damned_institute | Day 27: Intercom, Evening

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Day 27: Intercom, Evening

The intercom gave its cheery jingle just before the Head Doctor's equally buoyant voice rang through the halls.

"Ah, and finally, our day is coming to a close! Rooms and roommates have been reassigned with care, though what great partnership can start without a good meal? Ah, yes, after the nurses escort all of our patients, new and old, back to their proper rooms, everyone will have the chance to enjoy a savory chicken pot pie, full of peas, carrots, potatoes, and of course, chicken. On the side, we'll have buttery corn on the cob and green beans, and to drink, you may choose from the regular slew of water, milk, or assorted juices, which your nurse will bring to you.

"I believe that's all for now! Phew, long day, huh? I know I'll be happy to get some sleep, and thank you to all our vigilant doctors and nurses, although Dr. House seems to have gone AWOL... Hmm... Well, in any case, have a good dinner, everyone!"

The intercom clicked off again as the nurses began organizing the patients for the small trek back to their rooms.

[ OOC: Remember, room threads go in response to THIS post, and please put your respective room number in the subject line of your first post. Thanks! ]

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Haku smiled up at the nurse as she settled him into his bed. Propped up with pillows, he hadn't felt so ridiculous in his life. He was being fussed over and coddled in a way that made him very uncomfortable and it took an effort to keep his polite smile.

She placed the plate of food, already cut up and unrecognizable on a tray and in his lap. "Are you sure you don't need help Chris?" Haku smiled and shook his head.

"No, thank you," he said. "I'm sure I'll be fine. Thank you very much." She patted his hair and left him to his food.

"I'm so sorry Sean," Nurse Hedgerow gushed as she opened the door for Artemis, "I'll make sure that Mr. Trick never comes near you again."

"I'm okay," Artemis muttered, but the fact that his speech was slightly slurred indicated that he clearly wasn't. His arm was still in a sling and there was a purple bruise forming at the corner of his mouth where Jack had lashed out and hit him the shift previous. It was swelling, and it made Artemis' normally elegant tone sound labored and sloppy. He wasn't pleased by this.

But all of it seemed to go out the window when he saw Haku upright in bed--a wheelchair next to him. Artemis mentally made a note that he was clearly losing his touch--he should have pursued the idea that something was wrong with Haku when Zabuza had asked him to stay behind until he came for Haku. But the prospect of tearing a psychologist to shreds, plus the argument with Jack, had pulled his thought processes away from that. He frowned.

"What happened?" He asked Haku.

"Oh he'll be fine, Sean," Nurse Hedgerow chimed in, patting the boy on the head. "Just took a little tumble is all. Come eat your dinner."

Artemis stared at the food until she left, but didn't eat. He looked up at Haku. "I prefer versions of stories that aren't riddled with lies," Artemis said simply, beginning to dissect his pie.

Haku smiled up at the nurse that brought Artemis in and said nothing while she was there. Once she left however, he turned a more honest smile to his roommate.

"The lies are far more amusing than the truth though," he said. He frowned down at his tray then, with a grimace, ate a bit of the 'pie'. It was awkward with one arm strapped to his chest, but he managed. He really didn't want to eat anything.

"According to the staff, I fell from the second floor." He laughed softly, the ache in his side sharpening as he did. "I haven't fallen any distance since I was very young, so such an idea is funny to me."

He pushed the mess around on his plate. "Truthfully, I was attacked by a man with roughly the same mass as a building."

Haku turned and looked back at Artemis, expression worried. "And you? What happened to you?"

Artemis raised his eyebrows, "Really? Well, that was hardly sporting of him," The boy said with a grin. "But you're here in one piece, which is the main point of interest."

He attempted to push some food into his mouth. It hurt to stretch his face. "Ugh, that Jack man that you told me about last night happened to me. I ask him one simple question about his mother and he flies off the handle. Punches me right across the jaw. And before that he pushed my head into the table." Juice was safer, and his nurse had kindly provided him with a straw. "As for my arm, I ran into a brainwashed patient and... well, the lunge you taught me worked marvelously. Until he kicked me. And Captain Hitsugaya had a perfect shot at his head when I jumped on the man's back to distract him--but both he and Mr. Tsukiyono refused to take a shot while I was in the way, so he nearly sliced my arm off at the shoulder.

