[Log] Trial of Luck

[kouhou]

Characters: Dan Taichi, Sengoku Kiyosumi
Location: Campus grounds, locker room, greenhouse
Time: 26th November, Monday
Rating: PG-ish (blood)
Summary: Another Dan'd log, in which Armageddon comes earlySengoku has seen better days, to put it lightly. Dan works hard to keep his sempai alive o/

19 years old. His birthday was over and Sengoku could finally go back to his life without having to interrupt someone every time they tried to wish him an early happy birthday (it’s bad luck! ...in certain countries). At least it went better than his supposed 13th birthday, when he denied the existence of the actual day, locked himself in his room and refused to see anyone, then spent the whole entire year insisting he was still twelve. At least since then, he hadn’t have to worry about birthday celebrations anymore, not until he turns “40” in any case (e.g. spend another year being 39).

But today’s forecast was good! Today would be a good day! Nothing bad shall befall on this day!! ...Or so Sengoku decided, in higher than usual spirits. Besides, it was a clear day, a bit nippy but not too bad, with the grounds not yet crowded with students this early in the morning. A bird flying overhead, and upon a closer look he saw that it was a Blakiston's Fish Owl headed home after a long night. It was a huge bird, endangered even in its native Hokkaido, but an auspicious sight. "Look!" he breathed in awe, looking around for anyone close by to share the sight with before the owl flew too far to see. "Did you see that!?"

"See what?" Dan looked around, curious but not finding anything strange or unusual. There weren't many students around since it was early. Still, nothing looked out of place. It was a nice morning, the kind that just seemed like it was going to be a good day. Maybe he'd even be able to avoid bumping into someone today. No more crazy incidents. He had the gloves now and they were helping some from the experiments he'd been doing. Not totally effective at blocking his power but the damage he'd accidentally caused had been greatly reduced. "Did something happen?" Good or bad, Dan was curious to know.

Sengoku sidled up next to the other student, eyes still pointed up at the sky. "An owl..." he leaned in close to the other and pointed the directing it had gone, but it was no longer visible. He shrugged, letting his hand drop. "...Ah. Well, it was there." He grinned down at the first year-- who he supposed was a first year anyways since he knew most of the students at the school despite the semester absence, and this was one he's never really had a chance to talk with. "Anyways, what are you doing out so early? Monday morning classes?" It was barely a quarter past seven right now, too early for classes to start, so Sengoku had been out taking a run. "Have you gotten breakfast yet?"

"Class bright and early though it's not for a little bit. I'm a first year so..." Dan confirmed. He was going to be early to class at this point but it'd been hard to sleep. Once he'd gotten up, Dan had figured he might as well stay up and go to class early to work on some homework. He looked at the sky, trying to see the owl but there was nothing now. He smiled and took a few steps away. Dan was wearing his gloves but that didn't stop his power completely. "I'm Dan Taichi. And um, you might want to be careful. If you touch me, there's a chance that bad things might happen."

'Be wary of a dark haired stranger. Make contact, and bad things may happen.' That wouldn't be much of a stretch for a horoscope entry, but this particular day's said nothing of the sort when he read through them before getting out of bed that morning, and Sengoku wasn't ever too worried about bad things happening so long as he stayed aware of himself. He watched silently as Dan distanced himself, and gave him a rather amused look at that introduction. A handshake seemed to be out of the question, so he dipped his head slightly instead. "Sengoku Kiyosumi, third year." He paused, an encouraging smile on his face. "And I'm known for taking my chances~"

"Not these kinds of chances," Dan warned. "I've got this power...it makes everything go wrong in the worst way you can imagine." That was the best way of putting it without getting people's hopes up about what his power actually did. When people first heard what his was without getting affected first, it tended to lead to trouble. "Are you new, Sengoku-sempai? I don't remember seeing you around last term."

"You embody Murphy's Law?" Sengoku mused sympathetically. And here he thought he would only be subject to that up to three times a year. Still, the other must have some way of managing it, if he were still healthy, upright, not a scratch on him. Sengoku shook his head. "I've been here long enough to not be surprised by things much anymore. Last term, I took a semester abroad to a non-mutant university in Ireland for cultural study. I'm not sure if that's usually done around here, but my powers are 'normal,'" he air-quoted, "enough that none of the students there would have suspected anything, just to be safe."

Dan laughed. "I guess I could do something like that too if I wanted because mine's not a visible one. Actually, unless there are other mutants around, you wouldn't even know I've got a power." Though he was curious to know what Sengoku's was. He decided to try and explain it more. "My power affects other people's. Like, I could make your power a lot stronger or end up taking it away." He sighed and added, "were you at the Halloween thing? And did you see any of those creepy Angels? That was kind of my fault..."

Strengthening and weakening powers, it was somewhat like the planets and the stars influencing people's lives, Sengoku mused to himself, how interesting. "I saw one creepy Angel, but that was Kite~ I don't see how others would be your fault, unless you encouraged a mass costume change?" He couldn't see what would be so bad about that either. As frightening as Kite had been, it was an impressive costume that could only be made more impressive with half a dozen others recruited to act alongside him. "...I'm probably missing some point, aren't I?" he apologized, "I left the party early. Heard some screaming near the time I left, but I just thought to myself, 'It's Halloween, that's normal.'"

"There was an army of them." Dan gave a shudder at the memory. "I ended up running into Fuji-sempai and it...it didn't work out so well." Those creepy Angels were still in his dreams though they were showing up less. The fact that Kite had been dressed as one and in that maze hadn't helped one bit though.

"...Ah. Fuji." Sengoku knew what Fuji could do, and that in itself was enough, he didn't need the details filled in. But it couldn't have possibly been as miserable as Dan looked. "No one was hurt?" he asked softly, wishing now that he hadn't pursued the matter, if this was the response it invoked. He had been the one to bring it up, but he'd try not to let it end on a bad note. "There were probably people out there who thought the Angels to be special effect props, like they have in haunted mansions. A bit of thrill into people's lives, some of the most amazing, convincing things they've ever seen, fitting for the occasion. See then? You’ve have done the party a huge favor."

"Umm..." Dan didn't know if anyone had been hurt. He knew Fuji had but Dan didn't know about anyone else. "Fuji-sempai was slapped because of it. Hard enough to leave that bruise he had on his face." Besides, the first year doubted that anyone saw it as a favor. "So yeah, that's why it's a bad idea to even shake my hand. Though it's getting better with these." He held up his gloved hands. "They've made it a lot less dangerous." He really needed to get a jacket lined with the same kind of leather. That would really make things safer for both Dan and the school.

