"Okay," Ren said, trying not to give away how relieved he was. It was bad enough that he couldn't seem to do anything to fix this, but it would be worse if he were quarantined and not even given the chance to try.
"Zouichi and Phillip said this happened because of the Melting Clock. Did anybody find it yet?"
"Actually, we have. A team was sent down to XaXing once we returned to the planet, and they brought the clock on-board. I believe it's with Magical right now." Not that she'd heard anything about the progress with destroying the clock itself. Stacy had pointed out legend stated clock destruction was the way to returning stolen time.
No news wasn't exactly good news, in this case. "Stacy had legends on record referencing a clock like this." She stuck with the more familiar name, if it wasn't her preferred means of address for the ship. "According to her, when the clock's destroyed, the time it stole from all of you ends up being returned. So that's exactly what Magical's attempting to do."
It was a terrifying thought that he was being affected by the clock. That he'd lost close to fifteen years of his life, according to Phillip. He didn't want to admit it to himself, but it was getting harder and harder to deny.
The honest truth was one Sakura didn't like facing, even if she had to. With the clock undestroyed, eventually people would run out of time. Aging back to gametes was aging out of applicable existence. "It won't come down to that kind of what if," she said, smile softening. She sounded so sure of herself. If it was a show (and it was), it was a fairly convincing one.
"If Magical doesn't find a way, then between those of us researching in the Media Library and Stacy herself, we'll find the people who can destroy the clock. We're not letting you guys leave that easily," she said, winking. "Like it or not, we kind of like having you stick around."
Ren was a pretty skeptical kid by nature, but the way Sakura had put it made it sound like she really did believe they'd find a way to destroy the clock. And he had no choice but to believe in that.
"Okay," he replied.
It was starting to get depressing, and he needed to change the subject before he really did start to scare himself, so he said, "I need to find some clothes. Nothing fits me anymore, and I wasn't about to let Phillip pick anything out." Because had you seen the way Phillip dressed himself? Ren was not going to put up with that.
Sakura considered, thinking to the call Rory had made for general supplies. "There's a few sets of clothing we have here in the Bay that should work for you. I have a few shirts at the house that might fit, too. A little loose," she adds with a small smile, "But all fairly plain." No flowers or distracting shades of pink, if one was red.
Sakura did like red. "I can also see about talking to the clothiers, or ask around." Worst come to worst, she could also try hemming. Not that sewing was the kind of skill she spent time on perfecting, but it was one of the things she'd had to pick up over the years.
"I'll see what's here," Ren said pretty quickly. Even if Sakura's clothes didn't look girly, there was still the thought. And it was the whole reason he'd avoided letting Phillip pick anything out at all costs.
She turned around to hide the smile on her face, amused. "Comeon," she said neutrally, "Unless you'd like me to bring them to you, they're just over here. You can pick out something that looks good to you."
Ren nodded and followed along, trying not to trip over his own shoes. That was one of the first things he was going to have to look for--even a pair of sandals would be easier to keep on.
It's not that far from where he'd been, a box of clothing that's been nicely folded back into it, more or less sorted into size. Shoes were on the bottom, which may have explained why Sakura reached in and pulled the pile of shirts out and set them on the nearby flat surface for Ren to look through, followed by the assortment of shorts and pants. Mixed bag all around, but hey, it was something.
"Here you go! I don't know if there's anything in shoes for you. If there isn't, I'll ask around."
Ren dug into the clothes and immediately started setting aside anything that was a definite no: too small, too big, too girly, too boring--why were all of his clothes back home neutral-colored anyway? It didn't take long for the neat stack of clothing to, well, look exactly like what happens when a kid gets to it.
He'd finally pulled out a shirt and a pair of jeans he was okay with when he went to the box to check for shoes and repeated the process. Half of the shoes were left all over the floor, along with one of his own.
"Found something," he said, pulling out a pair of sneakers. "They're a little big, but they're okay."
Sakura was already starting to refold some of the clothing when he found a pair of shoes that would work. She glanced over to Ren, eying the sneakers when he spoke up. "Good," she said brightly, trying not to grimace at the shoes lying all over.
She set a refolded shirt down, bending over to snag his shoe out of the jumble of the rest. "Let's make sure not to accidentally lose anything of yours you'll want back when you're back to normal." Foregone conclusion. If she said it enough, it'd be reality -- and not magically, but through determination. "There's no real changing area around here, but we can draw curtains around one of the beds if that sounds okay to you."
Ren headed off to change behind the curtain the moment Sakura mentioned it--which coincidentally meant that he didn't have to pick up the mess he'd made. After a few minutes, he pushed the curtain out of the way, dressed in much better-fitting clothes and with his normal clothes crumpled up under his arm. The necklace he always wore with his girlfriend's ring on it was out in plain sight, a strange contrast against the child.
A coincidence that left Sakura continuing to fold things and put them neatly away. She wasn't quite done by the time he was, if it wasn't as important as she might unintentionally make it seem.
