damned_institute | Day 31: Intercom, Evening

Entry tags:

Day 31: Intercom, Evening

The intercom's jingle came on with its usual overly-cheery quality, echoing through the halls and doctors' offices.

"I trust, as always, that you all enjoyed the last shift and that all the staff-patient interaction went smoothly. Of course, we're nearing the end of another day and so we must begin to bring things to a close. Nurses and orderlies, please escort all the patients to their respective rooms and make sure everyone gets their dinner--which is, by the way, chicken teriyaki and assorted tempura, along with rice and miso soup--before they retire for the night. A vegetarian substitute is of course available, and we have our usual assortment of drinks; we also have a special of hot green tea to go along with the meal.

"Thank you, everyone, for an exceedingly pleasant day, and our therapy sessions will continue tomorrow as scheduled. Enjoy your dinner, and I will be on again before bedtime to say goodnight."

The announcement ended.

[ As always, individual dinner threads go in response to this post, and it helps to put your character's room number in the subject line. Thanks! ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Haku grinned again. "Better looking than me? Who's the one getting hit on here and who's the one being hit?" He shook his head. "Though, yes, I will concede that you won this round of pillow fighting. But I will regain my title there."

"Yes, it's a shame. I lose more dates that way, when I talk," He laughed. "And now that I know I have a worthy opponent, I won't be so lax! Mark my words, I will be stronger when next we meet!"

Haku made a face. "You're trying to date people in here? A fine group of people you have to choose from. Shall I put in a good word for you with Muraki-Sensei when I next see him?"

Artemis looked uncomfortable, "Please don't mention me. If what people on the board say is true, I'd rather not be within ten feet of him.

"Speaking of which," Artemis sat up and pulled the doll out from under his bed. "We were going to open this, weren't we?" He grinned down at Haku.

Haku sat up, interested now. "I believe we had talked about that, yes." He tucked his legs up on the bed and tilted his head. "I wonder if he noticed it's disapperance yet..."

"Most likely, but it's not as though he knows where it is. There are hundreds of patients here--anyone could have stolen it. Plus," Artemis got up to retrieve one of the scalpels from his coat. "I am not his patient and therefore, have 'no opportunity' so to speak, nor motive to steal it."

He returned to the bed, examining the doll again. "How to go about this, though..."

Haku smiled. "Thanks, that means by that logic, he might suspect me."

He pointed. "Take the simpilest method. Cut along the seams."

"Unfortunately, yes," Artemis said with an apologetic smile. "But he must have other patients, so you're safe. No psychologist would accuse his patient of stealing his things without proper proof."

Carefully, he cut the thread holding a seam together, taking extra precaution not to cut into the fabric. It was almost like dissecting something.

"True, and I've been playing my part as a normal boy well." He laughed softly. "Well, as normal as a boy that looks like I do can be."

Haku leaned closer, wondering if there was anything interesting, or if it would be filled with normal doll stuffing.

Artemis laughed, "I've done the same. Played the part of a young boy--with a split personality, of cour--"

He pulled back the fabric as he spoke and stopped mid-sentence. A small, green light on some sort of mechanical device was slowly blinking. The last time Artemis had seen something like that, it was handcuffed to his friend's wrist.

"Haku," Artemis said, his voice cracking slightly. He managed to recover and convey the severity of the situation in his tone. "Whatever you do, don't bump me. I need you to go to my desk at get the pens out of the top drawer. Quickly."

Haku frowned, but did as he was asked, getting of the bed slowly and without jarring the other boy, going to Artemis' desk and taking out the pens there.

He stood by the bed and frowned down. This was something he didn't understand, but he would learn. He held out the pens. "What do you need me to do?"

"Break them," Artemis instructed. "I need something that's sharp, but won't carry a current like a scalpel will."

Carefully he removed some stuffing with his fingers, trying to get at the device. "I'm hoping I'm wrong about this... I really am."

Without much effort, Haku broke two pens, making sure to slide the thin ink tubes into one hand and the now sharp larger plastic tubes were held in his other hand.