For someone like Sengoku who thrived off physical contact, even if it were just a playful shove between friends or an arm around another's shoulder for support, such a life without touching or being touched seemed almost inconceivable, lonely even. He tapped his temple lightly. "One of my powers is acute perception. The other... well, it's more..." Vulnerability, was what it was. That he was more affected by things like fate than others on whom it has no consequence on their lives. "...circumstantial. If I were to touch you, worst case scenario is...? I'll see better or nothing changes?"

Those didn't sound that bad. It was hard to say just what would actually happen with not knowing exactly what Sengoku's powers were. Even knowing what they were didn't exactly help. The only sure way to know what would happen would be to just have it happen. "Those sound like nice, safe powers," Dan said, grinning. "Definitely better than some of the other powers of people I've run into."

"Nice and safe," Sengoku agree, grinning himself upon seeing Dan's own. While he wasn't exactly sure what would happen if he touched Dan-- maybe he'd actually go blind or trigger an earthquake or another random, bad luck, natural disaster-- Dan said so himself that his effects were up to chance, and Sengoku very rarely ever gets the short end of the stick in that aspect. Two powers, either strengthen or nullify, both to various extents. Those were good odds, once you see them that way. "...You know what else I'm known for?" He spread his arms wide, invitingly. "The best bear hugs."

That just seemed to be a invitation to disaster. "That might not be a good idea..." Dan almost took a few steps back but that would have been rude. "You never know what might happen." And Dan had entirely too much bad luck. Whatever was the worst possible outcome would probably happen. Something good could happen but those times were rare.

"Circumstantial power," Sengoku reminded him, motioning again with his arms, "You'll find that I'm luckier than most~ I may not know the consequences but I take full responsibility for them." If the world ended right then and there because of it, he'd have lived a good, satisfactory life. If he went blind, he'd just have to take the rest of the day off. Such a cute first year, too. Really, what could go wrong? "Now," he grinned, no stopping him now the intent was in his head, "are you going to let me give you that hug, or am I going to have to come after you?"

"You wouldn't..." Dan didn't believe there was someone in the school trying to give him a hug. People ran away from him, not towards him for hugs. There was something about this strange third year that made Dan believe he'd do go through with the hug too. "Your luck might turn or something if you did." And it didn't matter if the guy said he'd take full responsibility, Dan would still feel as if anything bad was his own fault.

Sengoku laughed. "I would~" And he did. He stepped forward before Dan could move away, and wrapped his arms around the other in a tight enough hug that Dan wouldn't be able to break until Sengoku felt he was satisfactorily hugged back in return. A second passed. Two. "...Has the world ended yet?" he asked above the other's head.

Dan closed his eyes, waiting for the inevitable disaster to hit. And then nothing. He peeked around and didn't see anything bad. "Nothing happened..." He grinned and repeated it louder. "Nothing happened! Wait...are you okay? Did anything happen to you?" And why was he still being hugged? The first year gave a little hug back, wondering if that'd get Sengoku to let go just in case something bad did happen.

Sengoku gave Dan one last squeeze and ruffled his hair before letting the other have his breathing space back. "Nothing happened," he confirmed, "I'm alive, you're alive, the world's still turning. ...presumably." The only perceivable difference would have been the lingering warmth of the younger boy in his arms, but already that was fading away. Nothing happened. He gave Dan a curious glance, not wanting to push his luck, per se, but it wouldn't hurt to make sure. "...Is something supposed to happen? Like, I'm supposed to either feel like I've just downed half a dozen cans of energy drinks, or having finished four hours on the track?"

"Usually something does," Dan admitted, taking a few steps back and looking around. He didn't see anything strange or unusual in the nearby vicinity. Then again, Sengoku did say he had some sort of non-visible powers. "I'm not entirely sure how you're supposed to feel but even so, nothing will probably happen until you try to use your power." That's when the inevitable disaster would strike.

Again, Sengoku prepared himself for the end of the world. His attention was caught by a blur past his face, and, now being a good a time as any, he focused on the shape-- it was a dragonfly, long and thin and fragile, an iridescent blue green-- the rest of the world coming to a standstill. Literally. Of all the other times he's tapped into his power, he'd been able to see the beat of wings as a hummingbird took flight, each face so clear in the train passing the opposite direction from his, every nervous flicker of the eyes of someone withholding the truth and not admitting it.

Now, here, the dragonfly simply hung in midair, inanimate and lifeless, not a quiver in its wings nor a stir in the air. So close that he could just reach out and touch it, if he were able to move. But the world was at a standstill. And he couldn't pull out of it like he usually could. In a moment of panic, Sengoku feared he was stuck. 'Have I fallen from the flow of time...?' the question ran through his mind, destined to see nothing but the scene before him until the end of all things, unable to breathe, unable to blink, unable to do anything but just be. And in that moment of panic, he was terrified.

But then there was Dan's face in his periphery, blurred and then clear as he shifted his focus, with such a concerned face but still with the last tinges of a grin he wished he could see again, and he relaxed and waited. Five minutes. Ten. Two, three hours in his mind during which he studied the other boy, memorizing, appreciating.

And then he blinked. And breathed again, a short, shuddering exhale, the world springing to life around him once again.

Nothing seemed to change from one second to the next. Dan just gave the older student a curious look. "So, are you trying to do anything with your power? Is anything different with them?" It was hard to see, it'd only been a moment but Sengoku had said he had some sort of invisible power. Still, after just a few seconds, it was hard to say if anything was different. Some peoples powers took longer to do things than others.

"...Just a bit stronger~" Sengoku gave Dan his best reassuring smile, which in turn was reassuring to himself that everything was okay now, the past three hours being only in his mind. "Usually I'd feel a bit worn, but right now, even though I..." he trailed off, a thought striking him. Before he could get too excited, there was that other latent ability, one he now regarded with trepidation in not knowing which way the balance had tipped, if it had at all. "Dan," he said urgently, freezing on the spot as not to risk doing anything left up to chance, which he could not trust unless he knew. "Will you play Janken with me? Best out of seven?"

"I...guess?" Dan didn't quite understand why it suddenly seemed so important to play Janken. Still, it wouldn't hurt anything to play a few games. Besides, he was more curious about these invisible powers of Sengoku's. He was watching the older student for any signs of something being wrong. Often people couldn't handle the power overload and ended up physically drained. There weren't any signs in Sengoku but nothing said that it would show up right away either.

"Just the first half of the game," Sengoku assured him, hiding his hand behind his back. He had never lost this game when he played it seriously, though if he got bored of it and decided to throw the wrong hand intentionally, he'd always lose the second half and get flicked on the forehead no matter how hard he tried to look the other way, without slowing his perception anyways. "Jan... Ken... Pon!!"

