Within moments of entering Compa's apartment, Jack's eyes were assaulted by a wide variety of pinks and whites. Since she'd arrived about ten or twenty minutes before (due to Jack not being able to take the elevator and getting caught up in the lobby by a crowd of people that knew his face from Leanbox), Compa had placed her doctoring bag on the table, stretched herself in an adorable way whilst making a squeaking noise when she felt something click, then let herself flop onto the cream couch face first, her pink hair spread out behind her head and her moderately long legs with the fluffy warmers hanging just over the edge of the chair. Jack stood there, clutching his Mossberg and occasionally rolling his shoulder to alleviate the weight of the double-barrel that was slung over his back, considering how out of place he was. He momentarily wondered if carrying the chainsaw would make him seem even more out of place in Compa's cutesy little apartment. Just then, the nurse rolled over, stretching again with a yawn, and then looked at Jack. "Oh, now that we're here, could you please take a shower, Mr. Lovebun? No offense, but you're...a little...smelly." Jack shook his head.
"I doubt I'll fit in the shower. And it's London, not Lovebun." Compa scrunched her face up slightly.
"I thought you wanted someone to stay with..." she muttered, folding her arms and putting on a huffy expression. Jack moved into the kitchenette, and leaned on the island. He almost felt like something moved in the cupboards beneath him, but ignored it.
"Yes, I do, and I thank you for your hospitality," replied the Englishman, shifting slightly. "But I would physically not fit in your shower. My head is nearly touchin' your ceilin'. Can't exactly have a shower if I can't get beneath the shower'ead, can I?" Compa thought for a moment.
"Then what about a bath?" she asked. She still didn't move from her lying position on the couch. Thankfully, Jack wasn't able to see up her skirt, otherwise he wouldn't be able to look at her the same way.
"Bath?" he repeated, mulling the word over. "Been ages since I had one of those...once again, though, I doubt I'd fit in the tub." Now it was Compa's turn to shake her head.
"There's a public bath down the road," she replied, sitting up, "I doubt anyone would be there at this time, so you won't have problems with being seen naked." Jack winced slightly.
"Well, that's the problem. You doubt there's anyone down there. But there might be. Right?"
"It's possible, yeah. But unlikely, because only weird people go out to a public bath this late."
"And that includes me?"
"Yup!" Compa hardly even registered she'd called him weird. Instead, she rolled around on her couch for a few seconds, stretching out (as Jack had assumed) and humming to herself with a cheerful expression. Finally, he sighed.
"Fine, I'll go," he groaned. "But I'm not sure where it is-"
"You can't miss it."
"-if I'll fit-"
"It'll be fine."
"-if they'll let me in-"
"It's not girls' only night, so you'll get in OK."
"-how I'm payin'-"
"It's free."
"-and what I'm even meant to do at a...public bath."
"Do what you do when you're having a bath, I guess. Just...wear a towel."
"Wear a towel in the bath?"
"Um, yes, I think that's what you're supposed to do. Just find out when you get there."
"How long do I have?"
"I'll leave the door unlocked. Just remember to lock it when you come back in."
"Right. Oh, and what do I wear when I leave?"
"Your clothes."
"My clothes are probably the thing that fuckin' stinks in the first place."
"Do you wanna leave them here and go out in your undies?" Compa asked. She didn't seem hostile in asking. It was a genuine question. Jack raised his hands defensively.
"Nah, I'm good, I'll...see if I can, uh, get these cleaned. Or summat." Compa nodded, and gave a small 'ah' of understanding. She then rolled over and began reading a book that was on the table. Jack stood there silently for a moment. "Oh...Compa?"
The nurse quickly turned her head, feet still swinging about behind her. "Yessy?" Jack looked at her for a second or two.
"Cheers for this."
"No problem. I've needed a roommate for a while. I just...wasn't expecting an alien. I'll probably be asleep when you get back, so..." Jack chuckled, and opened the door.
"Don't worry, I'll sneak in all quiet. Good evenin', Compa."
"Nighty night, Mr. Lunny."
The door clicked shut behind Jack, and simultaneously, four people let out gasps of relief and fell from their hiding spots behind curtains, in the cupboard beneath the kitchen island, and under the table. IF, who was brushing off cobwebs from her in-the-dark-cupboard experience, looked at Compa. "Nice one, Compa," she grinned. "That's him gone for the evening. Where'd you learn to act that well?" The nurse rolled onto her back, and looked at her childhood friend, putting her hands behind her head.
