002.
Being on the left side of the bus meant that he was essentially on the driver's side, in a position he didn't associate with driving. Fai was sitting so that he had the view a driver would get, if he weren't driving, and Kurogane was sitting perpendicular to that. There also were no seatbelts or harnesses on the bus; the closest thing were handgrips and the armrests. Kind of like school busses.
Fai had lightly crossed his legs, his gaze shifting out the window, "Ooh, hey, look Kuro, some people have got lights up."
Kurogane turned in the seat to get a better view of whatever the other was talking about. Driving, he'd never taken the time to really look at those things, but right now he wasn't driving, and looking wouldn't affect the vehicle's performance. So he looked.
The sky was still dark out so the light-up star on top of the person's house, lit with those LED blue lights, was quite visible. Otherwise, dangling on the gutters was a string of those old-fashioned C9 lights, all in clear white. And a few houses down had the variety lights on a pine tree in their backyard. There were some hectic drivers, heading to the stores. What do you expect the day after Thanksgiving?
Fai was lightly tapping his foot as he idly stared at the glass window, watching the scenery pass by. After a few moments, Kurogane looked at the other passengers. There were two others currently on the bus. One was a middle aged lady, who was wearing a lanyard with a pouch and a monthly bus pass visible in the front pocket through the clear sleeve. The other was some kid who looked like just barely old enough to be out of high school, who was seated in the back, listening to music through a pair of headphones.
Turning at 104th, the 40X headed down that street, picking up more passengers as it went. At the third needed stop, Fai stood up as the bus came to a stop. Kurogane looked at him curious. This wasn't Market Street, was it? "Wheelchair, Kuro. Cmon let's make room for him." Fai mentioned as he folded up his own seat. Kurogane turned to look out the right side, and sure enough, there was someone in a wheelchair. The bus driver was lowering the lift for the patron, and Kurogane rose out of his chair, which Fai folded up too, before grabbing his bag and moving to sit in the seat behind the seat he had, until just recently, been occupying. Kurogane grabbed his own things and joined Fai in the seat.
Kurogane noticed Fai check his phone, frowning only briefly, as he bit his bottom lip, before he put it away, and returning to putting on a smile in its place.
The ride was smooth, and passengers only seemed to get on, totaling twenty people on just the bus before the bus drove onto I-25, driving towards the HOV lane.
Fai stared out the window on the other side of the bus. "It's nice not to be amongst the rush hour crowd. When you ride the bus, instead of driving, you don't have to stress out over the constant stop and go. Plus it's more ecologically friendly if you aren't carpooling." Fai muses lightly.
Kurogane stared at the traffic with Fai, remembering being a part of the same scene not too long ago, and how if he had time, he preferred taking the back roads. They were less noisy, less crowded and much more relaxing before work than just what Fai was appreciating not being apart of. "I'd prefer to have my car."
"I'm sure. If you had your car, then Kuro could choose to take the bus if he wanted, instead of rely on it."
When they got to Market Street Station, Fai stretched his arms before grabbing his bag. "This is our stop, Kuro."
"Stop calling me that; it's Kurogane."
"Tsk, tsk… You're not that perturbed by it, are you? I mean, if I really annoy you that much, after today, you never ever have to hear from me bothering you ever again. Deal?"
"…you don't have to do that." Kurogane quietly muttered.
"What was that?"
"I didn't say anything," Kurogane said looking away.
"Was that Kuro being shy? How sweet; the growly toy mechanic can be extra cute."
"I said I didn't say anything!"
"Now now… no need to raise your voice; cmon, let's keep heading to your work. You still have your transfer with you, right?"
"Hn," Kurogane grunted, following the blonde.
It was a short walk to the next stop, with Fai more or less leading the way, and tugging friendlily on Kurogane's arm or hand, over to the stop.
The second bus was a local/limited route that would intertwine with some of the same pathways of the 6. However, Fai had no intention of having them get on the 6. Both could get Kurogane to work, but he had his reasons to not let Kurogane ride the way he had plotted out via the Internet.
***
One 15L bus ride later…
As Kurogane disembarked off the bus at the CenterPoint and Sable Park n Ride, it was only about a twenty minute away of a walk for the two of them to arrive at his work, the blonde still in tow. Making quick work of the path, soon he stood in front of the shop. Kurogane turned to face Fai, "Thanks for the help getting here."
