Day 44: Men's Showers, Second Shift

[notachick]

Okita had woken with a start, his breath coming back to him in a rush. Toward the end of the night, he had sworn he'd seen someone in the shadows - someone no taller than a boy of nine, a mask covering his face, blood running down his front. He'd seen him. There was no way of mistaking that outfit or that mask; and Okita didn't need to see the

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[not_rly_fai]

By now the showers weren't all that surprising. Yuuhi hadn't had trouble with them to begin with, but there were plenty of new faces that seemed surprised and appalled by it. He stripped quickly and left the necklace with the nurse.

There were still plenty of empty shower heads, so he picked one and made sure to run it fairly cold. His burns didn't like it either way, but at least the skin was no longer peeling. His arms had the worst of it, but there were still places here and there on his legs and torso that were a dark reddish pink and blistering. He'd been pretty sure that last night, or at least most of last night had been nothing but a passing dream, but apparently some things still remained. Were they real? Or did he just believe that they were?

He stepped under the water and swept his hair back, out of his face. It was starting to get long. Well, longer than he usually wore it. It'd been a few weeks now, hadn't it? It was hard to remember anymore. Yuuhi sighed and went about washing. It was difficult to be careful of the burns. He winced and let out a quiet hiss every time the soap got into an open sore.

[Yuki/Yue]

[winged_moon]

Yue still wasn't accustomed to the fact that he needed such things as showers to stay clean, and though the rather fastidious guardian welcomed the opportunity he also saw both the necessity and the method as highly annoying. It always took far too long for his hair to dry afterwards, and stripping down to wash in front of other people was so...undignified. Yukito certainly didn't mind (being accustomed to that sort of thing, especially with all his time with the sports teams in school) but he was reluctant to allow his false self to deal with everything for him.

And besides, he'd caught sight of a familiar figure already present - someone he'd rather wanted to have a word with. It seemed that since Touya and then Sakura had arrived Yue hadn't seen much of Fai; in fact, apart from being thrown together by necessity in Doyleton two nights ago, he couldn't recall speaking to the man except in brief notes on the bulletin. But one of those notes concerned him, as did the last part of that particular night, and when he saw Fai unoccupied he decided to take advantage of the opportunity.

"There's something different about your magic," he observed, moving to join the magician without bothering with such niceties as greetings or asking if he minded company in the showers. It seemed to be quite rare for Fai to use his powers at all, if he even admitted that he had any, but that night in Doyleton, there had been something - even more wrong. "And don't bother trying to claim you don't know what I'm talking about."

[not_rly_fai]

He'd seen Yue coming in and even if he hadn't, it was hard to miss the feel of his magic. That was one thing he couldn't just explain away. He glanced over, sending the other man a smile, even if he didn't mean it. He let his soapy hands sit under the water for a little while, keeping from washing out the wounds now that someone was paying attention.

And already he was asking questions. No "hello," no "how are you?" just a blunt statement with that same no-nonsense stare.

"Good morning Yue," he replied, "it's nice to see you're in such a good mood so early in the morning." If he was lucky, the teasing would be enough to send him on his way. But he was never much for luck.

[winged_moon]

There is something to be said for greeting someone before starting in on a conversation, Yukito observed, with a hint of amusement lacing the words. He was concerned about the wounds that he could now see, as well, but at the same time seemed a little distracted by the fact that they could sense a familiar presence nearby.

Yue gave an inward sigh and ignored his other self entirely, frowning at Fai briefly before turning back to his own shower. The stitches were finally out of that cut across his abdomen, so that was finally healing. Perhaps he'd be up to doing something useful again tonight, then.

"And why would you be avoiding Sakura? She seems to like you well enough." Not that she really seemed to dislike anyone, being Sakura. He glanced sidelong at Fai as he spoke, wondering if the man would avoid all of his questions. The answer to that was likely yes, but it was worth a try.

[not_rly_fai]

Oh, right. The bulletin. There were so many ways to answer that question. To avoid trouble. To stay out of your way. Most of them along the lines of not getting involved. Besides that, Kurogane had affirmed it too. With how staunch he was about it all, Yuuhi had to wonder if he already knew a lot more than he'd let on. Was he intentionally having him avoid others? So they wouldn't be hurt too?

Probably best not to think too much about it. "It's nothing like that. She's a sweet girl. She likes just about everyone, I'm sure. Besides, she already has two people to protect her. I'm sure you and Touya will do a great job."

[winged_moon]

"Perhaps so," Yue replied, in a tone that said he was quite certain he would do a more than adequate job as Sakura's guardian. "Though even if you're sure she'll be safe, that doesn't mean you can't speak to her at all - and that post certainly seemed to imply otherwise."

The sidelong glance turned into an open frown as he regarded Fai for a moment, then the guardian sighed and turned away again. "Though I'm certain I'd not get the truth from you no matter how I tried." Not that he was given to expressing the entire truth unless absolutely necessary himself, but there was still the principle of the thing - and this involved Sakura as well.

[not_rly_fai]

From the way he was acting, it was almost like he wanted Yuuhi to be around Sakura. Which honestly didn't make much sense to him. It was his own business if he spoke to her or not. The other day he'd only... been looking out for her when night rolled around. That was all.

"Kurogane's just been moody, it's easier to go along with him sometimes, I guess. That's all. Don't take it personally. Sakura will have plenty of friends and people to talk to whether or not I say hello, won't she?"