"Sometimes, I need to tell patients it'll all be fine." She paused, momentarily frowning. "But it's...not." IF chuckled, as MAGES. stepped towards them.
"I still do not understand why he is here," she said flatly. "I assumed you had invited Tekken and I over for catching up." Compa smiled.
"And I did!" she beamed. "It's just that Mr. Lunny was at the basilicom, and when we were on the lift up, he showed us some scars he had which were REALLY cool, and then it turned out he didn't have anywhere to stay, so I leapt at the chance!" The wizard tilted her head, as Tekken timidly made her way over.
"Is he gone?" she asked quietly. MAGES. nodded, and Tekken's expression brightened up. "Goodie! Now we won't have him being rude whilst we're all talking!" IF squinted slightly, shrugging.
"I dunno, he seemed OK to me, if a little bit intimidating," she mused, sitting at the end of the couch where Compa's feet now rested on her lap. "I mean, for the whole time I was at the basilicom visiting Histy and Nepgear, all he did was listen to Histoire giving him his duties, answer a few questions, ask a few, then sit on the balcony with his guns and clean them. That was it. He didn't seem...rude, or anything. I think the only thing I didn't like him doing was creeping out Nepgear. And Nepgear likes everyone!" MAGES. put the weight of her hands onto her cane, sitting on a chair she had pulled up.
"Indeed," the magician nodded, "And from my previous experience, he and his companion defeated a pair of armed thugs, in the process protecting a large number of innocent Leanbox citizens. Furthermore, he did display concern over my well-being, however he did so by observing my whilst I was unconscious." Compa gasped.
"Perv..." she whispered. MAGES., however, shook her head.
"In actuality, you may be surprised to know he showed significant respect for my modesty when I got changed in front of him: He covered his eyes whilst I changed, thus proving he was not some peeping opportunist." There was silence as the three other girls took in the information.
"...why did you get changed in front of him?" IF asked, raising a brow. Compa giggled.
"I think she wanted him to see what she has." MAGES.' face went bright red.
"N-No!" she squealed, almost drowned out by the combined laughter of Tekken, IF, and Compa. "I-I was not thinking clearly! I had j-just been unconscious, s-so...I...got changed. Into my clothes. And...he...was present." IF sat up momentarily, wiping a tear from her eye.
"Yeah, as if!" she snorted. "Looks like the 'Mad Magician' has her eye on a new assistant!" Tekken began clutching her stomach, going completely red faced as she gave an uncharacteristically hearty laugh, whilst Compa rolled onto her front again, slamming her fist on the arm of the chair as she chortled loudly. IF was on the floor, holding her gut with both arms as she continued laughing.
MAGES. was contemplating every decision in her life that had led up to her revealing that story which, now it had been told, would haunt her for the rest of her life.
Five minutes later, down the road...
The two women at the desk stared in bewilderment at the man standing in front of them. Not only was it rather rare to see a man, but it was more rare to see a tall man. Every other male that was widely publicised was a criminal, except this guy. The first of the two, realising that Jack was standing in front of the reception and awkwardly shifting, cleared her throat. "Umm...welcome to the Downtown Planeptune public baths, Mr...?" Jack had his response ready.
"London. My surname's London. You can call me Mr. London." He hardly dropped eye contact as he said it. He really wanted them to get it into their heads. The woman stared for a second, then straightened up.
"Of course, Mr. Honeybun," she replied calmly, reinforcing Jack's absolute hatred towards the joke. "If you'd like to follow my co-worker, she'll take you to the male baths. And the changing rooms." She looked him dead in the eyes. "There are no cameras there." Cautiously, Jack nodded.
"Uh-huh. Would I be able to wash my clothes whilst I'm here? Like a...laundrette, or summat?" The woman was about to shake her head, when the other girl quickly spoke up.
"No, but I could take your clothes to the drycleaner's over the road for you," she chirped. "It's a free service, and nobody uses it much anyway, so I wouldn't mind taking them to the dry cleaner's and picking them up later." Jack tilted his head.
"I didn't see a dry cleanin' place whilst I was comin' over here," he replied. "You sure?"
The woman paused, and looked to her friend. "Uhh...certain of it."
Jack stood and thought for a moment, eyeing the two up. "Well, I'm fairly certain there's no dry cleaner's around here. Walked for ten minutes to find this place, and not once did I see a dry cleaner. So I'm thinkin' you two are tryin' to pull summat off." He looked them both dead in the eyes, frowning. "I'll clean them later." The two ladies swallowed, and nodded quickly. "Which way do I go to get changed?"
