time to liven things up [Kirsten/Open]

[Kirsten Elle Barker]

HEY THERE [KATSUO!]
what's it like in new york city ?!
• • • •

Kirsten grinned at him as he slowly realized what she was talking about. They had been immersed in laughter so it was understandable that he would be a little confused. She giggled lightly.
“Ohhh… Too many. Now you will have a reputation in Michigan State!"
Kirsten smiled and nodded in agreement. The guards would most likely remember her. It wasn’t easy to forget someone who had goosed you. They wouldn’t be happy about it either though. She was a little worried that someone would recognize her in the halls and put in her isolation. Not that she minded. Isolation was the least of her worries. The place was more like a safe haven and it wasn’t very different from her cell. She had peeked through the open door when she had walked past the other day. It looked like a very dull classroom with no posters or anything. There was just a chair. She didn’t especially want to go there but she didn’t care if she had to. Of course, she would put up a fight before she was sent there. She wasn’t going to give in willingly. She would resist until she was forced in there. She wasn’t frightened of the guards. Her attention snapped back to Katsuo when he spoke again.
"Not bad, not-ah bad. I can do it, I think."
Kirsten smirked. He thought he could do it, huh? She couldn’t wait to see this. She wanted to see what he would do with the guards. It seemed a little tricky, but if it worked out it would be hilarious. She wanted to see what would happen. The anticipation and excitement was overwhelming! She laughed at his next words.
”Okay… You can come with me if you want. I will make it fun. Lots of fun."
Oh, she knew it would be fun. Of course, she was coming with him! She had to see what would happen! This might be the funniest thing she had ever dared someone to do! She had still done funnier and crazier things, but this was her daring someone else so it was a little different. She giggled at the idea of what he could do. She sort of wished someone else had dared her to do this. She would’ve fooled around so much!
"Now you get to follow me."
She smirked again, doubting that he would be as fast as she had been. She followed him down the hall, thankful that he was avoiding the counseling hall. She would probably be in big trouble if one of the guards she had goosed saw her. She walked after him, and jumped over the coffee spill on the floor. Who would spill coffee on the floor? With a jolt, she realized it was the spill from the guards earlier. She giggled quietly. At least the guards that had been carrying the coffee weren’t there. She giggled even more at this thought. She kept following Katsuo, still thinking about the coffee spill and what could have happened had the guards still been there.
Slowly, they approached the staff room and she realized this was where he planned to get the coat. It made sense. She watched him go inside but stepped to the side of the door to wait for him. She wanted to make sure no one went in while he got the doctor’s coat he needed. She leaned against the wall and scanned the area. There weren’t many people in the hall. There weren’t any guards or any authoritative people; only a couple inmates were around. No one approached her and soon Katsuo came out of the room with a lovely white doctor’s coat on. She stifled a laugh as she saw the sight. Katsuo in a doctor’s coat seemed a little odd to her. She just couldn’t wait to see what he would do next.
She followed behind him as he chose to go up the stairs to the counseling hallway. She held her breath as she saw a guard at the top. She hoped beyond hope that he wasn’t one of the ones she had goosed. She kept distance between herself and Katsuo so it looked like she wasn’t following him and watched him approach the guard.
"Hello, sir. Good to see you are doing your job--if...standing around and doing nothing is your job."
Kirsten looked at the puzzled guard and one of her hands flew up to stop the laugh that threatened to pop out of her mouth. She had to pause to control the laughter that bubbled up her throat. As she got under control, Katsuo had walked to his next victim. She speed walked over to him and looked to see what he would do this time. She watched in surprise as he started patting the guard’s face!
"Your face is so cold, so stiff. It seems like your face is stuck this way. You cannot smile, right?"
She was thrown into a giggling fit as she listened. She almost felt sorry for the guard who looked so shocked and mortified. Suddenly, Katsuo’s expression changed, as if he had had a revelation.
"Ohh! Surgery, right? You had plastic surgery, yeah? That is why your face is so stiff and expressionless."
Kirsten’s giggles became laughs. She muffled them with her hand again and moved to hide behind a wall so that no one would become suspicious of her. She listened to the rest of Katsuo’s silly assumption.
"You must have had an ugly face. It does not look much better. I would recommend a lawyer and get your money back, mhm"
She could barely control her laughter at this comment. She was suddenly in hysterics. A counselor that had just gotten out of her office, glanced at her puzzled. She quickly followed, running by the guard and trying to catch up with Katsuo. She finally caught up to him and was still laughing.
“That was… hilarious! Please, keep going!” she exclaimed, out of breath. She started laughing freely at what she had seen. At home, her friends weren’t very creative at daring, neither were they brave people who would pick dare themselves. A game of truth or dare was never dull but her friends sometimes made it a drag. For a girl like Kirsten who loved dares, this was pretty upsetting. But sometimes, they were really good at daring. Sometimes, they were too good at daring, like when they dared her to steal the car. She wasn’t supposed to think about that! Stupid Kirsten! She had to focus on the dare! She became a bit anxious. Without a distraction she would keep thinking of all of this and she would become depressed again! The pain would hurt her and she would spiral into the state she had been in the hospital. She couldn’t let that happen!

