damned_institute | Day 26; Doctor's Office 9; Dr. Sohma

Usopp had been pretty surprised when a nurse took him oh-so-gently by the arm and guided him away from the rest of the patients. He didn't fight, though he did question where they were headed and received the answer that he would be seeing a doctor for therapy. Sai had been told the same thing... here he'd been, worrying about Sai in therapy, when he was getting it himself. It figured.

He was slow as he stepped into the room, not because he was scared or anything, he just wanted to get an idea of the layout of the place. Just in case of surprise attacks! The place smelled like Sanji, minus the underlying scent of delicious food. Instead, it smelled like coffee. And slightly... lavendery?

No sense putting off the inevitable, especially considering that this was daytime and they were probably just going to try to talk him into submission. Good luck to the doctor! He might not be so great when facing demons, bats, loneliness or leeches, but nobody could outlie him.

So he sat down across from the doctor's desk, doing his best to look friendly. "Hi, I'm Terrace Housman." It had been something like that, right..? He wished the nurses would call him by more than just Mr. Housman, it'd make this easier.

Hatori supposed that 'Terrace' had been a childhood nickname of the young man's, and he saw no reason not to call him by the name he offered, especially since it wasn't a variation of the imagined name he'd taken note of in the file. Perhaps the Institute was already having the desired effect on him. If that was so, Dr. Sohma's job wouldn't be so difficult this morning.

He didn't really full-out smile in return - instead, the very corners of his lips turned up very slightly in a cold, rather professional mockery of a smile. "Good morning, Terrace. I'm Dr. Hatori Sohma. I'll be your doctor here at Landel's."

He wrote something on the file in front of him, then continued. "I trust your stay at Landel's has been therapeutic, if not altogether comfortable." He was eyeing Terence's bandaged arms.

What a cold-looking guy. If Usopp had to have a doctor, he'd prefer Chopper any day. Although it was an improvement over that witch doctor who'd trained Chopper...

"Good morning," he answered back, determined to be cheerful. He didn't think it would work, in fact he was sure it wouldn't, but he couldn't just not try. "Yeah, some of the people here are a little scary, but I guess that's to be expected. So... um... I'm... feeling pretty good, myself, though." He managed to catch himself short of adding 'not like a pirate or anything like that.' "What'll we be doing for therapy, doctor?"

Hatori was so glad to have a patient that seemed cooperative, although he didn't let any of it show. His headache didn't seem like it was going to be getting any worse, in any case.

Since taking his job at Landel's, he'd been reading about different forms of therapy that would work more readily than simple conversation. With meetings scheduled at once a week, it was proving difficult to build rapport between himself and his patients, especially since none of them were related to him and had that automatic trust built in.

"There are a few things we could try," he said quietly, in a rather controlled voice. "I'm going to let you choose. We could have a conversation and talk about the events that brought you here. Or you could draw a picture for me and we could talk about that."

"Ohh, I could draw a picture? Let's do that." Usopp brightened. Considering the possibilities he'd worried over on the way here, this seemed pretty easy to handle thus far. Then again, the nurses were all pretty nice if annoying during the daytime... maybe this guy was a werewolf at night or something like that.

So long as he didn't have to face the werewolf, he'd talk to cheerful doctors all day long. Talking or art, huh? It could only get easier if Dr. Hatori asked him to tell a lie. Not that he hadn't already.

On the other hand, if he demonstrated himself suitably sane, what would happen? There was no way they would just let him go from this place. There'd be a trap somewhere--he couldn't let himself get too complacent. For all he knew, Dr. Hatori was just warming him up while the electro-shock treatment room in the back was prepared.

In all truth, Usopp had lucked out. Hatori was one of the more sane doctors here. Him and Wilson and Huang, anyway. Of course, Dr. Sohma hadn't really socialized with the others very much up until now, so he didn't really know that. He'd spent the last few days' lunches in his office or out on the town, anyway.

"Understood." He dug absently in a drawer in his desk, then came out with a large, unused sketchpad and a just-as-unused set of oil pastels in a small box, scooting them to the edge of the table.

