Day 49: Morning - Main Street

[sanguinario]

[From here.]

Easily forgiven? Unlikely. A pair of (presumably) mental patient committing theft. No, it was highly unlikely they would be easily forgiven. Conscience-wise? It wouldn't even stain his thoughts, really. Nothing like ten years of judgemental slaughter to make your mind jaded against the simpler crimes in the world

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[chainsaw_royal]

"Hmph."

Stepping off the bus, Hime gave the gray sky a flat glare as it began to drizzle, little bits of water that could hardly even be called droplets starting to precipitate. Judging by the clouds, it would only get heavier from there.

And here she was, stuck with this monstrosity the nurses insist she wear. She'd already tried to leave it in her seat on the bus, but the staff chided her and told her not to be forgetful, once more foisting the dread garment on her. Exiting the park, she saw enough orderlies around that being able to dispose of it seemed unlikely. Still, until one of them came over and forced her to, Hime refused to wear it and the raincoat remained tucked under one arm.

Blue jeans and semi-prophetic T-Shirt uncovered, the Royal wandered down the main street outside the park. So this was Doyleton, was it? Strange vandalism aside, it looked just as sedate and unremarkable as the institute did during the day.

Hime's pace was somewhat fast due to her irritation, but it slowed as she approached a red-haired girl that looked around her age or so.

"Dreary morning for a field trip, isn't it?" Hime commented as she fell into pace besides the other girl. "It's just asking for trouble when we all get left out in the rain."

[kingdomless]

At the sound of a voice Kairi turned her head, looking up at the girl who had approached her. With a smile at the girl's comment and a nod of her head, she spoke. "Mhm. Especially when we're all wearing silly things like this. I think they want me to trip and fall over something, or else they wouldn't have given me boots two sizes too big."

She was starting to get cold, too. A skirt was normally something she almost always reached for, but now? Nuh uh. They could have at least given her some knee length socks or something ...

Forgetting herself and her manners, Kairi smiled up to the girl once again, tilting her head to the side for a moment as she looked at the sky before looking back towards the blonde. "I'm Kairi. I don't think we've ever met before. Where are you from?" Which was fine, really. She loved making new friends and hearing about other planets and lives and whatnot - it was all fascinating to her.

[chainsaw_royal]

"Silly indeed," Hime agree, glancing down at the jacket folded in her arms. At least all her clothes fit, and included pants. Well, a chill like this wasn't enough to start bothering the Royal, but if it started actually pouring, they'd definitely have to find shelter.

"You can call me Hime, Kairi," she replied with a smile. "And I'm from Sasanaki City, a small town in Japan. What about you?" The princess was likewise interested in the origins of others, but out of a more idle curiosity and a partial habit, cataloging the strange things of this world, even if they looked human now.

[kingdomless]

"Hime," Kairi said with a nod, smiling up to the taller girl. "It's nice to meet you, Hime."

Ah, another person from Japan. Kairi was surprised to find so many people from the Earth world, especially how there were so many worlds out there. As she figured it, Earth must have been a large world, unlike Destiny Islands. "Earth, hm? I've heard of Tokyo before and one other city, but never Sasanaki City. And I'm from Destiny Islands," a pause, and the princess shrugged her shoulders. "It's a pretty small world, so it's understandable if you've never heard of it."

Kairi looked around at the shops around them, eyeing the odd smiley faces that were plastered around. "What do you think those mean?" she asked, pointing with her finger towards one of the foreboding images. "They're kind of ... there's something unsettling about them."

[chainsaw_royal]

While the concept of many worlds wasn't exactly foreign to her, actual examples of such had never been presented to Hime before arriving at the institute. Since then, however, she'd met many people from various worlds, or versions of her own world. She had also noticed the preponderance towards people from Earth, but hadn't thought much of it considering both her own background and the fact that the Institute seemed to be on Earth as well, or at least an Earth-like setting.