• • • •
NOTES ?!: I like this one... But I ran out of things to write so it became depressing!
WORDS ?!: 1,150
TAGGED ?!: Katsuo
CREDIT ?!: made by GLAMOPHONIC !? at caution 2.0.

[Katsuo Stride]

Katsuo wasn't much further down the hall before he heard Kirsten's near-hysterical laughter. There was nothing like making people laugh, and at the sound, it took everything in his power to keep himself from doing the same thing. Instead, he moved on down the hall until he was well away from the guards he had just verbally abused, waiting as quietly as he could manage for Kirsten to approach him.

“That was… hilarious! Please, keep going!” she exclaimed, out of breath.
Katsuo faked shock, clasping a hand to his heart and tangling himself in the long doctor's coat sleeves in the process. "Kirsten, you scared me! You are so slow, I thought I lost you."
He stuck his tongue out. Yeah, that wasn't true, but he was on a roll...
He untangled himself from the long coat sleeves and just took a moment to laugh alongside Kirsten.

In fact, Katsuo was already trying to conjure up his next dare for the girl, as he figured there couldn't be much more left to the one he was currently doing. He wasn't that creative. He was surprised he had come up with all that he had come up with so far, as it was!

Taking a deep breath and gathering his bearings a little better, Katsuo continued on his way down the hallways, whistling an indistinct tune as he went. He was pondering just how this whole situation looked, what the guards were really thinking. He was surprised that they had allowed themselves to be abused in the way they had already. How could they believe that he--half their height and weight, just a skinny Asian kid with his hair dyed a shockingly light color--was part of the Michigan State staff?
If they did, well, then they were just plain stupid.
If they didn't...they were still stupid. They were letting Katsuo and Kirsten both get away with all kinds of silly games. He wondered how long it would be before they recognized the fact that he had stolen a doctor's coat and chased after him for it.

That was when a cluster of guards came into view at the bottom of the steps to the Counseling area. They must have been talking about something important, as the group of them were huddling and whispering heatedly.
Katsuo eyed the group excitedly and rubbed his hands together.

"Got it..." He was already approaching the group before he realized it, feeling both nervous and thrilled at the same time. This was going to be a big one. He was attacking a group of guards all at once. And since they already seemed to be busy with something important, they wouldn't be thrilled about him interrupting.

Katsuo felt like he was looking up at a group of giants when he was finally in front of them. Still, he cleared his throat.

No one seemed to hear him at first, so he did it again. And this time, the entire group turned as one.
Katsuo grinned.
"Hello. I am-ah studying to be a neurologist, at...aaahhhh--" Katsuo tried to think of a good medical school. "--Tufts University. You know. The Tufts one. Silly name, isn't it? It sounds like tufts of fur." He somehow managed to keep a straight face. "Hello, I am a medical graduate of Tufts of Fur University. I will be your doctor."

Hoping to add to the effect, Katsuo started doing an entirely unattractive snorting fit, as if he had just come up with the best joke in the world.

"Furthermore, as a future graduate of the Tufts of Fur University, and a neurologist, at that, I can tell you a lot about the human brain. You would like that, hai? I would like that. It gives me extra training. And looking at all of you...."