"I'd like you to draw a person. It doesn't matter who," he said.

"Hey, great, thanks!" With genuine enthusiasm, Usopp took the supplies. He wondered if there were any way he could ask to keep them, but figured the answer would be no before he asked. If this were part of the doctor's usual routine, he'd want them for other patients. Though these were unused... maybe after he was done, he could ask.

The picture itself was no trouble at all. He'd had an idea in mind for a drawing before the doctor had even suggested a theme. Taking up the pastels, he began to immerse himself in his work. It was a pleasure to have proper supplies. He also took a while to finish, obviously considering the image as he paused, examined the pastels he had to choose from, and picked new colors or blended what was there.

The final image was a blonde woman with shoulder-length hair, dressed in a white robe lined with fur. She was smiling wide, her eyes closed, and her face had a healthy flush to it that the inspiration had yet lacked when Usopp had seen her last. Her hands were crossed in front of her, safely tucked into mittens to guard them from the snow. Usopp had even given attention to the background, drawing square-trimmed bushes covered in snow and part of a snowman that was mostly off-page. At last, after one last critical look at it, he handed the book back to the doctor.

If he couldn't keep the pastels, maybe he could at least keep the drawing. It was one of his better ones, he personally thought.

While his patient drew, Hatori had closed his eyes and sipped his coffee occasionally, waiting for that headache to dissipate. It hadn't. It wouldn't. He didn't really want to take another pill, he was sure it would kick in after a while, but Landel's seemed to do strange things to him as well, though he had chosen to be here.

When the pad was handed back to him, he held it out to the side so both he and Terence could see it.

"Tell me about this person," he said. He had a decent idea who it was, but he was curious to how 'Terrace' would describe her.

He was suspicious, and hoped being vague might help keep up his Terrace persona. It was also possible that the doctor genuinely had no idea who this was, but Usopp was more willing to bet that this was part of the plan and he'd tell Usopp she was actually someone he'd never talked to or just part of his fantasies. The doctor could at least compliment his hard work, he thought sulkily.

"She's a rich heiress I know. Her parents passed away a few years ago. She loves to listen to interesting stories. She's a very delicate and kind person." What else could he say? As much as he talked about having the gift of gab, he found it easier to draw Kaya than to describe her. Narrow things down, that was it. "In this picture, it's winter, and she helped build the snowman. She's probably going to go inside soon and get some warm cocoa from Me... her butler."

So far, the story mostly matched up. Unfortunately, the patient had been wrong to say that the girl in question had liked to listen to his stories...

Hatori frowned, finally wondering if his patient was still so deep in his delusions that he did not know the reason he'd been taken to Landel's Institute. "This girl was worried about you. Do you know why you're here, Terrace?"

He took a long sip of coffee. He'd been lucky she had worried about him, otherwise he'd probably have ended up in prison rather than an insitute.

"Of course I know," Usopp acted offended, while his mind raced. Lie, lie, lie, lie... "I was acting... I wasn't acting like myself. When I look back on it, even I can't understand it!" He shook his head. "All I can say is that, at the time, it all made sense to me."

He let out a long, melancholy sigh. No, that's too melodramatic, tone it down! "Would it be too much to ask how she's doing?"

Hatori wasn't sure if Terence Housman really did know, but that was beside the point. That girl was a risky subject indeed, and the doctor risked sending him further into his delusions if he pressed the issue. With a gentle hand, though, Hatori knew anything could be accomplished. Kana had taught him that.

He looked at the drawing, which was actually pretty good, and back at the patient. "Her condition has improved. She recovered quickly after the kidnapping. I'm not sure if she'll be available to pay you a visit come visitation day on Sunday, but you can hope."

Hatori raised his one visible eyebrow and took another sip of that coffee. "So you've finally realized that you're not a pirate after all?"

