the door.

[to here]

[iwascloned]

Spider became conscious of his surroundings just in time to avoid colliding with a rather large wall. Where was he? He was ... outside. That was unusual. The nurses had been saying something about a field trip earlier, he remembered, and he had taken a lot of ... something because he knew he wasn't going to be able to bring his drugs on the bus. And now he was here. It was evening. He was still wearing clothes, which - given the circumstances - was a surprise. And right in front of him, pulsing with evil energy, the name of the store he had almost run into glared at him

[iwascloned]

Spider stopped yelling mid-Lelouch and turned on the person addressing him. This must be Lelouch!

"I have successfully summoned you here," said Spider, "To conduct an interview, yes I have."

The journalist shot Lelouch an insane grin and bowed with altogether too much flourish.

"Spider Jerusalem, the Word. Now, question one: What do you plan to do once you've successfully mind controlled every weak-willed scumbag in this pestilential prison?"

[beloved_less]

Having obtained Ritsuka's memory card, Soubi had wandered about looking for some way to print the pictures. He'd found a little luck at the grocers, of all places. He approached it like it was a wild stallion and peered at the screen. He could print the pictures and run. Only....the store workers might try and get the money while he waiting. He was going to have to do this the honest way.

He settled himself at the counter and cleared his throat.

[damned_town]

Callahan was still a little shaken up after the last shift with that drunkard, who had indeed turned out to be a patient. It definitely seemed like some of the patients were further along in their recovery than others, and he'd landed himself a bit of bad luck this time around.

He had taken a few minutes to rest and regain his breath after taking that elbow to the stomach -- it was something he might have been able to brush off in his youth, but his youth had long ago passed him by. His wife wasn't going to be happy when she heard about all this, but hopefully the coupons he'd gathered up would appease her.

Suffice to say he was somewhat wary when another patient showed up at the counter looking like he wanted something. Callahan ran a hand through his hair and smoothed out his expression before walking over to meet the young man. "What can I do ya' for?" he asked, though his tone was somewhat thin. Maybe he could blame it on it being the end of a rather long day.

[beloved_less]

Soubi looked at the man- Callahan himself, apparently- and smiled. It would be far more beneficial to focus his nervous energies on looking shy and sweet than to let it settle onto his natural look of fierce determination. He was going to play the sympathy card as much as he could. Even if the guy sounded a little...irked. He seemed to be trying to cover it though....

"Sorry to bother you, sir," said the polite young Japanese man, oh so soft and charming, "but I was hoping I could print some pictures? You see, they're for a young boy at the institute, it would mean the world to him. And, as payment, perhaps I could...do some odd jobs for the rest of the day, or...I could offer sketches? I'll do anything. It....it really would mean a lot."

At least he was honestly sincere. He would do anything, really...anything. He was quite lucky Callahan didn't look the type to take advantage of such a situation.

[damned_town]

First apples, then cigarettes, now photos. It was interesting how everyone wanted something different, although Callahan was fairly certain that photos were the least dangerous of the requests he had gotten thus far. (Apples would have been too, but he still wasn't sure whether or not the man in the wheelchair from before had had some sort of allergy to them.)

Another thing that made this request different was that the young man wasn't just offering up his coupons. Callahan had more than enough at this point, so he was glad for the other options. That combined with the fact that the patient wasn't even doing this for himself made him more than pleased to agree.

"There's not much time left in the day, so maybe the sketches would be better," he said with a quick nod. "Are you pretty good at drawing?" It might be kind of odd to display a sketch drawn by a mental patient in his store, but at the same time it could be a point of interest for the other townspeople. At least it would give his market some more variety.