He paused.

"Looking at all of you..." Katsuo stopped feigning seriousness and burst into a goofy smile. "Looking at all of you, I don't seen any brains, so I guess I cannot help you!"

One of the guard's faces turned an extreme color red--he seemed to have gotten over the initial shock of the confrontation rather quickly. That, or bypassed it directly to the anger part. He was looking at Katsuo like he wanted to crush him with his bare hands. Katsuo was still nervous, but he couldn't help how amused he was.

He opened his mouth to say something further, something about how much the guard reminded him of one of the bulls at those Spanish bull fights, but never got to. As if he knew exactly what Katsuo was going to say, the guard began charging forward after him and Kirsten, red-faced and puffing. It was possibly scarier that he was saying nothing at all, just chasing them.

"Uhhh..." Katsuo grabbed Kirsten by the arm to get her to start running. "I think my dare's expired. Time to go!" He began tearing off down the hallway, aiming to follow it all the way to the end and out to the forest area this whole game had started in. If he and Kirsten were fast enough, they could hide somewhere in the grass, maybe even in a tree. He wasn't positive the guard would follow them that far.

And if he did?

Well, then Katsuo would just have to keep that in mind for whatever dare he decided for Kirsten next.


Muse: Yeeeaaahhh ;D
Tag: Kirsten/Open
Word Count: 963

[Kirsten Elle Barker]

HEY THERE [KATSUO!]
what's it like in new york city ?!
• • • •

Kirsten was on the verge of tears. She quickly calmed down and rubbed her eyes real fast, trying to relax a little. She kept flashing back to the guards faces. She was having a hard time stopping.
"Kirsten, you scared me! You are so slow, I thought I lost you."
Kirsten stuck her tongue back out at him. Yeah, right. He was lying. She had been going pretty fast. He was getting a little thingyy, but that was fine. He was having fun and so was she, so what did it matter? She couldn’t wait to find out what her next dare was going to be. It was amazing that the guards just let this pass by them like they did. She would’ve slapped Katsuo or beat him up for all the stuff he was saying. She was still giggling when she saw the big group of guards that were coming up and knew what Katsuo was about to do. She wasn’t surprised when he approached them and she walked a couple steps behind him. She watched him clear his throat twice, and became a little annoyed. Did these people ever listen to anyone? They treated everyone like they were insignificant and it bugged Kirsten to no end. She shook her head, and then told herself to focus on the dare. Katsuo was going to get them back somehow right now anyways. She listened, a small smile on her face.
"Hello. I am-ah studying to be a neurologist, at... aaahhhh – Tufts University. You know. The Tufts one. Silly name, isn't it? It sounds like tufts of fur. Hello, I am a medical graduate of Tufts of Fur University. I will be your doctor."
Kirsten bit her lip in an attempt to stop herself from laughing. Where had he come up with Tufts? With his obvious Japanese accent, it was hard to believe he was an actual doctor here. She wouldn’t have believed it herself. She didn’t know whether the guard believed it or not but if they did, they were very gullible. When Katsuo started snorting it became harder to control her laughter.
"Furthermore, as a future graduate of the Tufts of Fur University, and a neurologist, at that, I can tell you a lot about the human brain. You would like that, hai? I would like that. It gives me extra training. And looking at all of you...."
Kirsten smiled lightly. What was the neurologist, Dr. Katsuo going to say to the gigantic looking guards.
"Looking at all of you, I don't seen any brains, so I guess I cannot help you!"
Kirsten burst out laughing. A lot of the guards’ expressions were shocked and angry. One looked like he was just about to pee his pants. One of them glanced at her and she waved, still laughing. He glared at her, and then looked to Katsuo then at her. Her attention was drawn back to Katsuo as another guard started to chase him. The joke was over. She was whipped around by Katsuo grabbing her arm and felt him pulling her to make her run. She obliged, grinning and giggling occasionally. He had really made them angry.
"I think my dare's expired. Time to go!"
Kirsten laughed and started putting on the speed. She knew she could out run them. If she had been alone she would have stopped and let herself get caught, just so she could tease them some more. Maybe, she would be put in isolation which was creepy in there, but she knew it would have happened sooner or later. Since Katsuo was here though, that wasn’t an option. She would make sure he got out of here. She didn’t want him getting caught. She looked behind her and a shiver ran down her back. There were three more guards than last time. The smile was wiped off her face.
“Katsuo! Do you still have the keys from Nurse Evans?” she asked in a hurry, remembering the nice nurse. She was the only nurse Kirsten liked in this place, for various reasons. She didn’t want to go back in the forest since the guards would probably send out a search party or something and Kirsten wasn’t going to hide there all night. She would rather have both of them got caught. No, she would aim for the basement. It was usually locked but one of the keys that Nurse Evans had given Katsuo might have the basement key on it. She could pick locks too, but it took a couple minutes for her and she didn’t have a bobby pin or anything. She would have to rely on Katsuo.
She was thrilled and excited, but still serious. She wasn’t frightened. Being chased by guards wasn’t very scary, just fun. She loved doing things like this. She was just upset that Katsuo had been dragged into it, since he didn’t want to get in trouble. Kirsten would usually get into too much trouble. It was probably one more reason why her parent’s hated her. She was putting on a lot of speed now and hoping that Katsuo wasn’t going to be left behind. She was on the track team at home and loved to run and do sports. She was enjoying herself to the fullest. She wasn’t sure about Katsuo though. She looked around, knowing that that door to the basement was around here somewhere. She saw it just up ahead. If Katsuo didn’t have the key, she would tell him to go ahead into the forest and hide while she would distract the guards by getting caught. It was a good plan in her opinion. She just wanted the dare game to last a little longer.