Kidnapping...? The first thing that came to mind was Kuro, but he hadn't planned on kidnapping Kaya, and besides, how would they know about him? Something about this all felt too familiar, but he wasn't willing to accept that they knew all that much about his past. Not because it was mysterious, but it seemed so unimportant. He wasn't even sure why he was here, thinking that they'd come up with an elaborate fake life for him that actually included aspects of his real life was beyond expectation. Suddenly the feeling he'd had before he'd met with Luffy came back, frustration and confusion and a general sense of helplessness. What the hell was this...?

Not a pirate. Kidnapping. But he said she might visit him too. Putting together the pieces to try and understand and parrot the lie the doctor was feeding him wasn't easy.

"O-of course!" He'd stopped himself from saying it before; why would it bother him to say it now? "D-do I look like a pirate? Or act like a pirate? I'm an ordinary person. Just..."

He felt ill.

"I'm glad she's recovered." At least wishing Kaya well was a truth that seemed safe to express.

Hatori nodded. "Landel's is doing somewhat well for you, then." Though it seemed a little early for him to have discarded his delusions so fast. This wouldn't be the first time a therapist would have been lied to, but this was not an interrogation chamber. This was therapy.

He paused, leaning in a little. He looked somewhat quizzical. "Are you well, Terrace? You look nervous." An anxiety disorder...? Was his true problem being unearthed?

There were a number of pills in his desk that could prescribe in this situation, but it would be best to wait for verification of the symptoms first.

"W-well, I'm always nervous around doctors." At crazy other-dimensional hospitals that get overrun with monsters at night. Usopp gave a little nervous laugh. "You know what might make me feel better? If you'd let me draw some more. That always calms me down."

Dammit, if the doctor could read something into him, then he'd try reading back. See what the doctor thought of his next picture.

Maybe he should just abandon all pretenses, since he didn't really hope to be declared cured and sent home. But his lies had carried at least tolerably well this far, giving up didn't seem right either. He squirmed in his chair uncomfortably.

"Funny. You seemed rather comfortable when you arrived," Hatori said quietly. Headache. Headache.

He lowered his gaze slowly, eyeing the picture on his desk, as if asking for Kana to give him strength. "However... I won't push you. There are pills to make you less panicky if the situation calls for it, in order for you to better lead a happy life. I'm here to help, you must understand." He gestured with a hand as he spoke, then handed the drawing materials back to Terence.

"Please, if this allows you to calm down and feel better, you may have it. I'm interested in what you have to draw."

"Well, when I'd just arrived, we'd barely started talking... I was trying to put on a good face. I know this is a hospital, I don't want you to think I'm sick just because I'm nervous. But talking about uncomfortable things in my past just... makes it... it's harder." There. That was perfect. He mentally shook his own hand, while physically taking the drawing materials back.

Pills... pills, pills, no, he was definitely not getting drugged. He was giving this guy no excuses for dosing him with anything funny. He'd seen patients stumbling around after being 'medicated' for causing trouble, but he was too smart for that. Or too chicken. It wasn't important which.

This sketch was of Luffy. A grinning face, wider than Kaya's smile and a bit manic. A straw hat over messy black hair. It was just from the waist up, showing the red vest. One of Luffy's hands was up holding the hat in place. A blue sky behind him, with a few light clouds. He didn't risk drawing a boat or the sea.

"You need to face and live up to those things in your past before you can truly get better, Terrace," Dr. Sohma reminded gently. "That's what your parents would have wanted."

He looked at the sketch. Oddly enough, he didn't recognize the drawing of his patient's friend. "Right, tell me about this sketch. Who's this?" The smile unsettled him a little bit; whether it was because of that smile or not was debatable.

Parents? He was bringing Usopp's parents into this? Usopp pressed his lips tightly together to avoid saying a word. Whatever the doctor had to say about his parents, Usopp didn't want to hear it. He didn't think he'd be able to listen to lies about his father.

So instead he focused on the picture. "This is Luffy, a guy I met here." He didn't meet him for the first time here, but that wasn't important. "He's always wearing that straw hat. Pretty good, huh?" Some small part of him was still annoyed that Hatori hadn't acknowledged his artistic skill yet. These were good pictures!