Without hesitation, the first woman he had encountered quickly pointed to a side door, and Jack gave a small yet noticeably sarcastic nod of appreciation as he crouched through.
Fifteen minutes later...
"Fuck me, Compa was right, I did smell fuckin' 'orrible," Jack whistled, using the supplied brush to scrub off a large patch of dried blood from the right of his abdomen. He was pretty sure that had been under there for a few days, at least: Probably from when that robot slammed into him in Lowee's forest, though he wasn't too sure how blunt force caused the bleeding. Regardless, in spite of the baths being completely empty, he could already sense that someone was probably watching him cleaning himself off. Probably a camera or window or something. He was certain that the bath itself was empty; It was a large, oriental sauna-styled affair. Open air, as well, but with no buildings that could see inside. Truly well built, he had to admit.
It was also, unfortunately, very warm.
As he was typically an indoors person, and most of his training was based in Nevada but often required the recruits to visit places like Alaska and Siberia, he was not used to the warmth of a sauna. It wasn't on the level where he'd probably faint or anything: It was just incredibly uncomfortable to him, made apparent by his occasionally groaning and wiping of his brow. His hair was fine. He wasn't touching it because he was worried he might lose his 'Famed Bank Robber' hairstyle. So, instead, he was focusing on what he could see on his mostly naked body, every so often flicking his eyes up to the pile of gear that he had lying over by the side of the bath, before continuing to scrape off the dried Dogoo substance and smoke residue that had made itself present on his arms, legs, and face. For any Gamindustri resident, the brush was to get hard-to-reach places like the back and was approximately the length of a tennis racket. For Jack and his considerable size, it was about the length of a mid-sized hairbrush, and made itself useful in destroying dry and hard to remove substances.
As he stood at the edge of the (surprisingly stomach-deep) bath and ran a sponge over his shoulder to remove any remaining black substance, to his shock the door opened at the opposite end of the bath area, and in stepped a red-haired woman wearing nothing but a towel. He stared at her with worry etched onto his face, yet the woman displayed no response to him outside of maintaining almost constant eye contact with her emerald green eyes and a flat expression. She entered the area, and gently stepped down the inclined ramp into the bath. For a moment, the bottom of the towel she was wearing began to lift, until she stepped further in, when it once more dropped down her slender legs. She adjusted the top of the towel, and without even hesitating, moved over to Jack, set her arms over the edge of the bath, and floated only a meter or so away from Jack, staring almost blankly ahead.
Jack stared at her in confusion, still holding the sponge on his shoulder. There was silence, the only sound being the occasional dripping from a nearby showerhead onto the stone floor. He coughed. "Uh...do...you want me to leave...?" he finally asked. The woman stayed staring ahead.
"I am indifferent to whether you choose to remain present or not," she replied in a relatively monotone voice. "I am simply here on my vacation." Jack blinked.
"Oh."
Silence reigned again, and Jack finally decided to start scrubbing away at the smoke covering his body, being careful not to make an annoying noise. The residue went into the water, and gently drifted away, diffusing due to the powerful water-cleaning substance...whatever it was. Jack didn't want to start conversation for fear of being awkward. The woman didn't say anything, instead opting to close her eyes and sigh deeply. "This is the first time I have visited Planeptune in several months." Jack cast a surprised glance at her. "I feel it is always best to visit these locations late at night, for their emptiness is much more soothing than a bustling public place." Jack blinked.
"Um..." What was he meant to say? "...right." The woman gave him a sideways glance, not letting her flat expression leave her face.
"For someone of your size and notable scarring ," she began calmly, "It can be noted that you seem either terribly shy, or simply socially impaired." Jack, not knowing what else to do, nodded, still looking worried. The woman let out a sniff, sighing, and began casting her emerald gaze around the outdoor area. Finally, her eyes came to rest on the pile of Jack's equipment behind them. "Those are your weapons, correct?" she asked. Jack nodded after a moment. "Do you often engage in combat?" He shrugged, tilting his head side to side.
"Kind of. Guild work, mostly."
The woman raised her head briefly in acknowledgement. "Then that surely explains your significant level," she replied matter-of-factly. "Over one hundred and seventy. You must be significantly skilled." Jack shrugged.
"Apparently."
"Apparently...?" she repeated, waiting for him to continue. Jack looked blankly at her.
"Apparently I'm good. But...I'm really...an OK fighter...I think." The woman remained silent.
"Do you not feel confident in your abilities?" The question came suddenly to Jack. Normally, he'd shrug it off. But he wasn't wearing any clothes, and neither was she. That made the conversation a hundred times more awkward, especially when he realised she had rather buoyant assets. The towel seemed to be struggling to hold them in place.