Dan threw out his hand and gaped a little at the first win. He was terrible at Janken. So it was a little surprise to see himself winning this first one. "Again?" He asked. They were playing best of seven but he wanted to make sure. The games didn't take long to play and weren't complicated. He still didn't quite know why they were playing. What in the world did Janken have to do with powers?

The result came as an honest shock; Sengoku faltered a second before managing to speak. "I... lost..." That's... still fine though!, he tried to reassure himself. So long as it doesn't fall into a losing streak, that doesn't necessarily mean... Because without being guided by the hands of Fortune, out of seven games, one would statistically expect to get three or four losses if draws not counted. He clenched and unclenched his fist nervously before hiding his hand behind his back. "...Again. Jan... Ken... Pon...!"

...Loss.

Sengoku frowned. Running out of available losses here. "...Once more."

Dan didn't see why this seemed so urgent but he played again, throwing out his hand. A tie this time which went more along with Dan's normal luck. "Anything wrong? It's just a game, sempai. Normally I'm not too good at it but you win some and you lose some." He gave a reassuring smile. "One more time?"

"I never lose." That came out a bit more forcibly than Sengoku had intended it to, but it was true that he never lost the game, and two losses in a row was more than enough to put him on edge that not even the tie could make up for. But he hoped Dan was right and that his luck would turn, if following the trend upward meant anything. Nodding, he put his hand behind his back yet again, steeled himself, and threw...

"...Yes!!" He couldn't help but laugh out loud in relief, throwing his hands up towards the sky as if thanking the heavens for the victory. So this is what normal people felt like when they win something they have no idea whether they'd win or not! "I won!" he reaffirmed excitedly, just in case Dan didn't catch his initial outburst, "Two to one; one draw. Again!"

Blinking at the never losing statement, Dan didn't quite know what to think of the outburst just moments later. "Yes? You did win that one," Dan said slowly. This reaction was the strangest he'd ever seen someone have to a simple game of Janken. It would have been hard to have missed Sengoku's excitement but it was catchy. Grinning, Dan nodded. "Jan...Ken...Pon!"

Confidence up, Sengoku threw out his hand again. Rock beats scissors. "YEAH!!" He punched the air victoriously, whooping loudly as if he had just won the lottery instead of a simple hand game. Two more games left, and they were currently tied. "I can't believe how fun this game is!" Sengoku laughed, readying himself again, counting off and throwing his hand again. Another loss on his part, and also the next, but the outcomes longer dampened his spirit now that he realized how things were going. What utter fun winning was, especially following a loss! "I lost Janken," he stated reverently, eyes closed and savoring the moment. "This is amazing."

"I think you're the only person I've ever seen get happy at losing Janken," Dan laughed, amused at this reaction. It was amazing to Dan that he won. Usually he lost or it ended up completely tied, that kind of thing. "Is...so why is it amazing that you lost? Does it have something to do with one of your powers?" The sempai had said his powers weren't obvious so many this was some kind of reaction from it. That was the only thing popping into the first year's head.

"Look at this! Look at this!! Sengoku pulled a penny out of his pocket, new and shiny, gleaming in the sun when he flicked it into the air, spinning several times before landing on the ground face up. "...Whoops, let me try that again," he knelt and picked it up again, again tossing the coin until it landed face down. "Look," he repeated, pointing at the back of the coin at his feet, heart pounding with a mixture of excitement and fear at what he was just about to do.

Slowly, he reached down and picked up the coin, holding the backside up for Dan to see, fingers shaking just the slightest. Resisting the urge to handle the wood in his pocket or cross his fingers, he took one step forward. And then another. Two more steps, and he hadn't tripped, hadn't keeled over with a heart attack, hadn't had the ground collapse from beneath his feet and swallowed him up into the depths of the Earth. "Do you see this? What's just happened?"

No, Dan didn't see what just happened. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary in his eyes though he was starting to wonder if maybe he'd somehow broken the sempai. This was the strangest reaction Dan had ever seen someone react to his power. "No...are you okay? Or did something bad happen?" Though if it was something bad, Dan didn't see just why Sengoku would be reacting this way. "Everything just seems normal to me, that's all," he added, trying to not make the third year upset.

"Exactly! Everything's normal." It was all Sengoku could do but give Dan another hug right here and now and never let go, but the boy looked quite as bewildered as Sengoku felt. "Everything's normal. I'm normal," he tried to explain, though it was so hard for him even get his mind around what this meant, the significance of it all, let alone put it into words. "I can do whatever I want. No consequences. No longer tied down by fate or fortune or any of that. I don't have to watch out for cats, be careful around salt, watch where I step, what I wear, how to live my life." Freedom, in its purest form, and there was no telling how long it would last. But that was okay, just this one taste of freedom was enough, but...

"...There's one thing I've always wanted to do," he said slowly. "Will you come with me? To the locker room by the courts?"

Somehow this was all starting to sound like the start of some horror story. Dan bit his lip and gave the third year a worried look. "What is it that you want to do?" He didn't have a problem going along to the locker room but he was wondering just what was going on. Normal was normal so he didn't see why it was such a big deal. Unless...fate, fortune, salt and cats. Those things... "does this have something to do with luck?"

"Just, uh..." There wasn't really a good way to phrase it without making it sound like a very bad idea, so Sengoku finished off the explanation with a half shrug, "You know. Locker room... stuff." He didn't want to outright lie to the other though, about it being about luck, and chances are that Dan's going to catch on to what he wanted to do sooner or later anyways. And he was going to do it. This might be his only chance to do anything of that sort. "You don't have to come," he said quickly, running a hand through his hair nervously, already stepping back towards the locker room, "Really. I was was just, uh, a bit nervous... but you don't have to, I mean, there's really no... I was just hoping... Never mind. No, no, it's okay. ...I'll be fine."

Curiosity was getting the better of Dan. Locker room stuff didn't sound like anything that needed more than one person but the way Sengoku kept acting had Dan wanting to know just what was up. "A bit nervous about what? You're acting kind of..." Well, Dan didn't know how the particular sempai normally acted but this was such a strange reaction that Dan doubted it was anything near normal. Normal was a hard word to define in a school for mutants anyway but this was still just pure strange.