"Yes. You're talented," he said quietly, never really one for compliments, but the patient had been asking for praise.

He took notes on the patient's file, certainly without revealing what he was writing. Something was sitting wrong with him - he checked a page back in the notes he'd been given, then nodded and looked back up at the young man. "Luffy. What about Luffy draws you to him?"

That was more like it.

"Shared delusions of piracy!" Usopp announced with perhaps too much pride--he'd already decided how to answer that. "It's something we have in common, even if it's something weird. And I like being around him, he's upbeat. It's nice to spend time with someone here who doesn't look like he's going to a funeral." Usopp leaned back in his chair. "That's one of the problems around here, you know; it's hard to look towards the future when you're surrounded by people who are, well... like the people here."

Hatori frowned, massaging his right temple gently. "It's not acceptable to project your delusions onto others, Terrace, however happy I am for you that you've made friends." Never mind that he didn't look happy in the slightest.

Hatori is cold like snow.

"Unfortunately, the funereal atmosphere can't be helped for now. Landel's Institute is one of the best mental institutions in the country - no, the world - and the general mood will improve. Give it time," he said slowly.

"What? I'm not projecting. Luffy definitely thinks he's a pirate!" Well, Luffy was right, he was a pirate. That wasn't important to add at the moment. "It's not my fault we think the same way."

As for the general mood improving... he didn't think that seemed likely. "It's no wonder things around here are so gloomy if you're importing the most crazy and depressed people from around the world," he sulked back. Never mind that he didn't believe a word of it.

"I made friends with someone who thinks he's a ninja, too. Is that acceptable? I've never had any ideas about being a ninja, I'm sure of that."

That was it. Hatori finally took another pill. And downed it with a swig of still-hot-enough-to-burn coffee, his only visible eye closing tightly in twitching pain.

"Naming your friends that you meet here after characters in your stories seems like projecting, in my professional opinion," he said, wanting more than anything to smoke another cigarette, though he knew it wouldn't help his headache.

"And do you believe him when he says he's a ninja?" he asked quietly.

Damn, he knew he shouldn't mention names. But... "Luffy goes around introducing himself to other people as Luffy! I'm sure he has another, perfectly normal name" Like Housman is normal "but I don't want to call him something he doesn't like. What should I do?"

He added, "And ninjas don't exist. I'm not developing any new ninja fantasies. So you don't have to worry about that."

What was that pill? Was the guy drugging himself? Now that, in Usopp's not so professional opinion, was crazy. The guy had been downbeat the whole session, though. "Are you all right? No offense, but you don't look so great."

He thought for a moment, stroking his chin. "You should call him by his real name. If Luffy's his real name, then call him that. The point is to help other patients get better, as well as yourself. You should tell him and your 'ninja' friend that." It was honest advice, and something about Hatori's eye looked.. well, more sincere than normal at that moment. Kana seemed to have influenced him more than he would have liked.

The question about his own well-being, though, caught him off-guard. He hesitated for a moment, then replied, "..This is codeine, a pain-killer. I have a headache."

"It's an awful lot of pressure to ask me to cure other people too. It's obvious I'm having enough trouble by myself." That part of the lie had gotten comfortable now, so comfortable that he barely had to think about it.

He couldn't help noticing the change in the doctor's expression, though, and suddenly wondered if the doctors were really in on all of this. For all he knew, the doctors and nurses were as much victims as the patients--reality clouded from them. So he added, "But thanks for the advice, I'll keep it in mind."

Usopp didn't know anything about the names of drugs, but it was still worrisome. "A headache, huh? Maybe we could just be quiet the rest of the session. I could draw some more pictures..."

"The whole point of keeping the patients together is so you'll make friends. Friendship, as long as it doesn't dissolve into physical fighting, is therapeutic. It's our hope that you'll grow to realize the events of your true past and not consider your delusion to be so real, in time," he explained. That was the reason for keeping them together, as far as Dr. Sohma knew. Padded cells normally did more harm than good for most patients, and socialization was a key factor in normalcy.

