damned_institute | Nightshift 30: M35, Clinic

Kurogane couldn't help growling, but he was more irritated by the blond's response to Fai's words than the magician's own words. Kurogane would deal, not "Kuro-chii"! "I'm the one asking, so I'm not going to get mad," he spoke again, ignoring that Fai was using nicknames again, "Talk."

He watched the boy with a blank expression, only understanding every other word he used. When he finished, Kurogane nodded that he understood the gist of everything. That stuff Tamaki had given him was the cause behind Fai's near-drunken state, probably, and the rest was the result of the pain. Made sense. All of it basically amounted to things not being good, but that was obvious.

Not gonna get mad... Yuuhi didn't believe that for a moment, even in his current state. Maybe he wouldn't get mad about him talking, but he was always mad about something. He tried to understand what the other boy was saying, but so much of it sounded like gibberish.

"I just... fell," he insisted. "Clumsy." Yuuhi tried to force a smile, though somehow he knew it wouldn't help. Kuro always seemed to see right through it. He took a breath and let it out slowly, coughing again, but not quite as rough as the last.

He'd needed something. The file. Because it would tell him about Robin, the man he was supposed to be. The man Ashura needed him to be. The only one that could save him. "He needs... Robin," Yuuhi mumbled quietly.

Just what they needed. More nonsense. As long as it was audible, Mello was fine with it. He ignored the conversation and continued counting heartbeats as he scanned the rest of the clinic. If this was what it was like every night, things were going to have to change. They needed a better triage system, and more space. They needed to conserve resources like needles and surgical thread for when they were absolutely necessary, and they needed to cycle the stable patients out of the emergency area to create room for new arrivals.

Although he monitored the blond's tone of voice, the words didn't matter to him. Mello's mind was focused on creating a list of suggestions to propose to Tamaki in the morning.

"I'm not going to believe that," Kurogane sneered. He could believe the falling part easily since the brown-haired boy had already confirmed that Fai probably had fallen, but Fai saying he had been clumsy had to be the furthest thing from the truth.

Kurogane didn't expect to get much out of Fai though. Or at least nothing that would be believable. The magician was too dazed, even if somewhat aware of the things going on around him. So long as he responded and stayed awake, that was enough. The real interrogation would be coming later, once Kurogane knew Fai was thinking clearly. "Who's Robin?" he asked, "And who needs him?" Those words seemed to break from Kurogane's original question completely. Was it just some nonsense, or something more?

"Hnn..." Yuuhi commented, tone somewhat frustrated, but mostly just disappointed. He knew Kuro wouldn't believe him so easily, not after all the lies he'd told. "M' cold," he said instead, hoping to focus on a different subject.

Of course, Kurogane wasn't about to drop things. Not so easily. It was plain from the expression on Yuuhi's face that he didn't want to talk about it. He looked away, tilting his head aside was the only way he could really try to avoid conversation at this point. His eyes grew troubled, somewhat sad, "Aa... shura."

Mello only noted the first part of the blond's speech. It was hard to tell what was gibberish and what wasn't. A glance around the room revealed no blankets that weren't in use, and he added that fact to his list of concerns. In the future, there'd need more blankets and more pillows. The man's legs should be elevated, but he had nothing to support them.

"I'm Mello," he announced. Now that everyone was conscious and seemed to be staying that way, he might as well get on with the introductions. "I'm going to assume you're Kuro," he said with a glance to the tall man, then looked back to his patient. "But who are you? And what happened? I'm not buying that fall thing unless you fell into a puddle of boiling water. The more I know, the more I can do to help."

Of course, there wasn't much to do beyond what he'd already done, but his curiosity was compelling.

Kurogane didn't take Fai's next words as a change of subject at all. Tamaki had already said earlier that Fai needed to be kept warm for some reason, so him saying that he was cold wasn't a good thing. There wasn't much he could do for it though, Fai had already been surrounded with blankets, and there were not any others on hand.

