1 Serendipitous Outing [Ayakashi/No Kill] Wed Jul 30, 2014 6:12 pm
Suzume
D-rank
I walked down the cold cobblestone streets of the Hidden Mist village. Passerby's glance my way, their dull gazes fitting the bland, misty day as I approached a street side diner. The diner stuck out a foot into the street, slanted ground all around and behind it signifying a recent mudslide had moved the building out a few feet from its original place. Mud and mold painted the sides. The diner may have once seen better days, but those better days were several months ago and now long past.
One would think the diner to be abandoned, the inside torn up by the recent mudslide except for the fact that the neon sign still hummed with life, illuminating the water particles that hung in the air. A bright green glow of the words 'open' guided me to the front entrance. The door chimed and groaned as I crossed the threshold. Only three other customers sat inside, each wrapped well to fight the cold, misty day. Two sat in a far off corner booth whispering quietly to one another, the third sitting in the middle of the bar sipping on steaming coffee. One lone woman stood behind the bar, with a face worn by time. She wiped her hands against her grease-stained apron before resuming her count of the cash register's contents.
My entrance made everyone turn, the chiming of the door signaling a newcomer, an intruder. The whispering hushed to a rustling of coats as the two in the booth turned, the sipping stopped for a moment and let the hard ceramic cup rest on the wooden counter, the counting paused as one last flick of paper money rubbed against the greasy fingers of the middle-aged waitress. I stood for a moment, glancing between all four of my new spectators. The door screamed shut behind me with a loud rattle. A brief rush of the warmer air inside the diner hugged my face, rubbing the burnt grease smell around my nose. After a brief study by everyone, they each in turn resumed their previous tasks, finding me of less intrigue.
Three seats down from the coffee sipper I took up residence, folding my hands over the other and resting against the wood counter. Without looking up or stopping her counting, the waitress asked what I wanted. Her request sounded more demanding then coaxing, but no one was in the best of moods. I merely replied indignantly for my own cup of coffee. The waitress nodded and continued counting the money.
Finding time to take a rest, I laid my head down upon my folded arms and closed my eyes. It had been nearly thirty six hours since I had slept. Having kept watch over Misoka's and Kazuhiko's recuperating bodies in the hospital ever since I had carried them into the emergency wing. My whole body ached and now seemed to thank me in a resounding chorus for being given a moment to rest. Letting my eyes rest beneath my eyelids, I prayed for the coffee to come quick, lest I fall asleep. There was no telling when I would wake up again.
Staying at rest, the white noise of the diner became acute to my ears. The simmering of a coffee pot from somewhere before me, on the other side of the counter, bubbled and dripped its way to my eardrums. More sipping from the patron a few seats to my left and further down the unintelligible whispers of the two coated men had sparked to life again. I could feel myself slowly slipping closer and closer to sleep. The next sound that I became aware of as I rested against the counter was the flicking of paper money and the metal ding of the cash register pushing closed. A soft tapping of the waitress's boot against the dirty tile floor and my slow, drowsy breaths filled the room and encased me in its own, strange lullaby as I drifted ever closer to slumber.
One would think the diner to be abandoned, the inside torn up by the recent mudslide except for the fact that the neon sign still hummed with life, illuminating the water particles that hung in the air. A bright green glow of the words 'open' guided me to the front entrance. The door chimed and groaned as I crossed the threshold. Only three other customers sat inside, each wrapped well to fight the cold, misty day. Two sat in a far off corner booth whispering quietly to one another, the third sitting in the middle of the bar sipping on steaming coffee. One lone woman stood behind the bar, with a face worn by time. She wiped her hands against her grease-stained apron before resuming her count of the cash register's contents.
My entrance made everyone turn, the chiming of the door signaling a newcomer, an intruder. The whispering hushed to a rustling of coats as the two in the booth turned, the sipping stopped for a moment and let the hard ceramic cup rest on the wooden counter, the counting paused as one last flick of paper money rubbed against the greasy fingers of the middle-aged waitress. I stood for a moment, glancing between all four of my new spectators. The door screamed shut behind me with a loud rattle. A brief rush of the warmer air inside the diner hugged my face, rubbing the burnt grease smell around my nose. After a brief study by everyone, they each in turn resumed their previous tasks, finding me of less intrigue.
Three seats down from the coffee sipper I took up residence, folding my hands over the other and resting against the wood counter. Without looking up or stopping her counting, the waitress asked what I wanted. Her request sounded more demanding then coaxing, but no one was in the best of moods. I merely replied indignantly for my own cup of coffee. The waitress nodded and continued counting the money.
Finding time to take a rest, I laid my head down upon my folded arms and closed my eyes. It had been nearly thirty six hours since I had slept. Having kept watch over Misoka's and Kazuhiko's recuperating bodies in the hospital ever since I had carried them into the emergency wing. My whole body ached and now seemed to thank me in a resounding chorus for being given a moment to rest. Letting my eyes rest beneath my eyelids, I prayed for the coffee to come quick, lest I fall asleep. There was no telling when I would wake up again.
Staying at rest, the white noise of the diner became acute to my ears. The simmering of a coffee pot from somewhere before me, on the other side of the counter, bubbled and dripped its way to my eardrums. More sipping from the patron a few seats to my left and further down the unintelligible whispers of the two coated men had sparked to life again. I could feel myself slowly slipping closer and closer to sleep. The next sound that I became aware of as I rested against the counter was the flicking of paper money and the metal ding of the cash register pushing closed. A soft tapping of the waitress's boot against the dirty tile floor and my slow, drowsy breaths filled the room and encased me in its own, strange lullaby as I drifted ever closer to slumber.
Last edited by Suzume on Fri Mar 25, 2016 5:30 pm; edited 1 time in total