"Like I said, it was no big deal. Actually, I was wanting to head this way anyway. Well then, I guess I should leave you to your work." Fai smiled at him, taking a step back, "When do you get off? Maybe I can come back over and make sure you get home okay?" Fai said, although it sounded more like a question.
"I usually get off at six or seven, depending," Kurogane says.
"Right," Fai said filing that tidbit away. Fai smiled before waving at the other and beginning to walk off.
He was about to respond when his boss came popping out of the door, and began to examine him. He glared at her, "What?"
Yuuko quit her examination of her employee, seeing as he didn't even appear at all injured or dirtied. "I see you were able to make it Kurogane. Glad to see you made it all in one piece."
He turned to his boss, "Does everyone think I am unable to ride a bus to work or what?" he asked no one in particular.
"What are you saying, Kurogane? The girls and I were deeply concerned about your safety. You did say you were going to take the 92 and then the 6 to get to work."
"Change of plans," Kurogane said curtly.
"Well, it's a good thing you did. Did you hear about what happened?"
"What do you mean? Heard about what?" Kurogane asked confused.
"The 6 you said you were going to catch was in a terrible accident thanks in large part to the Black Friday shoppers. Many of the people involved got seriously injured or killed."
"What?!"
"Seriously … I'm surprised you didn't hear about it," Yuuko said. "So what made you decide to change routes?"
"That is… that blonde…" Kurogane recalled how said blonde, who by now had disappeared, had seemed deeply disconcerted by the data, and had said that those instructions would not get him to work on time. Was it possible he had known ahead of time about the bus accident? Was that possible? The questions nibbled at the back of his mind about his neighbor. Questions rose steadily. If he really wasn't in a rush, why hadn't he taken the time to get his things together instead of running out the door half-dressed? If Fai hadn't known about the accident, what was up with that look on his face? And Fai's readiness to help him even on his return trip home … did he have nothing better to do than to help him out? Or had he actually had plans but postponed, even cancelled them for his sake? From what he'd gathered from the cul-de-sac children, their general consensus was Fai was a kind and hardworking individual who was "never too busy" if someone came to him, or that no one was a bother to him and that "it's fine because he's doesn't mind". Kurogane quietly tried to push the thoughts about his neighbor away, and not worry about it right now. Now wasn't the time.
"So, your blonde friend convinced you to take a different route, huh?"
"He's not my friend; he's just someone who lives across the street."
"Well you made it here in one piece and on time, so that's all that matters I suppose." Yuuko turned around and walked back into the store. Kurogane said nothing before heading into the shop behind the witch.
Fai casually strolled into a small bookshop nearby, and perused the contents, spending time looking through the books, and reading them, checking out their conditions before returning them back to just where he'd found them. After quite some time spent perusing and waiting, he went to the counter to pay for a book, handing over some cash for the aged book. Placing the book in his backpack, Fai left, and made his way to his new destination. He avoided the crowds and the stores with their Black Friday sales. He stayed in the more subdivision area as he walked there. Fai slowly stepped through the automatic doors, making his way to the reception desk. "Excuse me," he greeted the receptionist, a lady with long black hair, "I was hoping to know… are either Yui or Chi Fluorite here?"
"And who might you be?" the receptionist asks.
"I'm their brother."
"May I see some identification?"
Fai pulled out his ID card, and passed it to the lady. The receptionist looked at the driver's license, before handing it back. Fai placed it back into its proper place.
"Let me check…" the young lady typed in some information into the computer, before pulling up some records. "It appears that Chi Fluorite is checked in at our South office."
"And Yui?" Fai asked.
"There do not appear to be any other Fluorites checked in."
"Alright; thank you for the information. I'm going to head over there then," Fai said smilingly, before leaving the place. He needed to go catch another bus.
Once on the bus, Fai checked his cell again, biting his bottom lip at the lack of text or missed calls. He anxiously began tapping his foot, forcing a smile on his face as he returned his phone. He could just hope for the best.
After arriving at the South office, Fai requested the same information of their front desk receptionist, and checked in. Receiving the whereabouts of his younger sister, he was about to head on up when he was stopped by one of the doctors there. "Mr. Fluorite…may I see you for a few minutes?"
"Yes…what's this about?"
"Please follow me. This is something I need to speak to you in private about."
Fai nodded, and followed the doctor, wondering what it was that he needed him for. His gut told him it wasn't anything good. And his gut and intuition rarely betrayed him.