He knelt down a moment to see if any might have been under the bed but only found the metal stick he'd released earlier laying there. Right, he'd let that go, hadn't he? Grabbing it again, he came back up and looked back at the boy.

"Kurogane," he corrected when Mello (that was a name?) only got it partially correct. Of course, Fai was to blame for that, but he was to blame for a lot of things. "And he's Fai," he added, even though Mello had asked Fai himself. He still didn't trust the magician's words to be completely accurate; he wasn't even answering the questions posed. "He likely did fall, from the second floor into the Sun Room," he explained what he'd been told, "but I doubt it was because he was careless." Idiotic, perhaps, but not careless. Carelessness didn't explain a good majority of his injuries. His legs wouldn't be so bad from just a mere fall either.

He would have continued explaining when Fai said something familiar: Ashura. The same name that had paled Fai back in Shura. Kurogane's eyes hardened down at Fai, even though the other wasn't facing his way any longer. That he'd actually given that name... maybe this delusional state was better for questioning the man. It wasn't like Fai to give away anything when he was thinking clearly, so having him when he wasn't thinking clearly might just be what Kurogane needed to learn some things.

"What about Ashura?" he asked directly, determined not to pass up the chance.

Mello? His face broke into an awkward smile. That it would be a fun name to say was his first thought. After all the Japanese names though, it was kind of nice to hear one that wasn't. "Hello... Mello~" he repeated. It even rhymed!

But they both were pressing him about the fall again. He just wanted them to stop so he could rest, but it didn't seem like they were going to ease up without an answer. "The guard... wouldn't let me pass," he said quietly. "I... ran, but... he shot something." He remembered how it had puzzled him, though the power the boy used had looked like magic, he had no way to sense it, had no idea what it was. "Like... magic," he added. "Til I couldn't... run anymore."

Even in his weakened and drugged state, the thought of saying more about Ashura frightened him. His hands turned to shaky fists and he closed his eyes. "I have to... stay here."

Mello mentally appended the "-gane" to the name Fai had given the tall man, and he filed both away for future reference. He barely resisted the urge to roll his eyes at Fai's greeting...he'd heard it for most of his life, and it had stopped being amusing before he hit the double digits. Being drugged into a stupor was no excuse.

"You're not exactly going anywhere," he pointed out in response to Fai's last comment. Even if the man's legs could support his weight, sitting up would cause a change in blood pressure that might send him back into unconsciousness. Mello had a feeling Kurogane didn't want to repeat what had just happened.

Again, the magic. He'd reconciled himself to doublethink, and although he couldn't accept those ideas without hard evidence, he worked with them as if this entire reality was a thought experiment. He tugged the blanket up over Fai's legs, where it had shifted to the side during their efforts to keep him alive. "I don't know much about magic," he said, "but you're stable now. As long as you stay conscious, you'll be okay until morning." They were damn lucky he'd been around, but he'd remind them of that later.

Mello looked up to Kurogane. "Don't let him get upset, or it'll affect his blood pressure," he cautioned. "Talk about something good."

"Guard?" Like what had been at the Library? Had Fai been trying to get at something? Maybe one of the Princess's feathers. But he'd said earlier that he didn't know if one was even there, so why head in that direction? He'd given the basement as the only possibility for where not only the kids but Mokona could have been, so that should have also ruled that the feather, if there was one, was also down there. That is, if Fai hadn't been lying, which was always a possibility. If he hadn't been telling the truth, that was one thing, but if he had and had still gone in the other direction then...

Kurogane growled a little when Mello said he shouldn't get Fai upset. Blood pressure? What was that? Apparently it mattered. There went his chance to learn anything further. He'd gotten more than he'd hoped for though, so things were fine. Fai had gone upstairs for some reason, gotten attacked by a guard that knew magic, and had ended up being forced into the room below as a result. That layout would be the basis for later questions.

Now, finding something good to talk about... that wasn't exactly Kurogane's thing. Good for Fai meant annoying for him. And he really, really didn't need to be annoyed any more this evening.