He shrugged at Usopp's offer to draw some more, then took a sip of coffee. "I'm allowed to release you into normal shift when I'm finished, so we don't have to spend time stalling with drawings. I've been meaning to ask, though- why are your arms bandaged?"

It was funny - the patient didn't seem depressed enough for self-injury...

Usopp stared at the doctor, considering the question for what seemed like longer than it should take to come up with a response. But there were so many responses Usopp could make. Self-inflicted injury was probably not unusual in a real institute, but he was trying to seem saner, not convince the doctor to drug him. Blaming it on another patient was possible, and he'd vaguely hinted at that before, but now another idea was starting to come to him. The bandages weren't too thick, he should be able to...

"Look, let me show you." He began to carefully pull one bandage off, revealing the dark bruised skin and at the center, a large round red mark that was still faintly puckered. "Ow!" The stupid medical tape had caught on some hair and pulled the bruise a bit. "What do you think this is?"

"...!?"

Dr. Sohma jumped up, the white lab coat trailing behind him as he ran over to inspect the wound on ~~Terrace~~ Terence's arm. He'd seen strange, mostly-healed wounds on a patient a few days ago, but the patient hadn't been too keen on letting him investigate it more fully.

"It would appear to be a bite from a member of class Euhirudinea, but that's - not possible. Unless it - .. did you fall into the lake?"

"You think there's something this big in the lake?" Usopp felt triumphant. He was right; the doctors were really clueless. "I got this from a leech the length of your arm. I know it sounds crazy to you, and you've been told I'm crazy, but this isn't exactly the kind of thing I could fake! There's more on my back and legs too. If you really wanna investigate, then ask Lu... ask the friends I talked about. They might not be as cooperative as I am, but the same marks are on them. You've seen the other patients too, right? How many people get injured here? It doesn't make any sense for a hospital to let so many people get hurt so often, does it?"

Come on, come on! He had no idea what would happen, if he could convince the doctor of the truth... but it couldn't be anything bad, right?

Hatori knit his eyebrow while inspecting the wound closer. If it really was a leech wound, Terrace would need to be prescribed antihistamines -

..wait, why was he thinking like this? A giant leech? That was impossible. There had to be another reason for Usopp's wound, and Hatori was tempted to get to the bottom of it, take a sample of the lake or something.

"...does it itch?" was the only question or comment he had. It would be useless to feed any delusions the patient might have, more than Hatori already had.

Usopp got rather agitated at that. "Of course it itches, that's not the point, look at it! What is it? Look, I have more if you wanna see!" He began to pull his shirt off, turning around to show Hatori his back. "If it's not from a giant leech, what is it from? Why've others got it? Why're people getting injured so much at a hospital? You're a doctor, you've gotta be pretty smart, why would what you call one of the leading hospitals in the world let so many patients injure themselves so often?"

It was nonsense, and Usopp could see it--if he could get the doctor to see it too, maybe he could at least have a temporary ally before 'they' brainwashed the doctor again or whatever they'd done. "I don't care what you believe I am or I'm not, but you can't deny something you see with your own two eyes, can you?! What's this got to do with me thinking I'm a pirate, huh?"

He shook his head. "It has nothing to do with you thinking that you're a pirate, but it does have something to do with you exaggerating the truth." Hatori stood up, going back to the file and writing some things down.

"There's no proof that it's not from a giant leech, but there's nowhere a giant leech could have come from. There's no proof of giant leeches existing, and unfortunately your word isn't good enough." He opened his desk again and pulled out a tube of antihistamine ointment. Even if he couldn't believe the purported source, he could treat the wounds.

"I want you to apply a little bit of this antihistamine when it itches; it'll relieve the itching."