"Nothing, I'm fine, everything's great, perfectly normal!" Sengoku flashed Dan a bright grin before breaking into a sprint, hopping over the cracks in the pavement only out of habit even though it was unnecessary now. "Keep up!" Just the mere fact that he was moving forward, going to do it, served to solidify his resolve, even as he stumbled a little on his left leg, a "Could you sl-- ...never mind," slipping out before he reminded himself again that there was nothing to negate anymore, for a while anyways, while he was still running and hasn't yet been struck down by lightning.

Despite the routine run each morning, he was breathless by the time they reached the locker room, but made his way straight for the end of the room, where a full length mirror hung on the wall. He stopped in front of it and grinned at his reflection, sweaty tousled hair, flushed skin, manic gleam of the eyes and all.

Dan paid no mind to the skipping of the cracks until they were almost to the locker room. He wondered what the question Sengoku had started to ask was. He was about to ask when they came to the mirror. With all the other luck stuff mentioned earlier, it only took a moment. The first year's eyes went wide. "I...you're not going to break the mirror, are you? That's...sempai, I don't think that's a good idea." Even if it didn't bring bad luck like the superstitions said, the room would still be covered in broken mirror glass. That was a safety hazard for everyone. And this was school property! It was one thing when Dan accidentally caused someone to damage something but it was another entirely when that person did it on purpose!

"I'm going to break the mirror~" Sengoku nodded, unable to contain his glee even while trying to keep up a calm exterior. He ran his palm down the length of the mirror, leaving a foggy trail from the heat of his hand on cold glass. He wondered how he should do this. He supposed he should find some sort of towel or cloth or at least use his shirt to wrap around his hand, but then there was that satisfaction in feeling the contact, of actually doing this with his bare hands. "I'll clean up after. Pay for the damages out of my own pocket money," he assured the other, rolling up the sleeves of his jacket. "...Go ahead and get to class, Dan. You don't want to be late."

Dan shook his head. He wasn't going to leave even if it did make him late to class. This just seemed like a bad idea. Besides, he had a feeling that this was going to be messy and dangerous. All that broken glass just seemed like it was going to end up cutting the older student's hands. Someone needed to stay around just in case. "It'll be okay if I'm late. The teacher will understand." All Dan would have to say was that he'd had an incident. He'd get scolded but there wasn't much he could do about that.

Sengoku sighed. Kohai always seemed to stop listening right at the most important times. But there was nothing he could do to drive the other away, and he had been the one to ask for the company in the first place anyways, so he turned his attention back to the mirror, fists raised and bouncing in his feet in a boxer's stance. Fist by his chin-- side stance-- straight punch!! Right at the moment of contact, he sharpened his vision, wanting to see every shard of glass imprinted in his mind and savor the scene for hours. Only... he was seeing it happen. Seeing the glass shatter and break, his knuckles tear open and run red, the mirror frame cracking and sliding off the wall, glass at his feet and across the floor, blood streaming down his still outstretched arm and staining his pants.

"..." Sengoku blinked. His powers had gone back to normal. And that meant... "...Seven years."

He...he actually did it. Dan couldn't believe his eyes. And then he saw all the blood. "Your hand! Come on," he urged, doing all but grabbing the older student's arm. "You need to see the nurse about that right away." The locker room was quickly becoming a mess of glass and blood. Dan hoped no one would walk in and get hurt. "Sempai, let's go," he urged. "Before you lose too much blood and just to make sure you didn't really hurt yourself..."

"No, no, no, don't," Sengoku protested, shoving his arm out in front of him to keep Dan away, accidentally sending small flecks of blood onto the other's front. "Sorry. I know what to do. Just, uh... bear with me." Slowly, he turned where he stood, wincing as the glass crunched underfoot with each step, counter-clockwise in a circle one time, two, thr-- and slipped on the slick floor, just barely able to throw his hands out in front of him to keep the glass from cutting into his face instead of his hands as he tried to break the fall.

"Ah no," he murmured under his breath, "it's started already." At least sitting down, albeit painfully on top of glass, he wouldn't be able to fall again. Well, with the current state of his luck, maybe he'll manage even that. "Dan? Could you do something for me? In the kitchen, I need you to grab a shaker of salt, mortar and pestle, and a shovel if you can find one. I'll be all right, just sitting here in a pool of my own blood while you're gone. But do hurry. Try to be back before Wednesday, if you can, that'd be nice."

Dan was far more worried about the bleeding hand than the...whatever it was that Sengoku was attempting to do. He didn't see how salt and a shovel and the mortar and pestle would help. "Please don't move," Dan reluctantly agreed to the supply request. He didn't notice the flecks of blood on his jacket.

It didn't take long to find the things Sengoku requested. Well, the shovel had been hard to find but Dan had also taken the time to grab some hand wraps. Running back in, Dan almost fell onto the broken glass as he skidded to a stop. "Please, for your hands first," Dan said as he held out the hand wraps. He was worried about the blood loss. There seemed to be a lot. "Do them and then worry about...whatever you want with these." He gestured towards the other things he'd grabbed. And after they did...whatever this was, Dan was making sure that Sengoku went to the nurse's office to make sure those hands of his were properly treated.

While Dan was out, Sengoku wasn't just sitting still quietly bleeding to death. He had emptied out his pockets: beads, stones, coins, charms, arranged in a loose star surrounding him and the shards of glass, trails of red binding each object to the next. He was muttering under his breath even as Dan returned, not an incantation, but a feverish "Oh geez, please work, I can't believe I-- seven years! I'll be lucky to live until Wednesday, then I can-- Ah! You're back!" He took the hand wraps from Dan, binding them quickly and skillfully after all those years of using them before boxing tournaments. The blood would soak through in a while, but they would help stop the bleeding, even if his hands did get infected. With his luck, he was sure that was going to happen anyways, so he didn't fret too much about it.

Taking the salt, Sengoku unscrewed the cap and took a pinch, throwing it over his left shoulder, where the grains scattered and hit the empty frame behind him. After a moment's thought, he took another pinch and threw that too, one after another, emptying the shaker just to be on the safe side, before tossing the shaker towards the trash bin on the other side of the room. Where it went wide and crashed into the wall, the container split down the side. ...He'll throw that away properly later. Shrugging his blazer off, he rose onto his knees, as carefully as he could. "I don't want you to cut yourself on the glass, so I'll be picking up the larger shards," he told the Dan, already starting to work, though he wished the cloth were a bit thicker and not prone to being poked through when he handled something wrong or his hands shook and lost its grip. "Take the pestle and ground up the smallest pieces, as finely as you can. Once you can no longer see a reflection, it is safe."

Where did all of that random stuff appear from? Dan hadn't noticed the stuff on the floor around Sengoku until now. He'd been far too worried about the hand wraps and getting that bleeding stopped. They looked to be helping a little. At least there wasn't blood getting everywhere now. Granted that was partially because it already seemed to be everywhere.

