"Ah, really? You guys must be a really boring bunch then, 'f I'm the life of the party!" He laughed, but the last thing Okita said set off alarm bells in his head. It sounded as though he was being led like a lamb to the slaughter, or he was the main course in a dinner.

Okay, he had to calm down and think rationally. Okita wouldn't had invited someone that would fight back if the intention was just to torture, maim, or kill him. And what would be the point of that, anyway? This place was pretty screwy--who really knew?

"Oh, uh," Heiji said, snapping out of his thoughtful grin, "I've got a pipe. S'about a meter long, so that'll work until we get me a... wait, a sword? From the, uh, Cooking Club, right?" Where these people got their hands on such weapons, he had no idea. "But anyway, a sword would be best, but I could use the knives. Jus' have more training with a sword." It was true--Heiji's mom had taught him a great deal of ninjutsu and general combat technique, so he was handy with quite a few weapons.

Heiji was quickly becoming uncomfortable with the topic of medicine--mostly because it included the topic of Okita's historical death. He really shouldn't have mentioned it. "Yeah, it doesn't make a whole lotta sense, really. But I doubt it's magic--just technology!"