But he also did not want to repeat what had just happened either. Fine, something "good" then. What the hell did the magician like? Other than alcohol which was not being brought up! He tried to find something, but honestly couldn't think of any subject. That left one option then, make Fai pick the subject. "You're staying, so start talking about something good, magician."

Kurogane and Mello wouldn't understand. Not just staying here, he knew he couldn't move easily, but this world. He couldn't leave it. He had to stay behind because Ashura was here. There was nowhere he could run now. It left him feeling very... trapped.

He didn't answer any more about the guard though, or Ashura or any of the rest. Mello said good things, but that was hard to think of as well. There were so very few. Something good... his brow knit for a moment as he considered it. "Kitties," he decided were good. After a moment he smiled to himself and added, "puppies too."

He made a few humming noises as he tried to think of other things, "Really like... liquor, but..." he sighed. "They said... M'not... old enough." He pouted, as though it were a terrible thing indeed.

"Sweet things... hmm... wasn't it nice... having a shop in Outo?" he had rather enjoyed himself in that world, despite the monsters and things. "Hmm... I wanted to bake... lots of things." He tried to lift his right arm to his lips in a shushing gesture, but his arm fell as it reached his chest. It didn't stop him from making the sound anyway, as though nothing were wrong. "Shhh... it's a secret, but... baking is really easy... if you already know... spells." He gave a short, delirious giggle.

Yuuhi didn't dwell much further on that topic though, switching gears immediately to other things, "I like... our journey. But it'll be sad... it always ends sad..."

Kitties and puppies. Definitely not things Kurogane would have brought up on his own. He should have known Fai would follow that strain of thought though; it was too typical. The magician had been at his most annoying in Oto, after all.

Hearing him babble wasn't so annoying as Kurogane had expected, but there were some ups and downs. Animals, then liquor (he was going to get away from that subject fast if he knew what was good for him), the shop, cooking, secrets, spells, and finally their journey... and it ending... "Sad" wasn't the word Kurogane had in mind for how things would end. He'd had enough of these kinds of things and just wanted to get home and stay there for a change. Seemed the magician thought differently.

"Don't think about that," he said after a bit of thought, turning his eyes away from Fai. When it happened, it would happen, but neither of them needed to think about such a thing beforehand. "The princess liked cooking, right?" he tried begrudgingly to make Fai keep talking more about the events in Oto instead. That was as "good" as Kurogane could think of now thanks to Fai.

It was hard not to think about where their journey might eventually end. But for him, he already knew his would stop here. The others would go on and it would all be for the better. If he stayed... then things probably would become sad, just like before.

"Mm... and Syaoran's face when he saw... cute little Sakura in her maid costume..." a smile crossed his lips. Yuuhi was easy enough to distract; thinking about the good times they'd had in Outo and trying not to remember how much he'd upset Kurogane there as well. "What kind of sweets... does Kuro-pon like? "

Heh. Even Kurogane could admit that the kid had been pretty flustered at that. Just something else the Shinobi had been able to see without much thought. That kid was terrible when it came to his emotions - reading them hadn't been a difficult thing.

"I don't like sweets," he sneered, but left the harshness out of his tone. Fai should have known that by now.

It was always fun to watch the children blushing and smiling at each other. It was too bad that... well... it wasn't important really. Not his business to interfere.

"Kuro-pyon's face too..." he glanced up for a moment, meeting the other's eyes. "haven't... seen it like that before..."

As for the rest, "Eeeeeh~?" he asked as though it was the first time Kurogane had told him. Of course he knew already, but that didn't mean he didn't like pressing the issue. "Troublesome," he sighed. He really was getting tired. How much longer was it until morning?

What was he babbling now? "Ah?" he blinked down, confused by just what Fai was referencing. His face was always like this! Maybe he was just being stupid.