• • • •
NOTES ?!: i don't like this post much...
WORDS ?!: 960
TAGGED ?!: Katsuo!
CREDIT[/colorme] ?!: made by GLAMOPHONIC !? at caution 2.0.

[Katsuo Stride]

Katsuo was grateful Kirsten was following him without too much of a fight. He was actually semi-amused that he had been able to annoy one of the guards enough as to set him off like a time bomb. The others had only proven their stupidity by taking Katsuo's abuse and doing nothing about it.
The fact of the matter was that Katsuo knew he deserved to be chased. He also probably deserved to be caught and punished, but he was going to try and slide past that one if he could help it. Besides, if he did let the guard catch him, he would be taking Kirsten down with him, and she really wasn't to blame. She hadn't dared him to be obnoxious to the guards--just to wear a doctor's coat and talk to them. He was the one who'd taken the extra step.
But man, was it worth it. He replayed the guards' faces in his head over and over as they ran, only prevented from laughing because he was out of breath trying to escape the angry guard's clutches.

Katsuo glanced Kirsten's way and almost immediately noticed that she was no longer smiling. He started to wonder what was going on, but didn't have to when he glanced back.
Oh crap.
Two more guards had joined the first.
Well, Katsuo thought to himself, shrugging, at least I got a reaction.

“Katsuo! Do you still have the keys from Nurse Evans?”
Katsuo returned his gaze to Kirsten at the sound of her voice. It took a moment for her words to register, then he nodded. "I have it. I think..." He released Kirsten's arm--he was fairly certain she was going to keep running too and needn't worry about holding onto her anymore--and stuffed one of his hands into his pockets, where he usually kept the key if he was taking it with him.
His hand closed over a piece of cold metal, and he knew he had the nurse's key with him after all. Katsuo lifted the object up out of his pocket and held it out to show Kirsten, as they ran.
"It is Master key," he told her, repeating what the nurse had told him. "She only dropped me this one, but she said it can open most of the doors in the Institution. Where are you planning on going?"

But Katsuo didn't have to wait long to find out, because before he knew it, they seemed to be at their destination.
Katsuo recognized the door, though he had never been through it--and the "Staff Only" sign told him exactly what he needed to know about the place. The guards probably wouldn't expect them to hide in here--they wouldn't think either of the two had a key in--and there would likely be a good number of places to hide.
Katsuo was grateful that he and Kirsten had managed to get so far ahead of the guards, because they would be even more trouble if they got caught intruding in here, Katsuo was sure.

