Open! | Library

[birdinhand]

He'd developed a bit of an affinity for heights. But since it was so nasty outside, he decided to make do with a library bookshelf. The very top of it. He's even flipping through a magazine on wireless technology. He's got it flat against the top of the shelf, though, so no one asked him any annoying questions.

He's got a popsicle too, of course. He's not exactly trying to make noise with it, but those are rarely quiet affairs.

Everything had gotten super complicated fairly quickly. He hadn't seen Hina in ages. And worse than her ending up in prison, it was this prison. When he'd made his decision to drop off the face of the earth, he knew it meant losing her, too. But she was strong, in more ways than one. But by separating himself from her, it also kept the other Greeed from connecting him to her and using her for leverage.

Or that's what he told himself anyway. The truth was, he enjoyed his freedom for how long it had lasted. When that idiot showed up, he had found out he'd traded one set of bonds for another. And this is what he'd earned for that. All the theft, murder, and destruction he and the others had laughed about.

And now that asshole Eiji was here. This was going to get stupid really quickly. He'd been useful at the time but now that he had found out who he really was, this was going to get even worse.

The splat of his melting popsicle dripping onto the magazine brought him back to his sense. "Tche." He was Ankh now. Shingo Izumi was as good as dead, as he'd told Eiji. He bit off what remained of the popsicle and dropped the stick off the side of the shelf.

Comments

[decideformyself]

The popsicle stick landed and promptly stuck itself in Philip's hair as he traversed the aisles, looking for something to read.

He stopped. Lifted a hand to his head. Plucked the stick out and frowned at it.

[birdinhand]

"Take care of that for me, would you?" How the next one he was opening hadn't melted in the wrapper was a mystery. He chained his way right into the next one.

[decideformyself]

"Take care of it yourself!" He threw the stick back up at Ankh. "Food is not allowed in the library, nor is climbing on the shelves."

[birdinhand]

He caught it nonchalantly. "Go ahead and try to stop me." He turned the page in the magazine as though Philip were only a marginal concern for him.

[decideformyself]

"Would you prefer to deal with the guards, then?"

[birdinhand]

No, he really didn't, but he thought he still had a way of working around that particular threat. "You should be able to deal with it yourself. You work here, don't you?"

[decideformyself]

"That doesn't make it my job to clean up after you."

[birdinhand]

He closed up the magazine he was looking at and dropped it toward Philip. "It is when it's the library's shit," he pulled another off the stack and started flipping through it. "Go away."

[decideformyself]

Philip snatched the magazine out of midair and tucked it under one arm, watching Ankh cautiously. "'Anyone caught defacing property will be made to clean up their childish mess and also forced to work as a janitor for the remainder of the week,'" he quoted. "I'd be interested in seeing whether littering qualifies under that rule."

[yokubo]

Okay, maybe Eiji was a little bit dense. He had been in the library for at least fifteen minutes and he'd yet to find Ankh. He had thought of calling out for him several times, but if he was too loud in the library he would probably get in trouble. That wouldn't be good.

He stood in the the hall dividing the aisles, an utterly confused look on his face. Ankh wouldn't just say he'd be there and not show, right? Was there more than one library?

[birdinhand]

The answer to Eiji's question might come from the rustling of glossy paper over his head. But in case that wasn't enough of a clue, Ankh decided to make it more clear for him. "Oi, Eiji," he called down to him. As if he cared at all about the noise level of the library.

[yokubo]

He jumped a bit when Ankh raised his voice, but he turned around with a smile and waved.

"Ankh!" He stopped waving the instant he registered just where Ankh was, though. He moved closer, looking confused again. "Are you really allowed to be up there?"

[birdinhand]

"Who the hell cares?" He fired back down at him. "You've seen that I'm okay, now get the hell out." He waved a dismissive hand. This guy didn't really have any use for him anymore.

[yokubo]

Eiji didn't really mind Ankh's insults, so instead of leaving he grabbed a nearby chair and pulled it closer to the shelf.

"Being okay doesn't just mean the outside, Ankh." He plopped down in the chair and rested his hands on his knees, expectantly looking up at him. Besides why he had originally wanted to come, he wasn't going to leave without asking about Hina too.

[birdinhand]

He didn't like the sound of that. And he thought he might know where this is going. He took a bite off the end of the popsicle inhis hand. He glared down at Eiji and blinked a lot less than your average person might. "You're annoying."

[yokubo]

The lack of blinking was definitely unnerving and it showed despite his effort to act like it hadn't bothered him.

"Is it really that wrong to be concerned?"

[birdinhand]

"I used you to save my own skin." Even saying it outright, he didn't think it would change Eiji's mind any. "But you're still here messing around like you're worried about me."

But he thought he might have an idea of what he was getting at. He wasn't going to give him any ideas, though. Time to change the subject. "So, how did that Branch of Sin feel?"

[vaframenti]

Even if he was hardly in the mood for it as of late, Loki had finally decided to return to his job. Even if recent events had affected him more than he was ever likely to admit, being surrounded by books was at least in some way calming.

Of course, the fact that someone was making a bit of trouble was always a promising distraction.

"Have you found something particularly interesting up there?" He raised a brow at the stranger, a small smirk on his face. Unlike a certain boy that was now one of his newest coworkers, he had no intention of reporting such a petty disturbance.

[birdinhand]

He glanced down at Loki and then back at what he was reading without really acknowledging him. "It's more comfortable up here," he answered. It was a habit he'd taken up without much thought as to why.

[vaframenti]

"You don't say?" He teased at the idea of being surprised. "I never would have guessed."

"I think you probably already know that what you're doing isn't explicitly allowed." Again, he didn't care one bit but he did want to see what kind of person he was talking to. Reactions told much about people.

[birdinhand]

That sarcasm got his predatory, hardly blinking gaze on him, but he didn't really say anything about it. "For a prison, people sure care a hell of a lot about the rules."

[vaframenti]

Loki once again piqued an eyebrow, returning Ankh's glare with a disapproving look of his own.

"You're a bit unaware of how things work here, aren't you?"

[birdinhand]

"I don't really care." And with that, he goes back to pretending Loki doesn't exist again. So many nosy people.

[vaframenti]

"Until you actually face punishment for your actions, anyway. You might have a surprisingly different attitude after losing a limb." He said it casually as if he had had the same conversation more than once.

[birdinhand]

"Losing a limb is a pretty heavy punishment for being on a bookshelf," he replied. He still didn't really look at him, but at least he had him talking still.