"Which reminds me," Artemis said, taking a small bite of the revolting mess before him. "I'm receiving a blade soon--from the alchemists."

Haku frowned slightly in thought. "That certainly does sound like the man," he said. "I take it you insulted his massive ego?" He smiled and sounded far more amused than concerned. "Such a fragile thing."

He listened to Artemis talk about his encounter and nodded slightly as he spoke. "The ones that are taken for control tend to be mroe dangerous, I think, than the regulars that roam the night halls." Of course, the thing they had come across last night hadn't been a patient and it had still packed a punch.

"What sort of blade?"

"I didn't even do that!" Artemis protested with a noise of frustration, "He obviously has some sort of issue with psychologists, though. Or he hasn't yet come to terms with himself. Come to think of it, that's the point where he started getting angry."

His expression darkened, "And when I tried to spare him being sedated, he though I was actually apologetic. The imbecile," the boy snorted and tried eating some more. "At least now I've laid the groundwork to get that key from him--if you still wish for me to collaborate with you on this particular issue."

He nodded, "I've noticed that pattern. Also, I'm of the belief that these patients are given orders not to kill us. Mr. Omi Tsukiyono displayed something not unlike your skills last night. I nearly got a pen between the eyes," he sighed. What was it about people throwing things at him? "I have good reason to believe that Mr. Tsukiyono, a the man who attacked us--Ken, Omi called him--and those who arrived to help us fight Ken, are all assassins. I've seen a few in my day.

"Anyway, the point is that this Ken person could have killed me three times, and he didn't. Either he is a very poor, unemployed assassin, or he was told to leave us alive. However, that doesn't mean that there can't be 'accidents'." Artemis scowled. This Martin Landel was a tricky one, he'd give him that.

"Edward is making me a foil. I'd show you the picture I drew, but I gave it to him to aide in the creation," He gestured at Haku with his fork, "Wasn't he supposed to make you something?"

"That is an interesting new twist on this game," Haku said. "And one I will have to consider and keep in mind." He frowned. "I wonder what sorts of orders they are given then..."

He smiled at Artemis. "I would be very interested to see your preffered type of weapon," he said. "The man I was working for up until the end of last night made me a small collection of my favored weaponry." He laughed softly again. "Of course, anything can be a weapon if you really need one. Oh!" He blinked. "That reminds me. Before you leave, I would feel better if you had something else on your person."

With the hand that could still move, Haku pointed to the closet. "Inside the outdoor shoes are two scalpels. One in each shoe. Take those with you." They were his last, but he could always find more.

"Interesting, but it's hardly proof," Artemis reminded Haku. "Apparently Ken and Omi know each other--so that could have something to do with it. I'm not sure yet. So don't engage any enemy believing that they'll have mercy on you," The boy looked thoughtful, "But I doubt I need to remind you of that."

Artemis looked slightly taken aback, but he set aside his tray and moved towards the closet, "Are you certain? I still have the one you gave me previously, and you could probably put them to much better use...

"But I'd be happy to take them for tonight. The captain has put me in his team again, but he didn't mention what we were doing," he shrugged his good shoulder, kneeling down to look for the shoes, "It's slightly unnerving.

"And of course I'll let you see the blade--once it's done, of course. I have two patients who owe me five hundred grams of metal." He smiled to himself.

Haku smiled warmly. "Of course," he assured the other boy. "If you still have them by daylight, just put them back. Don't worry though if they become lost or damaged."

He looked down at his food, as though considering just how badly he needed the engery. "I won't be needing them tonight after all."

It still annoyed him that Zabuza-san thought he needed watching, but he had been doing a poor job of following orders as of late. He deserved whatever punishment Zabuza-san had in mind for him and would accept it.

"Oh?" Artemis asked, curious, "So Zabuza-san isn't taking you into the hallways tonight? I suppose it's natural," the boy straightened up, scalpels in hand. "You were grievously injured last night."

The boy walked back over to his bed, testing his arm, "Not sure how much good I'll do tonight with my arm still like this," he frowned. "Maybe this is the time to try my luck..."

Haku smiled and shook his head. "After how badly I messed up last night I doubt I will be permitted to go anywhere," he corrected. "I am still capable of fighting and fleeing, despite what the day staff here seem to think." He glanced at the wheelchair with distaste.