He looked at Kirsten, though, and winked. "We should be fine. Staff only." He tugged at the doctor's jacket. "See, I'm dressed as an annoying staff person right now!"
Katsuo didn't hesitate to turn the key in the door lock--they had only moments before the guards would catch up--then hurried into the room. He wasn't sure just what this place this was, but instinct told him to feel around in the dark before he took any big steps. Good thing he did, too, because after another careful step in, the wall suddenly ended and Katsuo felt the beginning of a stair railing going down.

It had to be some sort of basement...Katsuo hadn't locked the door behind them. Frankly, he didn't know how to. So he figured he and Kirsten better get moving before someone else came into the room behind them, someone who knew the area better than he did. For the same reason, he had refrained from turning on any lights. Someone might be able to see it through the crack underneath the door. Besides, he hadn't found a light switch anyway.

"Kirsten," Katsuo called, reaching out for her in the dark. "I found some stairs--let's go down. And we can hide until the coast is clear." He waited until he was sure she was ready to move, then began his descent down the stairs. "Watch your step, okay? We are not surviving the security guards just so we can die on the stairs." He couldn't help laughing slightly.

After a bit, the steps finally ended, and Katsuo started feeling around the walls again for a light switch of some sort. If he turned on lights down in this area, they likely wouldn't be visible from the top of the stairs. Yet when that search proved useless, he just gave up and followed the wall to a corner of the room.
Crouching behind a large object in the basement--it was humming, so he assumed it was some kind of machine--Katsuo tried to calm his rapid breathing. The guards were bound to find them if he kept breathing as loud as he was. But even though it was nerve-wracking and kind of scary--he didn't particularly like being chased, except for the thrill of it--it felt good. It felt like he'd finally acted out against all of the Michigan State guards' previous injustices. Like he was doing something, however goofy, for all the people who'd had to suffer their abuse. And furthermore, not only had he completed and entirely owned this dare, but he had gotten a huge laugh, was nowhere near being bored like earlier in the day, and he got the thrill of it all. It was nerve-wracking, yeah, but it was great too.

That was when he heard the door upstairs open.

Oh crap.
If it was the guards, they likely knew the basement area well, or at least had a general idea of what the layout was. They had to, in case a situation such as this one happened. It was their responsibility to watch out for the patients in Michigan State, so if one of them came storming down to the basement to hide, the guards better be able to do their job and bring the patient back. And if they turned on the basement lights?
Then Katsuo figured he and Kirsten might as well hand themselves in. He was good at Truth or Dare, but certainly not Hide and Seek. Not unless there were plenty of options to hide in. That, and he hated waiting to be found.

Katsuo didn't know the basement area at all. He was just feeling his way around in the dark, tripping over pipes, running through cobwebs, and banging his limbs on generators he'd heard but been unable to see in front of him. He wondered where Kirsten was. Maybe he should have held onto her arm after all...
But if she ended up getting caught, he knew he would turn himself in too. It was only right. He wasn't going to let her take his share of the blame.
That share, pretty much, being solely his. He'd been the instigator. She'd just laughed.

The footsteps started moving down the stairs.
Katsuo cringed at the sound, and stopped moving. Even though he was now resting, the combination of thrills and chills were still running through his body. He felt like he was in some kind of horror movie with Kirsten. Though, it wouldn't be too hard to imagine if the pair of them got caught.


Muse: Good. Your post made me laugh, Christy. XD Should we get caught and get isolated? And let me know if I godplayed too much.
Tag: Kirsten/Open
Word Count: 1376

[Kirsten Elle Barker]