She glanced at his necklace, curious. "Feeling hungry?"
"I guess," Ren answered with a shrug. He was trying not to show it, but he felt uneasy about everything. Lost memories, lost years, and no way of knowing when everything would be fixed--it made him feel like he needed more help and guidance than he'd ever admit.
"We've always got the mess hall, if you feel like eating goop." She grinned, if she'd done just that for a long time. "We've got some variety back at the teahouse. Lots of canned things," she admitted, smiling. "Rice, different spices, something called freezedried. Ramen, if I'm afraid that's instant."
Who knew if ramen even was appealing. It was a general overview of what Sakura had decided to stock up on while on planet, if she'd gotten a decent number of things with the intention of them being supplies for everyone at the house. "Or we can head home and decide things from there. It'll feel nice to get away from this atmosphere for a while."
"Okay," Ren said, trying not to give away how relieved he was. It was bad enough that he couldn't seem to do anything to fix this, but it would be worse if he were quarantined and not even given the chance to try.
"Zouichi and Phillip said this happened because of the Melting Clock. Did anybody find it yet?"
Reply
No news wasn't exactly good news, in this case. "Stacy had legends on record referencing a clock like this." She stuck with the more familiar name, if it wasn't her preferred means of address for the ship. "According to her, when the clock's destroyed, the time it stole from all of you ends up being returned. So that's exactly what Magical's attempting to do."
Reply
"So I just have to wait," Ren realized.
It was a terrifying thought that he was being affected by the clock. That he'd lost close to fifteen years of his life, according to Phillip. He didn't want to admit it to himself, but it was getting harder and harder to deny.
"What happens if they can't destroy it?"
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"If Magical doesn't find a way, then between those of us researching in the Media Library and Stacy herself, we'll find the people who can destroy the clock. We're not letting you guys leave that easily," she said, winking. "Like it or not, we kind of like having you stick around."
Reply
Ren was a pretty skeptical kid by nature, but the way Sakura had put it made it sound like she really did believe they'd find a way to destroy the clock. And he had no choice but to believe in that.
"Okay," he replied.
It was starting to get depressing, and he needed to change the subject before he really did start to scare himself, so he said, "I need to find some clothes. Nothing fits me anymore, and I wasn't about to let Phillip pick anything out." Because had you seen the way Phillip dressed himself? Ren was not going to put up with that.
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Sakura did like red. "I can also see about talking to the clothiers, or ask around." Worst come to worst, she could also try hemming. Not that sewing was the kind of skill she spent time on perfecting, but it was one of the things she'd had to pick up over the years.
Reply
"I'll see what's here," Ren said pretty quickly. Even if Sakura's clothes didn't look girly, there was still the thought. And it was the whole reason he'd avoided letting Phillip pick anything out at all costs.
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Ren nodded and followed along, trying not to trip over his own shoes. That was one of the first things he was going to have to look for--even a pair of sandals would be easier to keep on.
Reply
"Here you go! I don't know if there's anything in shoes for you. If there isn't, I'll ask around."
Reply
Ren dug into the clothes and immediately started setting aside anything that was a definite no: too small, too big, too girly, too boring--why were all of his clothes back home neutral-colored anyway? It didn't take long for the neat stack of clothing to, well, look exactly like what happens when a kid gets to it.
He'd finally pulled out a shirt and a pair of jeans he was okay with when he went to the box to check for shoes and repeated the process. Half of the shoes were left all over the floor, along with one of his own.
"Found something," he said, pulling out a pair of sneakers. "They're a little big, but they're okay."
Reply
She set a refolded shirt down, bending over to snag his shoe out of the jumble of the rest. "Let's make sure not to accidentally lose anything of yours you'll want back when you're back to normal." Foregone conclusion. If she said it enough, it'd be reality -- and not magically, but through determination. "There's no real changing area around here, but we can draw curtains around one of the beds if that sounds okay to you."
Reply
Ren headed off to change behind the curtain the moment Sakura mentioned it--which coincidentally meant that he didn't have to pick up the mess he'd made. After a few minutes, he pushed the curtain out of the way, dressed in much better-fitting clothes and with his normal clothes crumpled up under his arm. The necklace he always wore with his girlfriend's ring on it was out in plain sight, a strange contrast against the child.
"What now?" he asked.
Reply
She glanced at his necklace, curious. "Feeling hungry?"
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"I guess," Ren answered with a shrug. He was trying not to show it, but he felt uneasy about everything. Lost memories, lost years, and no way of knowing when everything would be fixed--it made him feel like he needed more help and guidance than he'd ever admit.
Reply
Who knew if ramen even was appealing. It was a general overview of what Sakura had decided to stock up on while on planet, if she'd gotten a decent number of things with the intention of them being supplies for everyone at the house. "Or we can head home and decide things from there. It'll feel nice to get away from this atmosphere for a while."
Reply
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