"Why do you want the mirror pieces ground up? Shouldn't we just throw them away?" That seemed far safer to Dan rather than grinding up all the glass. And less time consuming though that went without saying. He was still worried about those hands but saying anything right now didn't seem like it would accomplish much.

"No!" Sengoku looked up sharply at the suggestion, the sliver of glass in his hands falling from his grasp and slitting his pant leg before breaking on the ground. "My soul. My soul is in that mirror, trapped, broken. I've got to get it out. I've got to fix this." He turned his attention back to the collecting the larger fragments, wondering when exactly fortune had caught up with him. He supposed it might have been when he decided punching the glass would be better than just safely and bloodlessly kicking it. Or maybe even before that, when he thought it a good idea to destroy a huge full length mirror instead of a small pocket one. Either way, it was done.

"...Crush the glass into fragments," he continued after a length, a good majority of the glass wrapped up in his blazer, which he laid on the floor with the glass in a pile, because the moment he stands up with them in his arms he would inevitably drop the lot and slice open his feet. "Then I've to sprinkle the powder into the lake. Larger fragments I'm to bury at the full moon, Wednesday night." Two days. It'll be the longest two days of his life.

Dan worked on crushing the glass. These were strange things that Sengoku was insisting on doing. "I've never heard of anyone doing any of this," he admitted as he worked. Keeping his eyes on the grinding, Dan didn't notice the ripped pants. "This is...why do you do all this? It's just glass and it seems like it's more dangerous to you to do it this way." Superstitions were just stories. They weren't really true. At least, not to Dan. He had good luck and bad luck, no more or less than anyone else.

"...Because superstitions are real to me." Sengoku didn't explain any further than that. Some people were more susceptible to certain things than others, be it heat or disease, or the inexplicable like fate and luck, and that was simply the reality he lived it. He had his coping mechanisms, which he would have to leave behind here and collect later after they've gotten to the lake, and had learned to avoid the triggers, such as no punching mirrors like he had done just then. And here he was, thinking he could finally escape it. But despite everything, he still thought it was worth it, confronting that fear even if it was foolhardy and a failure in the end. ...Seven years though, wow, that was a long time. This had better work.

"Does it have something to do with your power? Since I don't think you'd normally go around punching mirrors." Not with that kind of a reaction. Dan was the only new thing that had been entered into the equation. He looked up from his grinding for a moment and frowned. "Your pants are ripped too." Dan had really caused some damage this time to Sengoku. Those bloody hands and now the ripped pants. Dan had no clue how he was going to make it up Sengoku though the pants at least could be easily mended. "If you want...I can mend that for you if you bring them to me later."

"I don't know. Maybe." Sengoku wasn't being difficult on purpose. Both of his powers had manifested so early on in his life that he never thought them anything but normal. He had also grown up learning about superstitions any regular child does, by hearing them from others and reading up on them himself. Only time and time again, whenever he accidentally did something that was supposed to be bad luck, misfortune followed, establishing in his mind that superstitions were not just stories and sayings, at least not to him.

"But no, I don't go around punching mirrors. I try to avoid them, actually. They scare me." Sengoku gave a nervous laugh, pushing aside the bundle of glass to look over at Dan, flexing his injured hand a little before the wrapping tore and he must have rubbed off the forming scab underneath because there was fresh blood. He stopped that at once. "You almost done? Don't worry about the pants. It's going to get wet and muddy and unwearable later anyways; I can buy a new set." That is, if the ATM doesn't explode when he touches it or the shop is completely out of his size and won't restock for another several months.

Dan kept working on the glass crushing. The pieces were turning into a fine powder but it was harder than he expected. "I'm not sure...is this good?" He paused to let Sengoku approve or disapprove. Dan didn't know exactly what he was supposed to be grinding these down into but he would do his best. This was all because of him and his power. "But they're your school pants..." Uniforms weren't the cheapest and it seemed a shame that they were apparently unwearable after getting ripped. He curious about the wet and muddy part but didn't ask. This day and how things were turning out made Dan think he was better off not knowing.

"Pants are the least of my worries right now." As careful as he could without upsetting the glass, Sengoku sidled over to Dan's side and looked over the finely cut glass. When he picked up a pinchful, he could feel the sharp abrasion against his fingertips and see his skin rub red underneath, but they were fine enough that the surface was too tiny to reflect anything discernible. "That's good," he nodded, backing off quickly so that he didn't sneeze and scatter Dan's hard work. "Best if we do this all together. There's a dust bin in the janitor's closet by the bathrooms we can use to sweep up the glass dust. Then we've got to go to the lake. I've got the larger fragments here, wrapped up so it can be handled better. I hate to ask this of you, but could you carry them when we're out? It might not be the best idea if I do it."

Seeing how things were going, Dan had to agree that it would be for the best that Sengoku didn't handle the mirror glass anymore than necessary. "Don't move and I'll go get it," Dan promised. He had a bad feeling that something horrible would happen if Sengoku tried moving while Dan was away. That's just how this whole incident seemed to be going. Giving the older student a look, Dan hurried off to go and retrieve the dust bin. He didn't get what the lake part was all about but Dan figured that the best he humored Sengoku, the quicker he could make sure that Sengoku got to the nurse and would be able to have his hand properly treated.

When Dan returned, he carefully dumped the glass dust into the bin. Looking at the large pieces wrapped up in Sengoku's jacket, he wondered something. "Could we put that," he nodded towards the bundle, "in here? Just to make it a little safer to carry." The bundle wouldn't fit in the bin perfectly but it would be far less likely to slice up anyone's arms at the same time.

"Oh, you're a genius!" Sengoku stated. Sometimes common sense escaped him when he was too busy trying to keep himself alive under all circumstances, so he was grateful that Dan was here. Really really grateful. He'd have to go do a blessing on the other's dorm room or something. But for now, he picked up the bundle in his arms and placing it in the bin, the knot he had tied with the arm sleeves coming undone halfway through and a couple of shards sliding out and breaking, but those he were able to pick up without much more damage to himself, and he crushed the smallest fragments underfoot. "It's working already...!" Most of the mirror was already ground, so maybe he'll have an easier time now.

Slightly more assured, he made his way over to the door and threw it open... to see a flurry of white snow had blown through while they were inside. It had just started, and hadn't covered most of the ground yet, but still... Panic rose in Sengoku's chest as he motioned Dan to follow him, hoping with all his might that the lake hasn't frozen over. In the distance, the unnatural stillness of the surface answered.