"Uh..." He looked around the room, then back at the red-head, who was looking bored whilst waiting for an answer. "...semi-confident." She nodded.
"Expand."
"Well...uh...I can shoot guns. I have about five that I carry. And...I hit things. That's...about it, really. I'm pretty useless in a fight."
"Then why are you here scrubbing off Dogoo remains from places that can only be reached if you were to be in extreme close quarters?"
"I killed some Dogoos."
"Then you are not useless in a fight. A fight is about survival. The end will normally justify the means with which you go about it. Thus, your claims that you are useless can be safely disregarded." Jack thought about this for a moment, then looked at the woman again.
"Well...thanks, Mrs...?"
"You do not need to bother with the formal 'Miss'," she replied, dismissing him with a hand. "I am Cave, a Leanbox native." She turned her whole head, and looked Jack up and down. "And you most certainly are not local to Gamindustri." Jack groaned.
"What tells you that?" he asked.
"Your size, gender, weaponry, and clothing. In Gamindustri, such things differ massively to yours." Cave gestured to the pile of clothing and guns nearby. "I can only assume that large black weapon fires powder-slugs."
"It's a shotgun," Jack corrected, raising a hand, "Though I don't really want to go into detail about it...but I suppose it shoots from powder, and I can make it shoot slugs. Why?"
"Then it is several decades behind in terms of weapons technology. Jack gave an indifferent shrug.
"It uses a loading method that's about a hundred or so years old, anyway." He pointed to the double-barrel. "That one's definitely old, and really simple." He then pointed to the Skorpion holster, the small gun still inside. "And that one is about fifty years old, maybe a bit less. It doesn't make them any worse at fightin' with. Like you said, the ends justify the means." Cave smiled at him.
"I suppose." She then returned to looking quietly ahead, and her face returned to its neutral expression. The silence returned, but as Jack continued cleaning himself, he felt like she was looking towards him again.
Specifically, at his back.
"It's the scar, ain't it?"
"Yes. How did you know?"
"It's a reason I don't like these places. I don't like people seein' how much I've been beaten up over the years. That scar down my back is from a spine surgery, where they drilled titanium into the bones for support."
"So you are, in theory, a cyborg?" Jack paused for a second, and looked back at her over his shoulder.
"A cyborg?"
"Yes. Partially metallic. A cyborg."
"...huh. I guess I never thought of it like that."
"Is it an insult if I bring it up? If it is, I apologize."
"Uh, no. It isn't an insult, you're alright. Far as I'm concerned, I'm just an annoyance to airport security."
"And you suggest you are not in spite of the armaments that I can only assume you consistently carry?" Jack chuckled.
"Well, I got the two big guns taken by the ship captain on the ship here from Lowee."
"Hmm." Cave smiled, then once again returned to looking straight ahead and saying nothing. For a moment, she closed her eyes, and tilted her head back, breathing out slowly. It was then that Jack looked down and noticed that he was clean. He breathed in for a moment. Yup. He no longer smelled like solvents. Maybe now people would stop getting dizzy when they stood near him.
He was pretty sure Oracle Hakozaki hadn't forgiven him for the time she'd fainted after standing next to him. Then again, she fainted a lot when she stood near him. Maybe cleaning himself up would stop that from happening, and he could have a good conversation with Chika without him having to catch her. She was a nice lady.
Cave seemed to be relatively the same, if not just a lot less smiley and talkative. She was also considerably more cut up in places; Jack could just make out a few small scars and grazes lining her fairly muscular arms. Perhaps she lived in a slightly rough area, or professionally fought monsters?
Eh.
Whatever.
After a brief glance at the clock on the wall said 'It's Fucking Late', Jack decided it would be best if he headed back to Compa's. Since he also decided that Cave was entirely keen on his presence, he made sure his towel was held up, and made his way out of the bath without a word. Cave said nothing, instead opting to observe his exit silently with her seemingly natural coldness.
After the tall man had gotten changed behind a screen and left the area, she sighed slightly. It was odd. That conversation had been the most refreshing and relatable she had been involved in for a rather long time. Perhaps it was simply that he was also a warrior, or perhaps it was how he gradually came out of his shell during the discussion, revealing gradually that he was more than likely insane.
Though, she did find his worried expression at the beginning rather endearing. Cute, almost.
She liked cute things.
But nobody could know that. She was just too cool to let people know that Cave liked cutesy things.