Local Psychic(?) Does Your Laundry

[internetsexsymbol]

WHO: Reigen and OTA
WHERE: Sleeper Cars, potentially Store Car
WHEN: Bassoon Day 6, Morning
WHAT: Reigen acts like a responsible human being and hunts down people's laundry.
WARNING: None, aside from Reigen being Reigen, probably.



Reigen likes the supernatural as much as the next guy, but he still can't help but seek out some sense of normalcy. He needs something basic to occupy himself with to fight off the threats of ennui and cabin fever from being stuck on a train, so when he rereads the train itinerary and sees laundry on the list of chores for his team, he figures now is a good enough time to take care of that. Time to be a responsible citizen!

Once he's gotten a basket to carry stuff, he starts with tossing the clothes from his own cabin in there (he'll have to use extra detergent for Jessica's, he thinks, maybe even put her clothes in a bag with some baking soda before washing them just to make sure the smoke smell is gone), then knocks on some other nearby cabins.

"Morning. I'm trying to get a full load of laundry, help me out here."

Comments

[sweetnessandfight]

The small Au Ra female stared up at the tall blonde human, frowning slightly. Sarai was not angry per se, but she was standing at the door of hers, arms folded stubbornly.

"You are not washing our smallclothes," she said to him sternly. "You may have the rest, but even I draw the line somewhere. I will help you with them but I shall not make you do them.

In case Reigen's not familiar, she means their underwear...

[internetsexsymbol]

Reigen stares down in mild confusion at the short...lizard woman? He figures that’s either how her skin is or she’s making a statement with some makeup; there have been weirder fashion choices.

“Smallclothes? What are you—oh. Ok.” It takes him a minute to process to process the fancy talk. Man, how many people does that make it who talk a few centuries behind? Anyway, he knows having laundry done by a complete stranger can be uncomfortable. Even Reigen, as shameless as he is, isn’t quite sure how he feels about the possibility of someone he doesn’t know handling his boxers. God, now he’s having flashbacks to college and the crippling fear he had that someone might steal his clothes if he left them for even a second on the days he set aside for laundry. Thanks for that.

“I won’t touch them then. Put your undies in another basket and I’ll ask one of the girls to handle them.”

[sweetnessandfight]

"That's all right, I'll do them myself. But thank you. It's just..." Sarai had to shrug at that, really. "Everyone has their odd little quirks, right?"

Sarai looked like she had a lot of them, mostly physical, considering the horns and claws and scales and tail she sported--though beyond that weirdness, she certainly seemed nice enough?

She's learned how to run the machines, carefully sorting the offending undergarments into one, and then putting the rest of the pile in the basket he's set aside for the purple team. "If you want some help sorting and folding, I can do that too?"

[internetsexsymbol]

"Yeah, yeah, I get it, don't worry." Reigen really doesn't think he needs to know her reasons, nor does he want to. Lizard girl can wash her own underwear and that's fine with him.

"I mean...well, you can take care of the ones you don't want me to touch. I can sort out the rest of them fine. This is technically supposed to be my job, you know?" Help is appreciated, but Reigen wants to at least contribute something, he'll feel bad if Sarai ends up doing all the laundry.

[sweetnessandfight]

She's just bored and willing to help, really, but if he wants her to just do their smallclothes, that's all right, too.

"I just feel bad watching while I chat. I try to clean up the common areas--that's Purple's job this month--and keep ahead of that, so I have a lot of free time."

And sure, her husband was there, but there wasn't much in the way of actual privacy around, either...

"So you came in with the new crop? I'm Sarai, though with all the council stuff going on, you probably know that."

[internetsexsymbol]

"Honestly, it's fine! Huge help already, since...well, I think you can get cursed if you handle someone else's underwear without permission." Reigen is only half joking. He doesn't know if that's a possibility, and if it is, he really hopes he never has to take care of someone's haunted underwear. There are still some things that are below his pay grade.

"Sarai, Sarai...right, of course! You must have something going for you if people trust you with that!" Reigen has somewhat paid attention to council stuff even if he wasn't allowed to vote. It's good to know who's in charge, so that any complaints went to the right people. "I'm Arataka Reigen! I look forward to working with you, Sarai!"

[sweetnessandfight]

"Well. I'm glad I've permission to handle Dread's smallclothes, then." It was the strangest thing Sarai had ever heard, but Reigen didn't seem as if he were being snarky, or attempting to tease her. Both things being something she's experienced in the past...

She laughed at his next words, cheeks pinking a bit in embarrassment, and waves a hand. "I try to be trustworthy, but I hope it's more because I've got something of a level head." Maybe because she's also easygoing and easy to talk to--she tries, at least.

