Bandages and Salt (PJO X BSD AU)

Chapter twenty-five

A/N: When words are in italics like: "Abcd."  it means that whoever is speaking is doing so in another language other than Japanese for this chapter (rule will change to languages other than English once we get into camp and a note will be placed at the top of the chapter when that change occurs). This rule only counts for speaking, thoughts are still in italics like always.

Dazai POV

Leaving a conflicted Chuuya behind at the front of the convenience store, I wandered around, finding my way to the hair products aisle near the middle of the store. The last time that I was here, I was fourteen and on my way back to the library before heading down to the broker's office to discuss the passport. Back then I bought the cheapest box of brown dye that I could find that also came with bleach. I'd been a kid trying to save money for the prince of the forged passport.

Now...

That boy, someone that was already so different from the teen that had existed only months before everything fell apart, the boy didn't quite exist either.

Scanning the shelves, I looked for a good box of black dye, one that wouldn't wash out by the end of the week or bleed horribly anytime that the hair gets wet. My eyes land on a decent American brand dye sitting on the top shelf, when I reach for it, I'm mildly surprised to find that I can reach the box easily, something I hadn't been able to do before. Back then, I had to stand on top of the bottom shelf to reach the top, just barely able to grab it even then. Grabbing the box, I swipe the box of brown dye next to it as well for later.

Walking away, I grab one of the shopping baskets sitting at the end of the aisle, throwing the boxes of dye into it as I made my way over to the medical supplies aisle just a few rows down. There were your normal supplies on the shelves, boxes of band aids, antibacterial wipes, and boxes with rolls of bandages in them.

Positioning the basket beneath the middle most shelf, I reached my arm back behind the boxes and harshly jerked them into the basket in one smooth motion. When I turned to the side, there was a brown haired girl staring at me from the end of the aisle, apparently having just watched the little scene. I only shrugged at the teen, brushing past her on my way out of the medical aisle.

The art section wasn't far away from there, the store being as small as it was. The left half of the aisle was art supplies while the right was what was left of the school supplies that hadn't been bought just yet. I lazily grabbed one of the smaller sketch books, one a little shorter, wider, and thicker than the average paperback, holding onto it as I snatched some pens, pencils and erasers from either side of the aisle.

Everything that I'd just picked up was the same as what I'd bought at fourteen just after leaving camp. All of the things that I'd bought then had either been used up or lost to time. The only thing that remained anything close to intact was the over filled sketchbook that I'd gotten before.

With everything piled together, I shoved the bandages aside, tucking the supplies beneath it and burying it to where it couldn't be seen.

Having everything that I needed for the rest of my little summer trip, I went off to find the smaller teen that I'd come all the from Japan with, wandering off towards the clothes section where I thought that he'd be. I made my way to the teen's section, scanning the clothing racks until I caught the glimpse of fiery red hair that I'd been looking for.

The other boy seemed to have already picked out a pair of dark gray jeans, folding them over his arm while he flipped between three or so shirts that he looked like he was trying to decide between. Eventually I saw the teen fold two over his arm with the pants, putting the other back onto the rack with a seemingly satisfied nod of the older boy's head.