He snorted at Fai's other comment though. He knew this one, that Kurogane didn't much like sweet things, but he was only pressing to get on his nerves. That meant he wouldn't be getting an answer. Kurogane had already answered, which was enough. Yeah, you are... he followed up, but only in his mind.

"A little... while ago," he tried to explain. Maybe it just wasn't as funny since Kurogane couldn't have seen his own face. He coughed a couple of times, then settled again.

Of all the people to talk to... conversations with Kurogane always felt one-sided. Either he was talking to himself or Kuro was drilling him with questions. He sighed and let his eyes close, "it's boring... if Kuro-chuu doesn't say anything."

He blinked again, thought a moment, then turned his eyes away quickly before Fai could pick up on anything. "I don't know what you're talking about," he said flatly. And he didn't really - so far as he was concerned "a little while ago" absolutely nothing had happened. He wasn't going to let Fai know that anything had happened if he could help it too. That kind of thing did not need to be explained, let alone recounted!

"Che..." he managed, this time fine with letting his tone match his words, or lack thereof. Wasn't he supposed to be the one getting Fai to keep talking? Now that seemed to have reversed.

"Hnn..." was all he said in reply. If Kurogane didn't want to talk, Yuuhi was fine with getting some rest. Waiting until morning like this didn't sound like any fun at all. He let out a sigh, intent on drifting off to sleep again if they'd allow it.

"Stay awake," he said the moment he saw Fai trying to fall asleep again. He needed the manjuu or something to keep Fai talking; this just wasn't working for him. He'd definitely tapped out his ideas for subjects to speak on, "good" subjects that was, and Mello wasn't giving any indication that he could fall back to questioning the magician again.

"Don't wanna..." he replied, but opened his sleepy eyes anyway to stare up at the ceiling. The pupils were dilated, showing only a thin ring of the blue iris. Conversation was awkward, sleep was out of the question, but there had to be some kind of happy medium. However, he had a difficult time trying to think of what that might be.

"Don't care." This conversation was going nowhere fast. Kurogane needed to find something that would keep Fai talking but that wouldn't have Kurogane getting too flustered to respond. A middle ground. If they couldn't find one, Fai would probably fall asleep without meaning to and that could lead to him not breathing again. He wasn't going to let that happen.

"Just talk... about anything, I don't care what," he finally grunted out. No matter what, he couldn't think of anything good or happy to talk about. That was Fai's thing. So he really had no choice but to leave things to Fai's dazed mindset.

They could probably just argue back and forth for the rest of the night about who should talk and about what. He didn't feel up to a fight though and with his current success rate, he was pretty sure he wouldn't win one.

If he had to stay awake, he didn't necessarily have to talk, right? It would probably annoy Kurogane, but that was alright. He started humming the first song that came to mind, the one Oruha sang for them in Outo. Though he might not look it, he carried a tune well, pausing only now and again to clear his throat with a cough. Music had always come fairly easily.

Maybe he'd made a mistake in saying that Fai could talk about "anything". After he'd said it, Kurogane had braced for talk of sake and puppies and such. Instead of that though, he heard a humming and looked down, somewhat dumbfounded. Well, he had said anything, so he guessed that counted. He gave Mello a questioning look, but got a nod that it was acceptable. So long as Fai was keeping conscious, anything was probably all right.

He sighed again, thankful that he didn't have to keep talking, then leaned back against the wall and kept his head lowered to watch Fai and make sure that he kept breathing. If he stopped humming, Kurogane would get on him again. At least the humming wasn't so bad; Fai was in tune, so far as he knew. And he recognized the melody as well. It was the same as that I-1 Oni-woman had been singing that night at the Clover. Not one of Kurogane's favorites, but only because he hadn't agreed with the lyrics.

The song gave him a sort of nostalgic feeling and the drugs made him oddly euphoric. It would have been pleasant except for the fact that he could hardly move and breathing was still difficult. He repeated the song once more before moving on to another one, the same song he'd played on the piano just the day before, with Quatre. It was some classical piece he hadn't heard of before, but the tune had been nice and simple.

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