Day 65: Intercom, Evening

[damned_intercom]

As some of the clouds from earlier began to clear, the intercom jingle sounded over the intercom once again.

"Hello, patients!" came the Head Doctor's cheery voice. "I hope you're all feeling fresh and clean this evening! To top it all off, we've prepared a scrumptious herb chicken dinner for you to eat before bed. Of course, we have vegetarian options available, so please don't hesitate to ask the nurse if you're interested in that.

Also, since we have the pleasure of welcoming a few new patients into our family, some of you will be receiving new roommates. Let's do our best to give them a nice, big Landel's Institute welcome, shall we?"

The Head Doctor gave a friendly chuckle. "Well, anyway, enjoy your dinner!"

With that, the intercom shut off.

[Note: All dinner threads are posted in response to this entry. Be sure to check the Roommate Assignments if you're not sure what room/roommate your character has! Thanks.]

Comments

[oyaji]

Wild Tiger entered not long after, one hand over his stomach and the other in a soft sling, but an easy smile brightening his dark face. The last of the day had been hell with his new stomach pains that had started during lunch. Fearing another embarrassing scene of coughing up hair, the older man just stopped trying to eat. It was for the best. He had a target literally painted on his rashy skin already, the last thing he needed was more instances that showed just how screwed he was. They were supposed to be symbols of good and bringers of change, not invalid and disease-stricken!

Still, like hell he was going to let it get him down. There was always hope and Wild Tiger had to project that in his attitude, so when it came to meet with his roommate again, he kept his mood light and pleasant.

"Hey!" he greeted, taking a seat on his own bed and ignoring his dinner as well. It wasn't worth the risk. The position helped alleviate the strain on his stomach, though, which he appreciated. It had been a rough day all things considered and he couldn't help but blow out a big breath of air as he combed a few fingers through his hair. They snagged the elastic string of his mask and, for a moment, he hesitated in taking it off until he realized it was a moot point by now. Castiel had seen him change more than once and knew his civilian alias already. Hooking his fingers through the string, he pulled it off with ease and dropped it on the bed.

"Ah, so I want to thank you for helping last night. Things sort of got... out of hand," which was beyond the understatement, but it was hard enough having to admit he had needed help, a few erroneous word choices were negligible in the scheme of things.

[freewill]

When Kobayashi entered, Castiel quickly noticed a number of things. The sling was the most obvious thing, but the rash on the other man's arm was what stood out even more once he noticed it. Was it possible that his roommate was sick as well? If that was the case, then how was it that he hadn't noticed until tonight?

Either his roommate had gotten sick after him, or Castiel had just been that oblivious. It wasn't like him, and it was probably due to the fact that he'd been so focused on his own illness. Granted, Kobayashi also made a habit of coming across as if everything was fine even if it was the exact opposite.

It was no surprise that the previous night was mentioned, although Castiel didn't really understand why he was being thanked. He shook his head at the other man. "I didn't do anything. You should thank the others, who were able to work that machine." That had given them the information that they'd needed.

Despite it all, though, he wasn't going to ignore the rash on Kobayashi's arm now that he'd finally noticed it. He didn't hide the way he was staring, and even nodded toward it. "You didn't tell me you were sick as well."

[oyaji]

"Well, I suppose that's the case, but..." Without Castiel, Kotetsu would have been a little less grounded in the midst of trying to keep Barnaby from bleeding out and worrying about the long-term. And besides, even if he had just stood there as silent support that was still more effort than any person was asked to do for another. Any kind of trying was worth thanks!

Still, he did need to thank Anise and the others for their help. They were that much further to figuring out what they were dealing with so they could find a solution, preferably one that didn't end in amateur surgery. A skin disease and a volatile stomach were small prices to pay when he could keep his innards intact and not die of infection. Of course, that didn't mean he wanted to proudly display his infection and he couldn't help but try to cover his arm away from Castiel's prying eyes.

"Ah, who me?" he asked as if he was stalling for time to think. "Eh well... It's not as bad as it looks! I didn't want to alarm you. Guess it doesn't matter now since we both have it."

[freewill]

Castiel frowned when Kobayashi went so far as to try and hide his rash and brush it all off. If he didn't take this seriously, then it wasn't going to end well. This was reminding him of his conversation of Aigis earlier in the day. How could people be faced with the threat of literally turning into an uncontrollable monster and not feel compelled to act?

"That means both of us run the risk of turning, possibly even tonight," he pointed out bluntly. "And Barnaby is caught up in it as well." It really wasn't his job to worry about others, but in this case it was his roommate, so he had a vested interest.

While he had already worked out his own situation (and his hope was that it would all go smoothly), that clearly wasn't the same for others. "What do you plan to do about it?" he asked. Ignoring it obviously wasn't going to help.

[oyaji]

"Yeah, I know," he admitted into his fidgety hands. He was trying his best not to get defensive with Castiel for prying, but it was hard in the face of the unknown, especially when it involved the safety of his partner. They didn't really have a solid game plan. Kotetsu had been more worried over this brain washing business today. The last thing he wanted was a third relapse in Barnaby's memory, or worse when he hadn't even remembered him.

The disease had taken a back seat, but he knew he couldn't keep it there for long. "Well, not surgery." He was very adamant on that. It would have been one thing if a licensed surgeon were on their side, but from the little information on the board it seemed to boil down to one patient without all the supplies necessary to do this properly. The former Hero was not going to allpw half-ass procedures on his partner!

"We haven't changed yet! There's still time to find another way, and besides surgery isn't the only way to get something out of your stomach." Actually, the older man wondered if there was any laxatives lying around.

[freewill]

Kobayashi seemed very set on the point that he wasn't going to resort to surgery, but at the same time, he had no other plan -- or at least nothing concrete. Castiel thought it over for a moment. He could see why some patients would be resistant to getting cut open. There were a lot of risks involved, and the entire act was barbaric.

Maybe the reason that it bothered him less was because this body wasn't his in the first place, so he didn't mind if it was damaged so long as a result was achieved. He'd rather take the reckless move and have this taken care of tonight as opposed to sitting on his hands.

He wasn't going to admit to his plans at this point, though, since Kobayashi might try to talk him out of it, which he wasn't interested in. "Well," he said after a long stretch of silence, "whatever you end up doing, I wish you luck with it."