Usopp blew air out of pressed lips hard in frustration. "Fine, you don't have to believe it's a giant leech. But take a real look around this place and think about it! I've seen patients practically in full body casts. If you won't believe a story about leeches, at least you have to think that's neglectful." Appealing to logic to prove something illogical didn't help, so he tried the doctor's obvious dedication to his work. The man had been genuinely alarmed at the sight of Usopp's wound, after all.

"Thanks, though." He took the antihistamine ointment, wondering if there'd be enough in the tube for him, Luffy and Sai. It seemed like it should be, so long as they didn't cake it on. And Luffy might not need it, he wasn't sure how itchy rubber skin got in reaction to bites. "The bruises kind of ache too... is there any kind of painkiller I could get here that won't just knock me right out?" If he couldn't win Dr. Sohma over, he could at least maybe get some medicine out of the deal.

"Accurate medical care is being provided to care for whichever injuries patients might receive over the course of time. I'll look into it for you, but I can't help patients getting into violent fights." Or self-injury, he thought to himself, but that sort of thing would be hard to bring up while remaining professional.

"I will prescribe you some acetaminophen for the pain," he said quietly. "That's Tylenol." Since the patient was showing signs of stability, there shouldn't be a problem with letting him dose it at his own will, especially since it wasn't the type of drug that made one drowsy.

"If this is the best in the world, though, I'd hate to see what shape the guys in the less impressive hospitals are in." Usopp groused, but not too loudly. After all, it sounded like the guy was going to give him some more medicine, and that could be really useful in the long run. Usopp didn't want to sour his new medicine-giving buddy on the idea of Usopp being sane enough to take it.

"Oh, Tylenol?" Ashton'd had something else that he'd traded to Roy Mustang... something like Ass-prin? Never mind that, though, Usopp'd take what he could get. He did his best to look as though he had an idea of what the heck that was, since the doctor seemed to expect him to recognize the name. "Will you just give me some to take when needed, like the ointment?" If he had to depend on nurses to dispense it, it'd be useless to him. Well, not totally useless--he really wouldn't mind having some in general. He'd experienced plenty of worse pain, but that didn't mean he was a fan of having any pain at all if he could avoid it. It might make him feel like a rat the next time he saw poor Sai, though.

"Less expertly bandaged," Hatori said crisply to Terence's first comment. That was the truth, anyway. The patients Landel's took tended to be a bit more violent than normal patients, it seemed, but it was a challenge the doctors would all eventually conquer.

His headache was dissipating a little bit by now. ..A little bit. Though he was beginning to get a little bit drowsy because of it, he wasn't going to let on.

"Since you've shown sign of improvement, I'm going to let the nurse know you're going to be okay with managing your own medication this time. We'll be keeping an eye on you in case of overdose, of course." He handed a small bottle over; thank goodness he wouldn't have to go all the way to the pharmacy for a little bottle of acetaminophen.

"So you're finished, Terrace. If you step outside, a nurse will escort you.. ... somewhere."

"Oh, thanks! I'll be careful," Usopp promised, taking the bottle and standing up. This was still going well, even if he hadn't gotten the doctor to admit something strange was going on. Operation: Mostly Cured Lunatic is a success!

Just one more little thing... "Say... the pastels were a lot of fun. And therapeutic!" Sure, that was it. "Do you mind if I...?" He left the question trailing, but was reaching for them hopefully anyway.

Hatori waved his hand dismissively, as if he wasn't going to give it a verbal okay, but he didn't really care what happened to the art supplies. The patient obviously enjoyed drawing, and he had a backup.

Therapy was therapy, after all.

"I'll see you next week, Terrace," he said.

"You're a pretty nice guy!" Usopp informed Dr. Sohma, gathering up the supplies. He'd made out like a bandit, really. Lucky... "I hope your headache feels better."

"I'll see you next week too!" In a weird way, he was looking forward to it. Well, ideally he'd be out of here before next week, but if not, the reasonable doctor wasn't a bad guy to visit. It was a little sad, thinking of him turning into a werewolf or something at night.

With a last wave over his shoulder from his free hand, Usopp headed out the door.

Day 26; Doctor's Office 9; Dr. Sohma

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