damned_institute | Day 24; Doctor's Office #10; Dr. Nii

The Boss was glad to not have actually been bothered during lunch. It allowed her to think, to rationalize, to reason and justify previous actions and make plans for future ones.

When her nurse came to get her, The Boss tuned out everything she said, only catching a vague something about "therapy". Not exactly what she was expecting Hell to have... The only person who'd be a successful therapist to any form of the other side would be The Sorrow, and he would never work here.

"Dr. Nii?" asked the nurse, rhetorically, as she opened the door and the Boss ignored her and took a seat. "Ms. Dawson is here."

The door closed, and The Boss gave this Dr. Nii (what kind of name was that, anyway) the same expression she gave everyone. Nothing. A perfect poker face.

Nii glanced up at the woman who came in, and who wore that expression. So typical, wasn't it, to see the determination to hide everything, to guard their precious secrets. And this one might be very good at it, her face hard, her expression set.

Maybe, maybe not. Either way didn't matter so much to Nii. It just might take a bit more effort in the end, but then, that's what made things interesting.

"You might as well take a seat." Nii motioned to the chairs in front of his desk, then produced a pack of cigarettes from his desk drawer. No point in denying himself a touch of after-meal pleasure. "We'll be here awhile, after all."

The Boss said nothing, and did nothing, for a moment, even her eyes not focusing on anything the good doctor was doing. Therapy was an entirely pointless affair. She doubted Hell would even try to fix her problems.

And she wouldn't let her problems show anyways, so there'd be nothing to talk about. Entirely pointless.

"Yes, we might be," she replied, simply. He had probably heard similar things before.

"Is that how you intend to go about this?" Nii leaned forward, and studied that steeled expression, eyes distant, jaw set. With that twisted smile he might seem to be leering, but in reality, he was studying, learning exactly where those muscles held tight.

This one could prove a challenge. That control was a beautiful thing, wasn't it? Made it all the harder to spot the twitches if you weren't looking.

"You'll wait for me to poke at your problems, fully intent on hearing all of it without so much as a blink in response. Well, you might answer my questions...but you don't plan on giving me anything that matters, do you?"

Such promise. The corners of Nii's mouth lifted just a fraction. Such promise indeed.

He had Volgin's smile. The smile of a sadist, and one who had everything. One who relished being in control and let it show. Even if she wasn't correct in reading him, Volgin was nothing to her, so logically, this doctor wasn't either.

"No."

Whether or not Lori Dawson saw him as nothing didn't matter to Nii. It might even have been beneficial in a way to be underestimated. But regardless of that, it wouldn't change Nii's intent, nor his efforts.

"Let's see." The doctor placed his stuffed rabbit against the stack of folders on his desk, and, cigarette hanging almost precariously from his lips, drew one from near the top. He opened it, and let silence fill the room, save for the occasional flip of a page.

Several moments passed before Nii spoke again, only his eyes lifting from the folder he still held in his hands.

"How's your son doing?"

No response. Not even a blink. If he was expecting to get a rection by using such pitiful shortcut tactics... Well, he didn't know anything about her after all. And Hell or Philosophers, they knew about her son.

"I wouldn't know. Tell me."

"I'm afraid I can't." Nii shrugged lightly, leaning back in his chair. "The only information I have is that he was part of the group that dropped you off. It must have been a trying thing, seeing his mother reduced to...well."

Nii left it up to Lori to believe what she wanted about what information the file contained about her son, and about herself. He remained perfectly comfortable, casual, blowing a lazy trail of smoke.

An interesting one indeed.

"Your background is rather tragic. Giving birth while in service to your country, only to lose your boy. Some might say it's a miracle you and your lover managed to get him back at all."

He could push and prod and poke at her sore spots all he wanted. She would never break. She couldn't. She had accepted the loss of everything she could ever have long ago.

"I doubt he remembers me," she replied, her voice level. "They took him from me when he was born. I never saw him."