"I would like to say don't strain yourself," Haku said once Artemis had gotten back to his bed. "Or better yet, do not leave the rooms at all, but that would be unfair to you." He smiled warmly. "So all I can say is good luck and be careful when you do go."

Artemis smiled at Haku, "A quiet night would be more than welcome--but I believe the captain would have my head if I didn't make an appearance," He laughed a little. "Plus if I don't leave the room, how am I supposed to gather information for you and Zabuza-san?

"Come to think of it, what do you make of this?" He pulled Muraki's doll out from under his bed. "I took it from Doctor Muraki's office last night."

The boy frowned at the mention of Haku 'messing up'. "The injuries we sustain here are hardly our fault," he said firmly. "Besides, didn't you say this man was 'the size of a building'? We're not the, oh how did he put it? The toughest boys on the playground?" Artemis took another bite, "Why do you think you messed up?"

Haku smiled. "Keep in mind," he said, "I have been trained in such a way that who or what my opponent is doesn't matter. All that matters if victory. And..." He laughed softly, ignoring the sharp pain in his side at the movement. "I certainly did not win last night."

He looked at the doll with a thoughtful frown. "Hmm... Well, Muraki is the doctor that I have actually. The man seems more than a little off and if what the posters on the board had to say is indeed true, I would think that it is something sick, but dear to him." He looked up at Artemis. "Have you tried opening it up?"

Artemis frowned, but decided not to touch that one. A lot of people were very touchy about what constituted failure and victory--himself included. If Haku felt he had truly done something worthy of being chastised, it wasn't Artemis' place to argue. Nor did he really want to upset Haku.

"No, I haven't tried opening it. I couldn't see a way of opening it besides smashing it on a floor, but it was dark last night and I really wasn't lucid," He squinted at the doll, "I'm curious as to why he keeps such a thing in his office though. Perhaps it's valuable?"

"It is valuable," Haku said. "In some fashion anyway. It could hold monetary value, emotional value, or value as a novelty item. That it was still here even after dark means that it is not valuable enough to take home with the doctor, but meant enough to bring with him to work."

Haku tilted his head slightly. "Perhaps he collects them?"

"It's a thought," Artemis mused, "It could be a particular favorite of his, I suppose." The boy sighed, depressed, "And I thought I was actually stealing something of some importance. How disappointing," He set the doll back under the bed. "Perhaps I'll ask him one day."

Haku smiled slightly when Artemis replaced the doll. "That doesn't mean it's not important in some way. Like I said, you should try opening it up. The blades on the scalpel should cut easily though the softer parts and the head and limbs certainly look fragile."

He pushed the rest of the pie away. He wasn't in the mood to eat. Zabuza-san could add that to the list of things to 'talk' about tonight for all he cared.

"Is Muraki your doctor as well?"

Artemis smirked, "Currently, I have no doctor. I was in group therapy today," He sighed happily--fond memories, apparently. "Needless to say, I currently have Multiple Personality Disorder on my file--which is a step up from delusions of grandeur, I suppose."

He picked up one of the scalpels, "I suppose I could see if there's anything in it..." The boy pulled the doll out again, looking for where would be best to cut.

"An interesting thought," Haku said with a small smile of his own. "I haven't really been given a diagnosis of any sort, but then, I don't much care. Whatever they tell me is a lie, so why worry about it."

He thought about what they had said his dear 'uncle' had done to him and bit back a laugh.

"It's a possibility, and if not, no harm done. To you, anyway." Haku watched the disection with interest. "If you cut along any seams, I would be able to stitch them back up right after." Of course, should it prove empty it was a fine place to hide things.

"I don't worry about it either--but it's just so amusing to watch them fumble around and play 'Pin the Diagnosis on Sean Malloy'." He laughed, carefully cutting into the seams of the doll. Fortunately he was used to this kind of fine work, courtesy of his dealings with tiny fairy books.

"I wonder what the doctor would think if he knew what I was doing," he chuckled to himself.

"Probably become quite upset with us," Haku said, humor lightening his voice. "Which is why I won't be mentioning this to him when I next see him."

He was still watching carefully.

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Day 27: Intercom, Evening

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