"Likewise. Sasanaki's not a town many know about, even on Earth," she said. Part of the reason she had moved there, though that hadn't stopped her brothers' assassins from finding her regardless.

The Royal looked at the graffiti that was pointed out to her. Obviously, it seemed related to the institute, considering what it was. But what meaning was there to them? She could only guess.

"While it seems related to our uniforms and therefore the institute, it makes little sense that Landel would have reason to antagonize the town, especially if they're just pawns like the staff," she reasoned calmly, not unsettled at all. "Perhaps it's the work of another... I've not been here before, so I don't know how long it's been like this, however. Perhaps it's just another mark that this property belongs to the Institute."

[kingdomless]

The more she spoke to other people about their worlds, the more she wanted to visit them and see them for herself. Sora and Riku had been able to leap from world to world, while she had been stuck on her own or dragged around to other ones in an attempt to run away from being kidnapped. Honestly, when was it her turn to wander around?

"True," Kairi agreed, her frown deepening as she brushed her auburn hair out of her eyes. "But it's just ... something is weird. I've been here before ... a few times. But not lately. It was never like this before. Something must have changed."

But what? she wondered, hoping it wasn't something too terrible. She was without her sword here, after all, and honestly there wasn't much else she could do. Sure, she could punch and kick and bite her way to victory, but that was all.

But enough of that. "So, what are your plans for today? Exploring?"

[chainsaw_royal]

Oh? So Kairi had been here before, but not lately. Which would mean she'd been stuck in the institute for at least two, no, three weeks if she'd been here multiple times. The news that these marks were a new feature was also intriguing.

"If it wasn't Landel, then the next obvious cause is Jill or whoever she may be working with," Hime supposed. "Whether it's a mockery or an attempt to frame the Institute, they seem the likely culprit." As she looked around, she noticed the looks being directed their way by some of the townspeople. It seemed despite the nurses poor attempts to dress them in normal clothes, the patients still stuck out. "Though one wonders if our treatment as a result was an intended side-effect or not. Or were the people of Doyleton always so cheerful?"

Hime's dry question was followed by a sigh as she considered the other girl's inquiry. Did she have a plan today? Other than looking for Kagura or any of the others she knew, but that would have been no different had they been at the institute, and considerably easier too. Had she any designs for this place specifically? Not particularly.

"So it would seem," she agreed. "What places of interest are there here? Though I assume if this is at all like the Institute during the day, they're of a more mundane interest than our speculations."

[kingdomless]

Jill. She vaguely remembered the one named Jill, and she remembered Mr. Radio ... she'd have to ask Sora about that later, since she was still a little interested. "I don't ... know. But framing us all sounds like something that would happen," she said with slight dread in her voice. If Landel wanted the people of Doyleton to hate them, then plastering large faces over walls and whatnot and telling them that it was the crazies who did it was certainly one way to do it.

"The people are mostly this happy," the once princess responded, frowning and looking towards a man that was in a nearby store. "I think that's why the town is so ... frightening. Everyone is so happy and accepting. They're like the nurses."

Just like the nurses, really ... which made Kairi think that everyone in the town was behind the institute in some way as well. She'd believe it.

What kinds of things were there to do during the day, though? She paused, pursing her lips to think. "Hmm ... well, there are a few places to go and eat, as well as a spa i'm pretty sure ... random things like that, honestly. I think it's supposed to feel more like a 'getaway' then anything else. Like trying to divert your attention from the real matter at hand; that we were all kidnapped."

[chainsaw_royal]

Perhaps the people of Doyleton were normally happy, but Hime had yet to see one today that didn't treat the patients like they were criminals or monsters. So the vandalism was related to how they were being treated. A motive would be hard to fathom though without knowing the culprit.

"I see... well, then I guess there's little to be learned here other than from the other patients," mused the Royal. "It sounds like you've been in the institute for quite a while, Kairi. What do you do during the nights?"