[winged_moon]

"Hn. She usually does." This was Sakura they were talking about, after all. She would probably attempt to befriend anyone - hadn't the other version of herself been friends with the growly Kurogane, after all? "Though that's hardly the point.

"Something has changed your magic, somehow. I saw what happened the other night when you used it." Yue had seen Fai use his magic before, and though it had been obviously difficult then, that night in Doyleton it had been - altered. Something wasn't right, and now that he knew what to look for he could also sense it in the man's aura. He just wasn't sure what it was.

[not_rly_fai]

So long as Sakura stayed happy and safe, Yuuhi didn't see what other point there could be. But Yue was persistent, as usual. Which was also one of the reasons, Yuuhi'd been relieved when the man had found people from his own world to fret over.

"I can hardly help what this place does to my magic," he replied without really explaining what'd happened or why. He added a smile and a light-hearted shrug. "It's not something I make a habit of using anyway."

He'd already had Kurogane on his case for using it to ward off that cat. But then again, he didn't know about that night in town either. Yuuhi, on the other hand, just wanted to forget that it'd even happened.

[winged_moon]

That was another thing that Yue didn't understand about Fai: if he had magic, and clearly knew how to use it, then why didn't he? And why did he often deny having the ability to begin with? They were already crippled enough in this place; refusing to use what resources were available simply didn't make sense.

Of course, he was probably being pushy enough already on the other two points that it wasn't worth arguing that one. At least, not for now.

"Is it really that difficult for you to believe that others are concerned about you?" he inquired, ostensibly focused on examining one of the almost-healed cuts on his arm as he spoke, rather than actually looking at Fai.

[not_rly_fai]

Yuuhi got a handful of shampoo from the dispenser and started scrubbing it into his hair. How was he supposed to believe something like that? Yue was more interested in the scabs on his arm, so why push the issue? It wasn't like it mattered.

"Do you want some help washing your hair?" he asked, rinsing out the shampoo once he'd gotten it into a good lather. It was an abrupt change in subject, but not one he had a problem making. Besides, how was he supposed to answer a question like that? I'm sorry, but most of the people who get anywhere near me end up dying horribly or going insane? So it makes it kind of hard to believe that anyone could care about a monster like that. Forgive me.

"I bet it's hard to take care of. You can scrub my back if you want. It'll be like a trade-off."

[winged_moon]

"I'm fine." The words weren't quite snapped out, but it was very clear that Yue didn't care to entertain the suggestion at all. It had been so much easier when he had his own magic - even Bubble would have been welcome right now, a little as he'd like to admit it. But he was still quite capable of taking care of his own hair, especially when it was so much shorter than it should have been.

He gave a light sniff and half turned away again as he started working shampoo into his hair, as though trying to prove that he was capable of doing so. "Sakura seemed to like you," he observed, with a sidelong glance at Fai again. "It's good that she didn't seem to see your note, since otherwise I'm sure she'd not understand why you want to avoid her."

[not_rly_fai]

"It's not like that," he blurted, looking offended and a little hurt before he turned away. Yuuhi let the water run over his head for a few extra moments, mostly so he didn't have to look at Yue when he felt as guilty as he did. He'd said it just a second ago, hadn't he? That it wasn't anything personal. He liked Sakura. How could anyone not like the princess? But that was why he was trying to stay away. If he got too close, it would just end badly for everyone.

Besides, it wasn't that he wanted to avoid her. Not really.

"Anyway, what use is a magician who can't even cast magic properly?" he said, finally able to replace the mask. He said it with a smile and a laugh, though it was barely there.

[winged_moon]

That actually managed to get a reaction that seemed sincere, surprisingly enough. It did make sense that Fai would have liked this Sakura, given that another version of her had been one of his friends where he came from. Different dimensions or no, Sakura was still Sakura, and the brief talk he'd had with Fai's Sakura bore that out.

Though if it wasn't like that...then why was he so determined to avoid her? Perhaps it was just because she wasn't his Sakura?

The guardian allowed that to pass without further comment, though; he'd made his point and Fai seemed to understand it. He settled for rinsing the lather from his hair until the man spoke up again, at which point he glanced over with one brow upraised. "Likely about as useful as a guardian without most of his powers," he replied dryly.

[not_rly_fai]

The entire conversation left him feeling awkward and more than a little vulnerable. Of course it didn't really help that he was naked and covered in wounds either. At least Yue had stopped pushing about Sakura, but he had to wonder why that was. Perhaps he'd just gotten fed up with the whole thing.

Even if Yue didn't have much of his power, he was still useful, he still protected the people he was supposed to protect. That was a lot more than Yuuhi could say, but he wasn't about to get into a pity argument on who had it worst in this place with the guardian.

"Forget I said anything," he said with a half-hearted smile. He slicked his hair back and shook it out, getting ready to leave. "I should probably get going."

[winged_moon]

"You're not useless." Yue pulled his fall of hair forward, wringing water from it with an irritated-looking grimace. He would be quite glad when he returned home again and no longer had to deal with these kinds of inconveniences. It wasn't improving his mood in the slightest.

He flicked a glance upward at Fai again, his expression remaining just as disapproving. "If you were useless, or worthless, I'd not have spent such effort protecting you. Now would I." Even if it had been several nights since he'd been required to guard the magician, the fact remained that he had chosen to do so more than once. And he thought rather highly of his own judgment.