HEY THERE [KATSUO!]
what's it like in new york city ?!
• • • •

Kirsten was relieved when he pulled out a key and said it could open most rooms. She sighed in relief and quickly kept running, not answering his question or speaking to save her breath for running, knowing that the basement was just ahead. She sped up as he let go of her and was the first to get to the door. She tapped her foot impatiently as he turned the key, becoming a little impatient. She blamed herself for this. She was the one who sent Katsuo on this crazy dare. She slipped through the door after Katsuo. It was too dark and she couldn’t see him anymore. She laughed with him and obeyed him as they went down the stairs. She already knew about the basement and vaguely remembered a trip down here on her first week of imprisonment down there with a lot of liquor but other than that, she wasn’t very familiar with it. She smiled at the stupid memory. She didn’t think that turning on a light was a good idea. She stumbled around, her hands out looking for a place to hide. Her hands hit something smooth and big. She felt around and grasped a handled smack dab in the middle. She pulled on it and it opened smoothly. She realized it must be some sort of old closet sent down here because it was broken or some other reason. She hopped in closing the door behind her but keeping it cracked open so she could get air and hear what was happening outside.
That was when she realized that she had lost Katsuo. Damn it! Where had he gone? She peeked through the crack and then she heard footsteps. That couldn’t be good. Maybe, it was the guards or maybe a nurse or a counselor. Either of those people would mean big trouble for Katsuo and Kirsten. She bent a little in the closet since it was a little small to accommodate her height. She was having a big adrenaline rush at the moment. This wasn’t as big as being caught stealing a car but it was still a lot of fun. She loved the rush and thrill of dares. Sometimes it got her in trouble but it was worth it in the end. She was worried that Katsuo would get caught. Sure it was all right if she was sent to isolation but having Katsuo stuck there too? She didn’t want him to get in trouble.
Kirsten had goose bumps up and down her arms as she heard the steps getting closer and closer to the door. She bit her lip and looked down. A small gasp escaped her lips as she saw feet from the crack. She clasped a hand on her mouth, horrified that whoever it was had heard her. She took a step back. Amazingly, she smiled. This was fun to her! She was enjoying herself and she didn’t regret anything she had done. Slowly, she looked up and saw navy blue fabric. Weren’t the guard’s uniform made of navy blue fabric? A shiver ran down her back and she took another step backwards, hitting the back of the unnaturally big closet. She was careful not to make any noise. The footsteps had stopped and she heard muffled speaking.
“Sending me down here… They couldn’t have come to the basement. It’s staff only, after all! They think they can bully me around just because they’ve been here longer? I’ll show them. I’ll find those two trouble makers.”
It was definitely a guard and he sounded pissed. Slowly, she heard the footsteps patter away from the closet. She breathed a sigh of relief as he left. She was glad when she heard the door from the top of the stairs close. The guard had no idea that they were really down there. She opened the door, wincing as it creaked and stepped out of the closet. “Katsuo?” she whispered, tentatively. She was still worried that someone was still down here and they were going to get caught. She giggled, still a little nervous. “You can come out now.” She kept the closet door open in case she had to dash back in. That had been amazing. She walked around the room, feeling the wall until she found a small switch. Praying to God that it was a light switch, she flicked it up and thankfully, two hanging light bulbs flickered to life. She started giggling again. It had been so much fun being chased by guards, although she knew she could’ve gotten in big trouble. She didn’t feel guilty about it though. Why feel guilty about having a ton of fun?
She took a more observant glance around the dusty room they were in. There was a humming machine in the corner which Kirsten took to be a heater or something of the like and there were two doors. Without waiting for Katsuo, she inspected the first door and opened it. There was nothing inside except for a bunch of garbage. She closed it in disgust at the smell and walked quickly all the way across the room to the second door, hoping that there was something more exciting behind this on. In her head, she counted to three and yanked it open.
“Whoa.” Behind this door was a whole hallway with more doors. She grinned knowing what she wanted to do at the moment. She had forgotten the whole dare game and was now looking forward to a whole new exploration game. She looked around for Katsuo, excited to start. “Katsuo, you might want to check this out,” she said, no longer whispering and with obvious anticipation and thrill in her voice. This was more than a dare or a challenge. It would probably sound dorky to most people, but she looked at this as an adventure. She felt an impulse to start looking through all the doors down the hall and see what she could find. Her daring heart was pushing her instinctively. Kirsten had a mischievous and naughty spark in her piercing blue eyes. She had really missed this feeling.

• • • •
NOTES ?!: I'm glad I amuse you! Nah, not yet anyways. Maybe later. They could open a door and a guard would be in there and catch them. Tell me what you think. No, you didn't godmod that much. I liked your post even though it was sooo long!
WORDS ?!: 1,023
TAGGED ?!: Katsuo
CREDIT ?!: made by GLAMOPHONIC !? at caution 2.0.