Dan doubted that he was a genius. It just seemed safer to carry the glass in the bin. Carrying it in the blazer just seemed to be asking for more trouble which was the last thing the first year wanted. The snow was a bit of a shock. "It got bad," Dan murmured to himself as he followed Sengoku. "Did the weather report saying anything about this?" Dan was fairly sure he hadn't seen anything about snow flurries. He'd seen cold but not snow. "Are...we're heading towards the lake, right?" Just in case something happened which was looking like a definite possibility, Dan wanted to know exactly where he was supposed to be going.

"It was supposed to be a clear day," Sengoku agreed, wishing his jacket weren’t cut up with glass so it still might do him some good, but weather forecasts were known to be wrong sometimes too, especially when something unexpected like this happens. "And yes, the lake. I need to sprinkle the glass in water, and I don't want to clog up the drains so the lake would have to do." And upon approaching the lake, he could see that it was just a thin sheet of ice, better than it being completely solid but not as good as having no ice at all. As to reaffirm that his bad luck was still there and not to get his hopes up, the wind picked up again, blowing away from the lake and towards their faces. "...Okay. No scattering in this weather. I'm going to go break the ice near the shore and submerge the bucket. Look out for me?" Because there was a million ways this could go wrong, and one or more of those were sure to happen.

"Do you want me to do that?" Dan gave the thin ice layer on the lake a wary look. Knowing the way this day was working out, Sengoku was liable to end up falling into the water and almost drowning in even the shallowest of spots. "Just to be on the safe side, I mean." The wind was making it colder. Not a fan of the cold, Dan crouched into himself more to make as small a target as possible. He held onto the bucket, wondering if this all would really help. Superstitions were just stories, he'd said that earlier but they did seem to carry some sort of weight right now. It was making for a very odd day.

"No, I should do it," Sengoku said, walking towards Dan to take the bucket from him, "I don't want you to get hurt and--" slip on an icy patch of ground like he just did, landing hard on his bottom with a gasp of cold and pain. He closed his eyes. And opened them again, giving Dan a sheepish look from where he sat. "...Only if you don't mind. I'm afraid I'm a bit useless in all sorts of matters right now, until this whole thing blows over." He motioned for Dan to take out the bundle of glass shards and lay them on the ground beside him, wanting to hold on to them but not wanting to risk something happening to them, or to himself. They had gone too far just to have some freak accident happen and have the wind pick up the glass in his lap and impale his stomach. "You be careful. Don't go out too far, just the edge will do." Godspeed, and all that.

Dan didn't have to be told twice. He figured something like that would happen. That seemed to be the way the day was turning out. "I think I'm in less danger of getting hurt than you right now," he pointed out as he took the glass shards wrapped up in the jacket out and set them on the ground. Looking in the bin, he gave Sengoku a little smile. "I just need to take this dust to the water, right?" That sounded easy enough to Dan. He walked carefully, watching the ground just to make sure he didn't slip, and went over to the water's edge.

The first year stepped on the ice at the water's edge, it cracking immediately. The ice was incredibly thin and it took almost no pressure to break it. Still, breaking the water near the edge was safer than trying to throw the dust in the still unfrozen water a little further into the lake. Nothing bad happened to him but then, Dan wasn't under the influence of bad luck. After all the dust was dumped into the water, Dan scooped a little of the water into the dustbin and swished it around. Better to be safe than sorry. He was learning this lesson very well today. When it was done, he hurried back over to Sengoku. "Now what?"

Sengoku watched over Dan as best he could from where he sat, but there was very little good he would be if something did happen, so he was very relieved to see the other return unscathed and the bucket washed clean. He got back up to his feet, wishing he had some way of knowing where he now stood on the balance of fortune, but he was able to walk without slipping again so something must have gone right. With luck, there really was no way to tell though unless he put himself in a situation that can be influenced, like walking on ice or playing Janken, and he'd rather not to that all his life so he preferred being in Fortune's good graces.

Taking up into his arms the bundle containing the rest of the mirror, Sengoku grinned brightly back at Dan, goodness knows how he manages a smile even in a predicament like this. "Back to the locker room to bury this lot out back. It's best to do it by moonlight on a full moon, but any time soon after will do too, and I think I'm safe enough now that I can dig them up and rebury them Wednesday night when the time comes without much more trouble. That, and I've still got to clean up inside, collect my things."

Dan held out the dust bin to put the jacket with glass shards back in. It was just safer that way. They had to walk back to the locker room and that was a little walk. Danger could happen at any point. "Are you sure you'll be okay until Wednesday?" At least it was only a few days away and not almost a month from now. Still, Dan couldn't help but worry. "Maybe...you might want to bring someone when you rebury them them, just to be safe. If you want, I can be there. Just to make sure that nothing super bad happens when you do that." And as soon as they had that mess a little cleaned up, he was going to drag the older student to the nurse to get that hand treated.

Agreeably, Sengoku dumped the jacket and its contents back into the bin and took it from Dan, confident that he would be able to walk and talk and not trip at the same time, and a few tentative paces told him he was right. Maybe everything was okay now. He had followed procedures closely, been careful not to touch Dan again, and his hands didn't even hurt anymore... though that might be because they felt frozen solid by now, hand wraps not being as good as gloves at retaining heat. "I think I'll be okay," he said reassuringly, "We ground the glass and washed it off quickly, which was very good and will take care of the bulk of it, I think. And I've always got other the charms I had kept on me to keep me safe, back in the locker room~"

He quickened his pace as they approached the building, wishing to be reunited with the comfort and safety of his things, but upon opening the door, they were met with an empty room. A dull thump sounded as the bin slid from Sengoku's hands and hit the floor, the entire room having seemed to have been hosed down, the ground still slick with water and everything washed away. Blood, debris, ...everything.

Since it seemed okay, Dan let Sengoku carry the bin. The danger seemed to be passing and it was good to see him in better spirits. Then they reached the locker room. "It's all gone." Dan couldn't believe how fast the mess had been cleaned. Whoever did it was fast and thorough. Bending down to pick up the bin, Dan just stared. "Does this change things?" All those charms and blood and just the mess in general. They hadn't been gone that long and all Dan could think was that it was like someone had swooped in to clean the moment they'd left. He was a little impressed by it though he wasn't about to say that right now.

"They're gone. Everything's gone!" Sengoku fretted, forgetting everything besides the possessions he always kept so close, never out of his sight except for today, why did it have to be today?? The janitor must have come through and seen the mess, deciding to wash down all the walls and floors for a quick and easy clean-up. Sliding a bit on the floor as he ran across it, and almost slipping more than once, Sengoku ran to each trash bin he knew was kept around the building, but they were all empty.