And then he lied. Now he was twisting her past to his own ends. She had lived it, did he really think she would fall for this?

"Oh?" she continued, her eyes finally narrowing for just a second, her voice becoming almost a snarl. "And who is this lover?"

"Silly thing. You're confusing your delusions for reality again." Nii chuckled at the response, so subtly, yet there and real. Oh no, he hadn't missed it, and just from commenting on a file. "You've seen your son, though he was a bit older. And a troublemaker from what my records indicate. Of course, your family didn't give too many details; just...that he was fond of torture."

Another shrug, as if the comment didn't matter. And of course it didn't matter. After all, she was denying ever having met him again, wasn't she.

"As for your lover...let's see." A few more flips, quicker this time, as Nii searched for what he'd already seen. "Here we are. David. But it says you two had pet names for each other from your days in the service. Delight and...Despair? Well, that's unique."

The folder closed, perhaps temporarily, perhaps not. Nii didn't place it on the desk, however, instead holding it in his hands. "They do say opposites attract, don't they? Any particular reason you chose those names?"

Fond of torture? Ocelot? She'd like to deny that, but the only proof she had was that everything he was saying was completely and absolutely wrong.

Good enough.

"Seems like the kind of person who wouldn't care what happened to me," she said, and her voice was level again. "Or that I was his mother."

He continued. She did nothing again, not wanting to give him the pleasure of a reaction.

"Joy and Sorrow," she corrected. "Emotions carried into battle."

"Perhaps he wouldn't. But he is still listed as being part of the group that brought you here. But I said that already, didn't I?" Nii's smile remained untouched as Lori's expression, changed so little, reverted back into that hard mask.

"Joy and Sorrow. Are you certain of that?" Regardless, Nii opened the file again to make a notation. It was good to remember, after all. "Or is that another fact you've skewed to fit your fantasy world? There's been a great many, after all."

Iruka had been having a quiet lunch in order to get his thoughts straight. He'd have to contain himself better around the people in this insitution, considering not everyone he would meet would even be the same person he'd met before... anything was possible.

Amidst his mulling, a nurse stepped forward to inform him it was time to see his doctor. Not wanting to cause a fuss, and somewhat intrigued by the possibility of learning more about what was happening, Iruka followed obediently as the nurse escorted him from the caf.

Eventually, she knocked politely on a door Iruka hadn't been in before and then opened it, excusing herself and apologizing for being late with a patient. Ushering Iruka (Mr. Jones) in and pointing out a place for him to sit, she nodded and ducked out of the room, leaving the Chuunin to walk to his seat and sit down.

"Hello, Dr. Nii." Iruka said politely, nodding his head and preparing himself for what he expected would be... quite the event.

Quiet acceptance? That certainly was a change from what Nii had seen thus far; this one even took his seat without Nii having to prompt him into it. And that polite tone...did this sap really think Nii was there to help him?

He certainly hoped not. He'd be rather boring that way.

Well, no point in putting it off. Maybe if he started quickly, Nii could get the man out of there should he prove too uninteresting. "Yes, yes. Good afternoon and all of that. Now, what made you go insane?"

Iruka hadn't been overly prepared to hear such a blunt question, but he remained calm, focusing hard on what he'd made up in the previous institution in order to avoid trouble with the doctors.

"Ah... well, that's not really a fair question. From what I know of insane people, they never admit to being insane as they don't realize they are... so, even if you can say I am, I wouldn't be able to admit to being such." he explained.

A single eyebrow quirked up, and Nii studied Jones's face as the man rambled through an answer. And what a disappointing one it was, in so many ways. Nii could already tell it wouldn't be long before not even the paycheck would be enough to put up with this sort of insect.

Far too easy to crush.

"Do you always rely on other people to give you your opinions?" Nii occupied himself by toying with the bunny in his hands, making its little arms wave, its little ears flop. "You didn't even deny that you were insane. Instead you just relied on what you think maybe you should do to avoid the question. It's kind of pathetic, really. Cowardly too."

