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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Luke wasn't exactly easy to explain, but Guy figured he would get into their relationship first. "Well, I basically raised him. Even though we're only four years apart, he wasn't allowed out of his father's manor, so he couldn't go to school. I was his tutor, in everything from the alphabet to swordplay." There were a whole lot of details left out about the reasons for Luke's situation, but that was far too much to get into and it wasn't really his place to talk about it.

"We get along really well, but not really because of shared interest. Well, except for the fact that we both use swords." They didn't even practice the same style, though. "We're close because of how long we've known each other." And also because they knew each other so well. Luke had trusted him, even when his loyalty had been called into serious question. He couldn't express enough gratitude for that.

"I'm not sure what the meeting is about, but it sounded pretty important." Guy shrugged, doing his best to brush it off. He didn't need to worry his roommate needlessly, especially since he didn't know all the details in the first place. "And yeah, I know of... four of my friends who are here." Asch and Dist didn't count. There was still no sign of Tear and Natalia, but perhaps that was for the best.

Guy laughed in return and shook his head. "Don't get me wrong, I like swordplay a ton, too. But I guess that's more understandable than..." He trailed off. 'Obsession' was the word he was going to use, but it seemed a bit awkward to just admit it like that.

Maps? He certainly had been looking for some, but Anise had said she would copy some for him. She might be upset if he didn't accept the ones she made. "I actually have a friend who's going to give me some. Thanks for the offer, though. We can compare them tomorrow and see if we can fill in each other's blanks."

Listening carefully to the explanation, he could tell there were things left out, but he decided not to push it. They didn't know each other well enough yet for Okita to know just where the barriers were and he wasn't quite ready to test him either. Thus, he just looked like he was listening intently, taking in bits of Guy's life with Luke.

"You're like family, then?" he asked, voice bright as ever. "And you taught him the sword? That's quite an accomplishment, Guy-san. I trust he's doing well then?"

Four people. Okita wouldn't wish this place on anyone, but at the same time, it would be nice to have his friends around. He heard Guy's attempt to brush the subject aside and smiled faintly. Guy was a good person, but he worried too much about others. "Good luck in the meeting then and I hope it proves useful. All the ones I've ever been to are long and boring. Perhaps yours will be more interesting."

He would have preferred to have been outside playing with Saizou than hearing how the Choushu went to Shimabara and got drunk. Again. Even here he'd rather be outside playing than stuck indoors all day. He really couldn't stand the smell of the place anymore. Coming back to the conversation, Okita stopped writing and peered over at him. "More understandable than...? If you like swordplay, perhaps we can spar sometime. I haven't had much of a chance to practice since coming here and I'm afraid I'm getting rusty."

It wasn't entirely a lie. He did want to spar and he was going to try tomorrow with Hattori, but seeing new styles always interested him. He could never stop learning new forms. The other side of him demanded it.

"Of course! I'll keep these safe then and we can trade off tomorrow during dinner so the nurses can't see." Okita laughed - really, he giggled - at the thought of keeping secrets like these from the nurses. He felt like he was trying to emulate Yamazaki with his sneaky ways.

"I guess you could say we're family. Friends for life, that kind of thing." Maybe some would have found it strange that someone like Guy would be friends with someone like Luke, but that was just how things were--and he wouldn't have it any other way. "I didn't teach him everything, but we trained together a lot. But yeah, he's doing pretty well." There was the issue with his memory, but he didn't really think that should be mentioned.

"It should be fine," he assured his roommate in regards to the meeting, smirking slightly. "They're an interesting bunch." If Jade and Peony were going to lead the meeting, then there was no chance of it being boring. Add Anise and Luke to the mix, and Guy was certain he was in for an amusing night... unless things got serious.

Sparring sounded like a great idea, and that was something Guy always felt up to. It would have been better if they had some actual practice swords, but he supposed a bat could work. "Sure, we can try that sometime. We'll probably have to do it at dinner or at night, though." And even then, a fight, fake thought it might be, was bound to attract attention. They would have to be careful.

Sometimes, friends weren't people you chose, but who circumstances chose for you. Okita knew that well enough. He didn't exactly fit the model as a companion to Hijikata, and at first, they'd actually hated each other. Thank the gods for circumstances.

"That's good to hear. Can't always pick your family, but they never let you down," he said, voice tender with memories of home. He brushed off nostalgia and returned to the present, returning Guy's smirk with his typical smile. "Oh good, so no boring meetings for you. I hope you have a productive evening then!"

As for the sparring, Okita wondered if there was anything around they could use as replacement bokken. There had to be wood around here somewhere. If all else failed, he'd just make his own once he received the sword from Homura. "If it's at night we'll have to be particularly careful not to give the patients a fright, yes? I've heard rumors of patients turning on each other at night."

"You're right about that." Luke had disappointed him in the past, but in the end, he had come through. He'd done some idiotic things during their journey, and gotten some stupid ideas in that head of his, but that was what Guy was there for: to set him straight, even if it meant slugging him.

"Same to you," he said with a nod. "I hope you can find whoever you're looking for." Guy knew that wouldn't be an easy task, but Okita seemed to have everything under control -- or he was putting on that front, at least.

"Exactly," Guy agreed. "We don't want to give people the wrong idea, or something drastic might happen." They probably wouldn't be mistaken for being brainwashed or anything like that, but some people would do whatever it took to break up a fight. It would be silly to allow that to happen when they wouldn't really be fighting in the first place.

Okita smiled, but he didn't feel the confidence he tried to project. Hijikata had been missing for nearly the entire day. He'd not responded to the bulletin and Okita just had a feeling that he was gone. He hoped he was wrong, but he had to prepare himself for the worst.

"Thank you. I hope so, too." If there was one thing Okita Souji was good at - it was hiding his emotions, keeping a steady front and moving forward. Even though his words should have sounded sad, he came across as if he truly believed he'd find him tonight. Fooling yourself was the first step to fooling the enemy, after all.

He sighed and twirled the pen in his fingers, leaning on one elbow. "People here worry far too much about others' fights. We'll certainly have to be careful. After all the effort of arranging a spar, it'd be unfortunate if we had to give it up because a few 'good citizens' decided to step in."

Okita also had to worry about whether he might kill any of those Samaritans by accident. He'd have to be careful with Guy, as well. He needed to spar to release some of his stress, but if he didn't watch himself... Guy was a good person. He didn't deserve having that turned on him. He paused as he heard the two announcements go up and felt his nervousness rise. Sleep studies were obviously a cover for something other experiment and he worried that Hijikata might have been taken for that. Who knew what these people might do?

"It seems our real jobs are about to begin, hm?" he said quietly, looking toward the door.

Had Guy known Okita a little better, he might have been able to tell that something was off, and that he didn't mean what he said. But as things stood, he could take his roommate at face value, and just smiled and nodded to him. As troubling as it was that he had so many friends here, Guy knew that he wouldn't be able to accomplish as much without them.

He couldn't quite agree with what Okita said about people stopping others' fights, especially since he had made an attempt to break one up earlier in the day. That had been in the middle of the Sun Room, though, and it would have been ridiculous for those two patients to get sedated for such reasons. At night, though, when they obviously weren't attacking to kill or even hurt, it would be unfortunate if someone misunderstood and interrupted.

Before he could respond in any way, however, the Head Doctor showed his true sighed. Guy might have given some more thought to his hint about heading down, but he knew that he needed to focus on the meeting before he considered anything else.

"Looks like it," he said as he stood and straightened, grabbing his bat and flashlight. "I'll see you tomorrow, Okita," he said amiably before heading out the door.

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Day 27: Intercom, Evening

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