"It isn't trash day, is it?" he asked distractedly, looking around helplessly as if there might be something, anything, left over. "They can't have just tossed everything out..." Maybe they were worried about blood contamination, health hazards, that stuff, but come on, was bodily harm not enough that his entire life had to be screwed up now?

Dan watched, worried about those hands. "Sengoku-sempai, it'll be okay," he tried to reassure. If Dan was anyone else, he'd have tried to touch and calm down the older student but given the circumstances, that was unthinkable. "Let's go see the nurse and get your hand taken care of first. We can figure out what happened to everything then, okay?" It had been long enough and Dan was worried that if they waited much longer or did anything else, it'd get infected.

It was possible the stuff got thrown away but it was also possible that the things had just been put up for now. They'd been personal belongings so maybe they were just somewhere else for the moment. Trash day wasn't for a few more days at least so there was time to look. "You'll still be able to bury the mirror pieces, won't you?"

"...I've got no other choice now but to bury them," Sengoku said, stepping away from the center of the room even though all he wanted to do now was sit here and wait, as if for a lost puppy that might find its way home if he stayed long enough waiting for its return. He looked down at his hand, trying to flex it a bit but it was too stiff from the cold and from being wrapped so he just let it be. It was such a long walk to the infirmary, across the icy ground and still more treacherous stairs, unless they took the elevator but that would probably break down on them while they were inside. As fine as he felt had felt just a few minutes ago, that was before he had lost all insurance of recovering good luck and now he wasn't sure at all. But what else was there to do?

"We've got to bury them now," he decided, "Then again on Wednesday." And before Dan could protest, he clarified, "...It's because we can't go walking around campus with a bucketful of glass. Then they'll definitely be made to throw away, and I can't lose these. And I can't think of anywhere safer and undisturbed than the ground." Which would be rock-hard of ice in this season, lucky him, even if he already wouldn't even be able to hold, let alone use a shovel properly now.

"As soon as they're buried, we're going to the infirmary." Dan was putting down his foot. Walking around with the glass was a bad idea, he'd admit that. But letting Sengoku's hand stay as it was just wasn't acceptable either. If he had to, he'd threaten to touch the sempai until Dan's power reactivated whatever it was doing to Sengoku's powers.

Dan led the way back outside, looking for a good place to bury the mirror shards. The snow was making it difficult to find a good place and the ground was sure to be almost impossible to dig in. Their best bet would probably be to find something that had been covering the ground and making it less frozen. "Do you want me to come with on Wednesday? You never answered." Dan was worried about Sengoku going alone because if he did, there was likely going to be a sudden random blizzard or something.

"Right." Sengoku followed Dan outside, where it was innocently clear of snow save for what was already on the ground, packed tight wherever he stepped. "I... should... be fine Wednesday. It wouldn't be fair for you, Dan, you've done more than enough already. I can enlist some other help if I need it." He'll try his luck going down the stairs that night, gripping the handrail all the while, and if he still manages to twist his ankle going down the steps, he's got Taki on speed dial. Or maybe he'll just call Taki either way, just to be on the safe side.

"Now, how are we going to do this?" He wasn't a gardener of any sort, and the only shovel-derivative he's ever used was a trowel for helping his grandmother weed the garden. There was always thawing the ground with fire, but he couldn't guarantee he'd be able to keep it under control the entire time, especially right next to the building. It was just dying bushes along the side, and then ice and dirt. He stood the shovel up into the ground and stepped on the blade a bit, but he wasn't near heavy enough and the ground didn't give either. "...should have asked Niou for help, gardening."

Watching Sengoku try to dig, Dan saw how difficult it was. The ground was already frozen and it looked like it was going to be almost impossible to dig. "Good, you need to bring someone with you. But if no one wants to come, you let me know and I'll be here." Otherwise Dan would spend the entire night worrying. He would anyway until he saw the guy safe and sound on Thursday.

Dan kicked at the ground with his foot but to no effect. "Sengoku-sempai...do you have to bury it in the ground? Or do you need to just bury it in dirt?" If they just needed dirt, then it would be easier to go to the greenhouse and find some empty pot and extra dirt. "Because if you just need dirt, I might have an idea."

Sengoku thought about it for a moment. All he knew was that to reverse the bad luck of breaking a mirror, one was supposed to bury the mirror by moonlight, preferably by the full moon. Whether or not the glass was to be interred into the ground wasn't exactly specific, but he supposed burying it in any sort of dirt would do, as if all came from the ground anyways. "That might work," he said slowly, trusting that whatever Dan had in mind would indeed work. "...Yes, that should work." It was mostly the idea that dispelled bad faith anyways, not technicalities. Maybe though, just to be safe, he'll do the thing properly on Wednesday anyways, but this would work for now. "Okay, let’s do that. What did you have in mind?"

"The greenhouse," Dan started, explaining his idea about using some spare dirt and an empty pot. It wasn't the same as burying the pieces in the ground but as a temporary solution, it was the best he could come up with on the spot. "I know it's not the same but if all you need is dirt, then we can do that. It can't hurt to try." And not doing anything at all looked to be an even worse idea. He gave a reassuring smile as he added, "and if you keep them in a pot, you can keep it safe and sound somewhere near you until you get a chance to actually bury them." The first year had a feeling that Sengoku would end up doing a proper job of it at some point.

Sengoku's face lit up at the suggestion. Already he was tempted to go the extra step with the pot and plant something in addition to the glass, maybe grow his own bistort or anise the start building up his luck again... but then it was winter and nothing would grow, and even if he did, the only sunlight into the dorm room was from the windowsill and if he put the pot there it'd probably fall all three stories and shatter on the ground where hopefully no one would be walking underneath at the time. Better keep the pot safely hidden away under his desk instead, and try to remember not to swing his legs while sitting at it. ...Bad ideas aside, the greenhouse was still a rather good one, and Sengoku nodded at this, eager to go and get things done as soon as possible.

It seemed that his idea was a good one. Dan gave a happy smile and motioned towards the door. Holding the bin full of glass, he was more than happy to let the older boy lead the way to the greenhouse. "We should go as soon as possible and then you're going to the nurse about your hand," Dan said, laying out the plan for the day. Classes had long since started but that was the furthest thing from his mind right now. And hopefully in the greenhouse, they wouldn't run into that man-eating plant he'd heard mentioned. Though Dan was fairly sure someone had said it'd been moved out of the place already.