"Well, if you think it's cowardly and pathetic, maybe you could help me? I've been having trouble working on becoming more assertive as of late; being told I'm insane doesn't really help the matter as it really puts a weight on anything I'd feel like saying anyway." Iruka smiled, looking at the bunny.

He remembered making up a backstory for himself in the old institution, should he eventually have to talk about his own past. There was no way he would admit to being a Ninja to the doctor, not after what he'd been through.

"You're in a mental institution. I doubt that's the first time someone's called you insane." Nii leaned back in his chair, crossing one leg over the other. Hmm. Well, what were the chances they'd all be worth his time?

And yet...

"Are you hoping I won't go prying? Pretending to be so cooperative, and even asking for my help. It's a bit too obvious in the end." He motioned to a stack of files, the same that had been there this morning. "Mental patients don't get dragged to asylums by their parents because they want help, after all."

"If you say so." Iruka smiled, looking about the room. He would hear what the doctor had to say and wait for his judgement before saying anything else. "You're the doctor, afterall. You can't rely on the judgement of a crazy person. You're supposed to be telling me what's wrong with me, not vice versa. If I knew why I was here, I would have probably been able to avoid being here at all."

Nothing at all. So this man really was that much of a waste? Then so be it. Nii had better things to do with his time than wait for someone who was too painfully slow to hold his interest.

So he opened a drawer in his desk, one that would be kept locked outside of office hours, and pulled out a bottle. It only took a few seconds for Nii to shake out a large enough dose for a man of Iruka's size, and set the two small pills on the desk in front of him.

"Swallow that."

Iruka looked at the pills laid out before him, his stomach knotting ever so slightly in caution. He'd already played the trusting card, so not to take them would simply make things worse for himself... and refusing to take them would give the doctor a reason to call the nurses. It was lose-lose. He took the pills and raised them to his mouth, hoping that whatever effect they had, if they had one at all, wouldn't be something his system couldn't handle. He then swallowed them both and looked to the doctor again.

Ugh... they taste horrible. he thought to himself.

Apparently Nii had been right to give Iruka the dosage. Any idiot who would just blindly take something he was given, even after hesitating to weigh the consequences deserved what he got.

"Thank you." Nii let out a soft chuckle, putting away the prescription. "You'll be dead shortly, and I can use the time left in our session for more interesting pursuits."

A moment, then two. Long enough for the shock to sink in, though Iruka couldn't realize how fortunate he was. It was only annoyance involved in disposing of a body that would keep Nii from actually kiling someone. Such a pain, really.

But that didn't mean he couldn't have his fun. Because these pills may not actually be lethal, but they weren't placebos either. In only a matter of moments, darkness would overtake the man, as the medicine put him to sleep, albeit temporarily. It almost made Nii wish he would be there when Iruka woke up during dinner, panicking in the lingering haze, wondering if he had really died or not.

At least he had provided a little amusement.

Nii grinned that cruel smile of his, and Bunny hopped up, cheerfully waving goodbye with a tiny little paw.

"Nighty night, Mr. Jones."

"Dead? You're killing me for something like..." he started, but he soon found himself too tired to continue. He blinked.

The doctor was killing him? That seemed downright idiotic. Not only was he not alone in the room, but the nurses weren't that far away either. The doctor couldn't have been killing him. Still, he felt his limbs growing heavy, his eyes wanting to close.

He'd died before and it hadn't felt like falling asleep at all... but this did. This wasn't even painful. It felt like he was blacking out, slowly... like the drugs used during Chuunin exams on those who'd opened their scrolls when they weren't supposed to do so.

He looked at Nii for a moment, not allowing himself to panic. Were it this simple to die, he would have died long ago. Iruka had already vowed not to die until he'd managed to take his students to safety. With this in mind, he shot a grin right back at Nii before letting his mind relax.

Then his body slumped over and fell out of the chair, hitting the ground.

Day 24; Doctor's Office #10; Dr. Nii

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