"Thank you for your kind words! I look forward to working with you as well. Should I take it that Tony's put you to work already?" She certainly wouldn't put it past him.

[internetsexsymbol]

"That a friend of yours?" In Reigen's defense, he just got here and wouldn't know Sarai and Dread are married. He will learn.

"Ha, don't mention it. I'm rooting for you keeping a level head." At the question about Tony, Reigen laughs. "Well, a bit, I keep trying to get Mr. Stark to let me help with the stuff he's got on the table? He'll let me sometimes if it's late enough." Dangit, Tony, Reigen just wants to see the gadgets, work with him.

[deductionrival]

Heiji was so bored. Not too many people had responded to his invitation to play baseball and while they'd had fun anyway, that had been what felt like days ago. Conan and his paranoia was getting on his nerves and he was tired of being dressed in orange.

He hears the call from when Reigen stops at the door before his and hops off his bunk. He opens the door and sees someone else in orange. Oh, right. "Hey, I'll help you with those. I'm on laundry duty too." Before he can get an answer, he's going back into his room- leaving the door open- to gather up dirty clothes from his roommates. They end up in a pile in the middle of the room before he's looking around for a basket or bag or..

"Where'd you find the basket?"

[internetsexsymbol]

Oh, look at that, someone else in orange that he didn't recognize! Now Reigen only has to do half of this laundry on his own! What luck! Nothing like utilizing the boredom of the youth to get work done.

"Sure thing, kid! There's bound to be more than one person can carry." Seeing the amount of dirty laundry in the middle of Heiji's room, Reigen tries to flatten down the clothes that are in the basket to make sure multiple stops to this room in particular are not needed.

"The baskets were in the store room with the washing machines...I forget how many there were. Enough."

[deductionrival]

"The store room? Okay, I'll go get one. I'll be right back." He leaves the door open again as he takes off to fetch a basket. It doesn't take long before he's back with one.

"Hey, how are we going to know whose clothes are whose?" He looks back at the pile he'd made in the middle of his room, whether it was still there or not. He didn't really want to mix up people's underwear who just happened to be similar sizes.

[internetsexsymbol]

Reigen takes it on himself to start putting what he can of the little pile Heiji made into his own basket while he's gone. He stops once the boy comes back with that question.

"Ah-- you have a point. All of these polos blend together...jeez, we'll have to make people write their names on the tags of their clothes from now on." He frowns a little, realizing now that there are probably a bunch of similar pairs of undergarments and pants that could get mixed up. "For now we'll just have to keep things organized and tell people to come claim the stuff we can't attribute to a person once things are done if it happens."

[deductionrival]

Heiji nods, in agreement. "Do you remember where my room's stuff started? Maybe we can at least separate it that way for now." He, Luke, and Kaito were pretty similar, but Miles was taller and thinner. He didn't really like the idea of mixing up underwear, but what were they going to do about it? They were about to get washed so did it really matter?

He levels out the load and then follows Reigen back to the store carriage. "Why do you suppose we're all wearing the same color? Has anyone figured this out yet?"

[internetsexsymbol]

“Yeah, I’ve got an idea.” The purple women’s clothes from Renee and Jessie could give him some clue where one room ended and another began. He’s not going to worry too intensely over the idea.

“Hm...well, Spider-san mentioned them being teams, but...that doesn’t explain what the colors represent.” He would punctuate his next statement with some sort of hand flourish, but he’s holding laundry right now. “My theory? It’s their assessment of our potential. It’s easy to do that if you have enough power of your own...I don’t think it’s just a strength measure, though, more like...a type of skillset. I need to find out what being in teams even makes us do aside from chores, though.”

[deductionrival]

"Skillset?" He asks, but thinks it over. He waits while Reigen puts in the first load in the washing machine. "Are they a scale or maybe they represent a specific skillset? For instance, maybe the blue team are good pilots or something and red are good at something else. Think that's likely?"

He'd rather think that way than think he hadn't been a certain skill strong enough to be in say, the red team, so he's in orange as junior varsity so to speak.

"I'm Hattori Heiji, by the way. I'm guessing you're not Eva, and I've met everyone else, so.. Reigen-han?"

[internetsexsymbol]

He tosses some of those clothes into the washing machine so that his hands are free to point at Heiji affirmatively. "That's exactly what I thought! I've noticed a lot of people with potential in all four teams, so it's probably not a scale. The only question is what the colors point out...what do we all have in common?"

It's like some sort of riddle...what do two high schoolers, an elf, a grade-schooler, a woman with some winged pet, a psychic entrepreneur, and a giant spider have in common?