"Okay~" Sengoku thought he might feel better in the infirmary anyways, surrounded by people whose job was to look out for him and make sure he doesn't die. He just tried not to think about however many stitches he might need for his hand, medication for potential infection and/or whatever disease he might have contracted going around all day without a jacket, all sorts of things that put him on edge, and instead focused on getting to the greenhouse in one piece. That wasn't too hard to do, as the building was close by.

Sengoku had never gone inside the greenhouse, not ever having any reason to, so he spent the first few moments turning his head trying to see everything without moving, lest he knocks over the pots or breaks the glass walls or the watering system or kills the plants in some freak accident... like leaving the door open and letting a draft in, whoops. He closed it quickly behind them before turning to Dan. "Do you know where everything is?" he asked, feeling very much like a failure of a sempai right now, but he would definitely make things up with Dan later.

The greenhouse was, at least, warmer than outside. Dan gave a soft sigh once they entered. Hopefully this would all be taken care of quickly. He was getting worried about Sengoku and that hand of his. Dan gave a little nod. "We came in here a few times for one of my classes. Extra supplies were in the back if I remember right. And there was a plant we were told to watch out for but I think someone said they'd moved it so we shouldn't have to worry." It was some sort of pet project for another sempai, one Dan didn't know. Walking through the place, Dan kept an eye out for the giant man-eating plant that had been pointed out the last time he'd been through. Things looked to be safe but Dan wasn't going to fully relax until they were in the infirmary.

A plant to watch out for... Sengoku didn't know which plant this might be, or how easily it might die with him bringing this air of bad luck with him, so he decided he'd best stay still and try not to breathe on anything and kill it. While Dan went out back to get the pot and trowel and whatever else they might need, Sengoku hung around the entrance trying to behave himself and not touch anything, leaving the bin of glass against the wall by the door to walk alongside the first row of plants.

Being winter, there weren't many luscious green leaves and vibrantly colored flowers or things of the sort, even in the relative warmth of a greenhouse, but he couldn't tell most of normal plants from one another anyways, unless they were specific leaves or berries or things with supposed magical properties that he identified out of books. Tarragon...? He poked at one of the leaves, which immediately drew back and shrunk in on itself. The panic of "Oh my gosh I've killed the plant!!" lasted all but half a second before he realized that it was just mimosa pudica. ...Better not touch anything else, just to be safe. '...This is what Dan must feel like,' he mused to himself, heading back to the entrance to wait. 'Dear boy.'

A spare pot wasn't hard to find but the dirt was more of a challenge. It took Dan several minutes to find just what he was looking for. Hopefully no one was going to need these things but they were going for a good cause. The place wasn't as vibrant as it'd been when Dan had come at the beginning of the term but the place was still pretty.

"Okay, here we go," Dan said as he carried the pot and dirt over to where Sengoku stood over by the entrance. "This'll work, right?" He hoped so. He'd tried to find the biggest pot that they could carry easily. Setting them down on the ground, he gave Sengoku an expectant look as he waited for the older student to do his mirror burying.

Nodding, Sengoku took the pot into his hands and set it on the ground, noticeably relieved when he managed that without dropping the pot or cracking it. The last time he remembered digging a hole and burying something was when he was four or five, and that was in the backyard and with jelly beans, in particular the black licorice ones left from a bag of assorted beans, convinced the beans would grow and give fruit to some more palpable colors than black.

But it wasn't very hard, filling the pot three quarters of the way with dirt, carefully pushing aside a hole with a spade, dumping the glass in, and filling up the rest to the brim, patting down the dirt to level off the top. "...Done," he announced, slightly surprised that went without a hitch, almost expecting the thing to blow up in his lap, but of course it didn't. He gave Dan the biggest grin, "We did it!"

"You did it!" Dan cheered. He was so glad that nothing happened and if it weren't for the whole not wanting to test fate, Dan would have hugged Sengoku. That, however, was exactly what had gotten them into this whole mess to begin with. It had been a little nerve-wracking to watch Sengoku bury the mirror shards. Dan had been expecting something bad to happen but nothing did. Things were turning out okay after all.

Grinning back, Dan stood back to give Sengoku plenty of room to get up without accidentally bumping into Dan. "Now, the infirmary, Sengoku-sempai." Dan would run away and hide the pot if Sengoku tried to refuse going, that's how serious the first year was about it. He was worried about the older student's hand. At least it'd been wrapped but that would barely help any at this point.

"Hai, hai~" Sengoku mock-saluted, getting to his feet. He wasn't about to refuse Dan at this point; what's left to do was done and he really didn't want an infected hand anyways, so he took the pot up into his arms and let Dan lead the way to the infirmary. Carrying the pot close to his chest like a child, arms wrapped protectively around it, he ignored the low throbs of pain beneath the frozen numbness of his hands from the weight of the pot and focused on not slipping on the ice, which was harder to do now with the extra weight. Twice more he slid on the ice along the way, but aside from shaving a few years off his life from the shock, was able to regain his balance and make it out further unscathed. 'Looking good, Kiyosumi,' he silently cheered himself on. Breaking mirrors had nothing on them!

Dan was glad to hear that they were finally going to the infirmary. That's where he'd been trying to steer them towards ever since Sengoku had punched that mirror. He wondered if it was okay to let the older student carry the pot but looking at him, Dan doubted he'd even be able to get it away from Sengoku. "Do you want me to come with you or can you make it there yourself?" It was too late to get to class but Dan knew some people were touchy when it came to getting treated by the nurse. Some wanted the support and others didn't.

Sengoku took a moment's deliberation. He'd just tell the nurses he got the cut in some freak gardening incident if asked, though they never usually pressed for details, if he remembered well enough. Truth being, he never usually got hurt or sick to warrant a trip to the infirmary, though he visited others on several occasions and there were quite a few cute nurses... "I think I can manage by myself~" he decided, "I feel a lot better now, thanks to you."

Dan nodded. "Do you want me to hide the pot anywhere or do you want to keep that with you?" It would be weird of Sengoku to just carry the thing around all day but after the morning they'd had, Dan understood exactly why Sengoku would want to keep it close. No matter what, Dan would check up on the older teen in a few days. And he'd bring cupcakes.

As weird as it was, Sengoku still felt as if it were part of his soul in that glass and he wanted to hang onto it in case anything happened, even if he felt there were no safer hands than Dan's, aside from his own. "Stranger things have been done than carrying around a pot of dirt all day," he admitted, "I don't think people would ask questions. Maybe think them in their heads and judge me, but that's quite all right~ I'll see you Thursday, Dan," he grinned, "and show you how Janken's supposed to be played."