01 | Action

[chalicejoker]

For the most part, this is just another Wednesday for Hajime. Wake up, go into the restaurant, prepare for the day, spend the day there doing whatever needed to be done. Aikawa's is a small place, but the food's good. It's fast-casual Japanese, and orders are placed at the counter, where they'll be brought out to customers at their tables.

The cash register on the counter is brand new and bright and shiny, and every now and then, Hajime can be seen over there staring at it like he's expecting it to do something really weird at a moment's notice or poking at it with an obvious frown--not that he does this when he thinks anyone is looking.

Hajime may also be found anywhere else in the restaurant where a manager or some extra help might be needed. Maybe he's the one taking your order or bringing out your food. Maybe he's dealing with an unruly customer or two. Whatever the case, he's been overworking himself in an attempt to make himself forget about suddenly developing green blood, and he really looks like he could use a break.



[Locked to Lyall]

Once Hajime was sure classes would be out for the day, he went over to the high school. Best to do it early as he could in order to give himself the most time with the microscope Lyall would let him use...and to eliminate the chance that he'd chicken out altogether. Being back in those halls was a little surreal, and he got stopped by a few other old teachers before successfully making his way to Lyall's classroom.

He'll give the door a courtesy knock before sticking his head inside anyway. "Mr. Lyall?"

The weather's warm enough that he's walking around in short sleeves. Lyall might notice a bandage on Hajime's left forearm--he had to get his blood sample from somewhere. He's also holding a small glass jar containing an even smaller amount of some bright green liquid. There's no obvious sign of agitation in Hajime's facial expression, but his body language is rather tense. He's also got no idea Lyall might be able to smell the anxiety on him, and he's afraid of what he might see today even if he won't admit it to himself.

Comments

[shiromadoushi]

It's a rare day when Bakura heads directly home after school and today is no exception. Bookbag lazily slung over a shoulder, he heads into the restaurant, looking back and forth between his phone and the line.

When it's finally his turn, he lowers it, glancing up at the menu. "Aaa-- a #4 Ramen special, please."

[chalicejoker]

[Although he really doesn't feel like it, Hajime pretty much has to give Bakura a smile because that is how customer service works. He's putting the order into the cash register and hoping the stupid thing will behave. Putting the numbers in there was one thing when it was quiet, but now that there's a line?]

Got it. You want anything to drink with that?

[shiromadoushi]

Aa-- do you have any--

[[he pauses as his phone makes a trilling victory sound, indicating he had a new text message, and he looks utterly embarrassed.]] --any bottled green tea today?

[professorwolf]

Sure enough, the teacher is in there, working on grading homework-- and looking vaguely exasperated at a few of the problems he's correcting at the moment. He looks up at the knock, so he's smiling a little already as Hajime pokes his head inside. He sets down his pen to wave the young man inside.

"Come in, come in--"

He pauses as that scent wafts inside, carried on the breeze from the open door. He really doesn't know what it is, exactly, except it's kind of... prickly and sweat-smelling. And it's coming from Hajime, he's pretty sure. The first thing to come to mind is also the first thing out of his mouth, especially lately: "Are you all right?"

[chalicejoker]

[Hajime has heard all sorts of bizarre incoming text tones while working here. He doesn't bat an eye at Bakura's.]

Sure do! That'll be $11.95.

[Here's hoping that cash register doesn't broadcast the entire contents of Bakura's order to the network. Hajime's still getting the hang of how the network works.]

[chalicejoker]

Hajime seems a little surprised at the question. "I'm fine. Never been better." Though his grip tightens on the jar containing the green stuff. "What about you? It's been a while..."

He's looking around the room now, as it's easier to look around at inanimate objects and feel weird pangs of nostalgia than it is to make eye contact with Lyall, who might catch him in his lie of there being nothing wrong. "This place hasn't changed much."

[shiromadoushi]

[[Bakura nodded, ignoring the sound of another text until he had held out his charge card.

....

Doing his best not to make a face, he quickly sent out a return text.]]

You keep entering that number into the register when you're distracted, don't you?

[professorwolf]

"Well, we did get a few new desks last year, and we replaced that awful poster of cell division at last," Lyall comments, brow furrowed as he tries to put a name to that scent. Having Hajime scent to contend with, as well, isn't helping. "It has been a while, though."

He doesn't harp on whether Hajime is all right, though. He just gets up, removing his glasses to tuck into his pocket, and heads over to the locked room in the back where he keeps his more expensive equipment, like the microscopes. "Enjoying our odd new network?"

[chalicejoker]

[Hajime's eyes widen slightly as he reaches out to take Bakura's card. He'd done it again? When there were people around? Not good. He's assuming the register crack is just because it's showing whatever he was doing on the screen, not because the other networked person is standing right in front of him.]

I guess so. Or it never went back to normal from the last time.

[Yeah, he's just awkwardly standing there waiting to take Bakura's card now.]

[chalicejoker]

"I'd enjoy it more if I knew what it was for." He's following after Lyall now. "It's too strange to be just some sort of prank. What about you?"

Hajime's anxiety is only going to spike as they get closer to the microscopes, even if he's still keeping a cool expression. He both does and doesn't want to see this more closely. Ignorance is bliss...but he already knows too much. Might as well see what else he can find, right? He'll hold up the jar for Lyall to see. "This is the stuff I want to look at." Because there's nothing at all odd about a jar containing a small amount of bright green liquid.

[professorwolf]

"Yes, I am quite confused by it, though at least I am not posting to it accidentally anymore. I don't think the school body could handle that." Coming back out of the storage room with the best of the various-quality microscopes, Lyall eyes the jar with interest. "And you say you found this?"

