Night 62: M61-70 Hallway

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[M63]

Dinner had been quiet, with Okita staying as silent as possible while Guy slept. It was concerning, actually, how long the man had slept this past day. Even as he finished his meal and the lights turned out along with that ominous message, Guy didn't stir. Okita had heard such things happened sometimes - people slept for longer and longer and then... The swordsman shook his head as if he meant to shake the very thought from his mind. Guy was stronger than that, stronger than a lot of them. He wouldn't go out like that. Not at least without a reason, a goodbye, some measure of warning.

The lights grew dim and winked out. The head doctor gave his little speech and Okita watched the speaker box on the wall with gradually waning interest and growing fear. People were going to grow sick, change, become horrific creatures, and those unaffected had a very clear choice at hand: kill their former friends or find a way to help them. Knowing Martin Landel, however, finding a cure would mean risking certain death for at least one person. Dropping his gaze from the wall, he knew he would volunteer if such a mission came.

His eyes fell onto Guy's sleeping form again and Okita finally got up, turning his head away as he coughed a few times. The sound seemed to echo in the room and he frowned, looking down at his hand. The napkin from his dinner tray served him well enough in cleaning up the red dots he saw and he quickly disposed of the offending thing in his desk drawer, locking it. Then, he made his way across to where Guy was, sitting down on the floor next to him. Maybe he shouldn't disturb the man's sleep in case something terrible had happened, but...

Okita reached out and gently shook Guy's shoulder. "...Guy-san? Guy-san, are you alright?"

Comments

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He wanted to brush the statement off. It would be so easy to tell Guy that it had been his imagination, some vestige of a dream barely remembered. He could lie and lie forever, but Guy wasn't Hijikata and it wasn't likely that he'd want to hear the lie and ignore the truth as they were doing. Still, he couldn't bring himself to let the secret out and instead he smiled and shook his head.

"I had something stuck in my throat."

Silently, he apologized to Guy and turned away, getting dressed. The Western clothes were quickly discarded and replaced with his white kimono, but Okita took his time matching the lapels and folding the material around his body. Lucky for him the kimono filled him in and still fit well despite any weight loss lately. Looking over to Guy as he reached for the blue obi, Okita frowned.

"Ah...Yes, today many people were beginning to get sick apparently. It seems that some of us may become ill and among those..." He paused to tighten the obi as he wrapped it around his middle. "...some may be changed in the coming days into the creatures we fight at night. It may be true and it may be a lie, but it's likely he's watching to see our reactions and whether we help or try to kill one another out of fear."

[nobleman]

Something stuck in his throat. Guy might have believed that if he hadn't noticed Okita coughing consistently over the past few days. While a cough was nothing to worry about under most circumstances, the fact that Okita wouldn't say much about it was what caused Guy to worry. He'd spent enough time around people trying to hide serious illnesses that he couldn't help but wonder.

Not that he could spend much time worrying about it. Okita already looked like he was getting ready to head out, and Guy was going to have to follow suit. He got up from his bed, setting his half-eaten food aside, and went over to his closet to grab his shirt, vest, and leggings.

As he changed, he listened to Okita's explanation, frowning as the final point was made. People getting sick and turning into monsters? That wasn't something that could be easily ignored, and Landel didn't often make empty threats. And with Okita coughing, was it possible that...?

Guy himself felt fine, except for oversleeping. That could be a sign on its own, but he was going to wait to see how he felt over the night before he made any assumptions. "We'd better be prepared for the worst, then. Make sure you take care of yourself, Okita," he said with a pointed stare.

Once dressed, Guy gathered his usual items -- his sword, flashlight, and radio -- and gave his roommate a lingering look. "Thanks for waking me up, by the way."

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Take care of yourself. The pointed stare that came after those words was enough to seal Okita's determination to conceal his illness from Guy as much as possible. If, in the worst case scenario, it came to moving rooms, he would have to do so. He'd do whatever it took to keep Guy from knowing - and thus from suffering under his knowledge - of what was going to happen. On the inside, he felt himself trying to detach from the feelings of camaraderie created over the past month and a half. On the outside, he tied his obi and smiled as pleasantly as ever.

"Of course," he replied, keeping his voice light as always. "Living here, we always have to prepare for the worst - and you don't think I'd let you sleep the entire night away, do you?"

He laughed a bit, tucking the ends of his obi into itself and tugging it slightly to make sure it wouldn't slip anytime soon. He reached for his sword, despite knowing it wasn't likely to get much use, and pulled it from the box, smiling back at his friend. "Take care, Guy-san. I'll see you in the morning."

[nobleman]

Preparing for the worst was definitely something Guy had become used to doing here. Not that he hadn't taken those cautions back home as well, but the potential danger hadn't been quite as constant.

While his concerns about Okita were far from laid to rest, there wasn't much that he could do about them now. It was clear that Okita didn't want him digging any further, but Guy had to admit that he was starting to feel guilty for not trying harder to uncover the truth. It was a thin line to walk, though.

"See you then," he said with a nod as he exited and moved down the hall. Now, to see if his friends were already looking for him. Claude should be just down the corridor...

[To here.]

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It was certainly not the end of the discussion. Okita could feel that in the way Guy looked at him, but it was enough of an end for today that he could move on with what he needed to do. As the door closed after Guy left, Okita let out a heavy sigh. How could he keep something a secret from someone who was essentially living with him? Sharing space was one thing when one had their own private quarters, but a complete lack of privacy meant things would eventually come to a head.

He had to find a way to leave before that happened.

With his sword as his side, Okita stared at the box with his uniform still sitting inside. He could put it on, go on patrol, see to it that he knew who was sick and who was not for the next day... Or.

Before he knew it, he'd closed the lid with the uniform haori and hakama left inside and had gone down the hall one door. A familiar scent of smoke came creeping up from under the door and a quick listen told him that someone was still inside. Considering Hijikata's injuries, it wasn't unfathomable that he would stay in today. And that suited Okita just fine.

[to here]