"Yep! Reigen Arataka, at your service! I look forward to working with you, Heiji-kun!" On what is basically instinct at this point, Reigen hands Heiji a business card: It contains the website and phone number for Spirits and Such Consultation Office, and an offer of 'every ten paid exorcisms gets you 50% off your eleventh!' on the other side. Why is he doing this? Who is even going to give him business on this train?

[knifewithnoname]

She's been back a couple of days now. It had been strange to be gone so long and the fact that there are new people as well as a new carriage has thrown her off a little. Unknown factors, things she isn't aware of.

She spends the two days observing for the most part, watching people. It sort of helps that Red team is cooking, the kitchen is a good place to see people. Everyone needs to eat.

So she has seen this man before, the one who knocks on the door. She blinks at him as she opens it and then nods. "I do be having some things to be washing."

People washed their clothes a lot here, even though they had so many and so could wear different polo shirts every day.

"Do you be knowing how to be using the machines? I did be doing clothes washing last month so I can be showing you if you do no be knowing."

Weird machines that washed your clothes for you, to think that they almost seemed normal to her now.

[internetsexsymbol]

"Oh, thanks, kid! I appreciate it!"

Reigen smiles in appreciation at the little girl, glad that there's at least one responsible kid on the train who isn't going to curse at him like the other ten year old. How many kids actually were on this train, anyway? At least one of them is normal (as far as he knows).

"I should be fine. They look pretty similar to the ones I have back home, so I can figure it out."

He gives her a thumbs up as well as he can without dropping the laundry basket. "I think I've seen you around the kitchen a few times! You're..."

Reigen can vaguely recall the passenger roster offhand, but he can't place a name on this particular one. He remembers Tony mentioning having a girl, so is that who this is? "Are you Mr. Stark's daughter?"

[knifewithnoname]

Oh so he came from a world with machines that washed clothes. Good to know. She pulled a face though when he asked if she was Mister Stark's daughter.

"No. She do be being a baby and she do no be being here." She didn't belong to Tony. Not at all. He had offered to be her guardian, but she had never given her answer and then it had all gone wrong and she had hurt Peter. Tony was acting like things were okay now she was back but she didn't forget his threat.

He was dangerous. She shook her head. "I do be being red team so our job do be being cooking, I did be supposed to be being in the kitchen."

[internetsexsymbol]

"Oh. I guess I assumed--sorry." Well, now he feels a little silly for assuming, and also kind of bad finding out that Tony's daughter isn't with him right now. Man, everybody has a lot to go back to when they aren't on this train, huh? Hopefully this resolved soon so people could go back home.

"Right, right, that's how it works here. It's good to learn to cook at your age, then you won't be struggling to figure it out as an adult." Not that Reigen speaks from personal experience or anything! Ok, maybe he lives off instant ramen and fast food more than he should, but he could cook if he really wanted!

[knifewithnoname]

She wrinkled her nose again, but accepted his apology silently. He wasn't to know and she was in the same room as Tony after all.

"It would be being stupid for an adult to no be knowing how to be cooking." She agreed, "They would be starving pretty quickly. I guess unless they did be being rich and having lots of servants."

Nobles probably couldn't cook. Or perhaps some of them could but they probably didn't need to know.

[internetsexsymbol]

Huh, blunt kid. No wonder he mistook this girl for Tony's family.

"Haha, you've got that right! Man, rich people are ridiculous." As much as Reigen liked financial stability, the idea of being a rich noble and having people do work for him was just too foreign to imagine. He'd get bored with that kind of life fast.

[knifewithnoname]

"They do be being very ridiculous." She had staked out enough manor houses in her time to know without a doubt that nobles were weird. "They do be spending most their time getting ready to be going places and then when they do be getting there they do be doing nothing."

Very strange indeed. She sometimes entertained fantasies where she was rich and pampered and got to sit and eat honey cakes all day in a big bed with lots of pillows but she's old enough to know that in reality she would get bored of that life pretty quickly.

[internetsexsymbol]

"Seriously? That sounds so boring!" Honestly, people with wealth who didn't do anything with it were more annoying than people who flaunted it in his opinion. Still annoying, but at least they were riding the bike instead of being smug about keeping it in the garage, so to speak.

"Ridiculous is right. You're a smart kid. You got a name?" More landmines to step on here.

[so_dark_a_road]

Curufin intercepts Reigen before he can swipe all of the clothes from their cabin. "Hey, hold on, you can't have mine unless you let me help you with this onerous duty." He grins.

"That little girl who has no name showed me how to work the washing machines, so I'm good to go."