He's going to be pretty curious where, Hajime.

"I assume this is connected in some way to the network and related changes."

[shiromadoushi]

"Didn't you reboot it?" Bakura asked, holding the card out a bit further.

actchun

[comparative_insanity]

[A group of laughing young men and a couple of women file into the restaurant and grab themselves a table. After a debate has been held of who should order which is clearly mostly banter, money is given to to a brightly dressed blond along with a list of what everyone would like to order. He steps up to the counter and holds out the list with a sheepish little smile.]

I couldn't pronounce half of what's on there, so they made a list.

[chalicejoker]

There's a slow nod. "Yeah. I first noticed it around the time those numbers popped into my head a few weeks ago. Did you notice anything strange besides the numbers?" He's just going to try to obfuscate the details of where he "found" this stuff with a few questions of his own.

He'll unscrew the lid and place the jar down onto a table. The way he looks at it suggests something about it's really making him uncomfortable. "So...how are we going to do this? Get a slide or something?" A pause. "That's a big enough sample, right? I could go get some more if I had to..." Not that he sounds particularly enthused about that possibility. Getting that much of a sample had hurt.

[chalicejoker]

"Yeah, but--" Hajime stops and blinks for a second before quickly realizing what just happened. What were the odds? He quickly takes the card and runs the payment, returning the card to Bakura. "It was slow in here earlier. I was experimenting with it."

At least there didn't seem to be anyone else in line behind Bakura. Hajime does something to the register, rebooting it, and calls back over his shoulder in Japanese to someone in the kitchen. Hey! Someone get out here for a couple of minutes, would you? I need to talk to this guy. He'll nod towards a nearby table as he steps out from behind the counter.

[shiromadoushi]

Bakura nodded as he began walking. "Didn't realize you spoke it too," he smiled, swapping to Japanese with ease. "A bit easier to not be overheard this way, ne?"

[chalicejoker]

[Hajime loves whenever he's spared having to listen to horrible, horrible mispronunciations, so that "gotta be nice to the customers" smile is actually somewhat genuine.]

Did you have any questions about anything?

[He's starting to put that order into the register now, although the look he gives the register suggests that it had better behave or else he's going to flip it off the counter because he has had enough of its network shenanigans, thank you very much. It shouldn't connect to the network anymore...he hopes.]

[chalicejoker]

"As long as none of the staff overhear," Hajime pointed out. "Most of them speak it as well." It helped that the place was staffed mostly by his cousins and other assorted relations. "But I've got to say I'm more surprised to see someone else on that network here than someone else who speaks Japanese." He took a seat at the table and motioned for Bakura to do the same.

[shiromadoushi]

"Pretty sure it's a little too noisey back there for that," Bakura returned as he sat down. "And it's starting to be less and less surprising. Between people in my school and around... starting to wonder if we're all in the same area," he mused.

[chalicejoker]

"Someone will probably come out and walk the floor eventually. Make sure no one needs anything, stuff like that." Hajime shrugged. "Besides, a couple of them are bad about sticking their noses where they don't belong."

He frowned a bit. "My old biology teacher's the only one I knew beforehand, although I guess some of the others could have come in here at some point and I wouldn't have known. I wonder how many of us there are all total."

[shiromadoushi]

"You had Mr. Lyall?" Bakura guessed. "And there's at least 10. Maybe 15 by now."

[professorwolf]

A few weeks ago. Lyall tucks that away to add to his spreadsheet, setting the microscope down, even as his nose wrinkles at the sudden new scent in the room. "I brought slides, they're in the little drawer at the bottom of the microscope." There's also a glass rod to move some of the odd liquid in place, which Lyall also gets out.

He glances up again at Hajime for the last comment. He can "get more", can he? Hmm. "And that should be more than enough. Here, I'll set up the slide." He deftly transfers a drop from the jar to the slide, getting a closer whiff of it in the process.

((and what would this new-fangled blood smell like? ^^ ))

[chalicejoker]

"Yeah, years ago. I'm guessing you've got him now?" Hajime took a wild stab at Bakura's age. That was easier to do than guess at other teachers that might be on the network.

He thought for a moment on the number of people in the network. "That feels like it both is and isn't a big number. Small when you think about how many people there are in the world--even in the city--but then...kind of a lot for this to be happening to all of a sudden."

[shiromadoushi]

Bakura nodded at the question.

"Big for a sentai team, small for a superhero guild, ne?" he joked. "I wonder if something like this is happening in other cities too... or if there's just a threat here, so here's where things are happening," he mused.

[chalicejoker]

Hajime just watches Lyall get everything set up, and he's not quite able to conceal his eagerness to get a look at the slide. "Thanks." He'll take it and start using the microscope with it. At least he remembers how to focus the thing properly.

Much of the blood's coloration is caused by the iron getting swapped out for copper, as is the case with some arthropods and insects, so it'll have more of a coppery odor to it than normal red blood. With a microscope at this strength, it looks pretty much just like regular old blood would, with the obvious exception of the bright green coloration.

Hajime's not quite sure what he was hoping to see with all of this. Hooray, at least it's still blood and not chlorophyll or something even more obviously inhuman? As he looks, he gets a little pale, and that anxiety scent is going to spike something awful. Seeing it like this is almost as bad as bleeding green for the first time. He'll have to step away from the microscope for a moment, though he won't say anything.

((Sorry, I could've sworn I put the scent in the last tag! ^^; ))