"What is it?" He had never come across anything like this before.

"If we're lucky, it's not a bomb. If we're unlucky... well, we'll be leaving tonight," Artemis said with a shaky laugh. He took the sharp tubes from Haku and gently laid the doll down in his lap.

"I would tell you to get behind something but... I'm afraid if this detonates, even if you were across the room you wouldn't survive." He lightly pulled more of the stuffing away, trying to get at the source of the light. Eventually he came upon the device. It was square and black and had a light on it. No timer that he could see yet.

Gently, he used both pen shards to lift the object out of the doll. It wasn't very big, and there weren't any cords or anything. He yanked his pillow over to his side and laid the object down.

"Well... it's not a bomb," Artemis bit his lip. "It's worse."

Haku frowned and glanced from the object to Artemis' face. "Worse than a bomb?"

Artemis couldn't find his voice for a moment. He had to clear his throat before he could speak again. "It's a tracking chip. It relays information to another unit concerning the chip's whereabouts.

"I-In other words... he knows someone in this room has it."

Haku blinked. "Alright then. That's easy enough to deal with." He sighed and shook his head. "It's been in here for a while, but he hasn't said or done anything to either of us yet.

"Don't worry about it."

Artemis stared at the little chip, blinking away on his pillow. As much as he wanted to agree with Haku, he couldn't.

"Haku, he's going to think you stole it. Muraki, the murderer and rapist, remember? He's going to think you stole it!" Artemis scooped up the chip and began examining it.

"Have you seen him this week yet?"

Haku shook his head. "I asked my nurse and I won't be seeing him for another day yet." He frowned. "I would rather have him think I have it than you do. It's nothing new to be around someone like him. I can handle myself."

He offered a slight smile. "It's going to be okay."

Artemis looked uneasy, as though he was on the verge of arguing the point. But part of him knew that it wouldn't do any good to insist that he take the fall for this. Haku would simply tell him to sit down and shut up. Which, of course, he would do.

He put the chip back down, "Promise me you won't let him hurt you. Please. It's the only way I'll stay sane."

Haku nodded. "I promise. I will not allow him to hurt me, ever." He reached out and lightly touched his friend's shoulder with his fingertips, smiling warmly at him.

"Don't worry. If it comes up, I have no problem taking the blame for this. If it doesn't come up, then there's no problem." No matter what, Haku would make certain that Artemis remained innocent in this.

Artemis laid his hand on top of Haku's, still looking slightly pained. "I feel as though I'm sending you into a den of lions with naught but a toothpick. If he punishes you or does something to you, I'll never be able to forgive myself."

Two years ago, Artemis would have been ecstatic at his good fortune. But letting Haku take the fall... he didn't want it to happen. He hoped that Muraki wouldn't say anything. He desperately hoped.

Haku's hand tightened slightly on Artemis' shoulder, still keeping his grip gentle, but firm. "I swear I will not allow him to touch me, okay? This is my choice, and I will not change my mind." He bent slightly, so that he could look at his friend's eyes.

"As intelligent and skilled as you are, and I mean that, Muraki isn't the type of person you are capable of handling. I've dealt with people like him before. This is the best choice here."

Artemis searched Haku's eyes and found his expression to be unyielding and honest. He appreciated it, the look. It made him feel slightly better about leaving the situation to Haku.

"I understand," He said with a small nod. "You're probably right, Haku. If I went in there, I'd be walking in blindly--probably like a lamb to the slaughter."

He tightened his grip on Haku's hand and steeled his expression. "I'll leave it to you then. I'm counting on you."

Haku smiled and then sat back down beside Artemis. "We should probably put all of these things on my side of the room then, just in case. And wipe your fingerprints from them too."

He tilted his head. "I need to make sure you won't tell Zabuza-san about this," he added. "He would not take it well and just make things worse."

Re: M47

Re: M47

Re: M47

Re: M47

Re: M47

Re: M47

Re: M47

Re: M47

Re: M47

Re: M47

Re: M47

Re: M47

Re: M47

Re: M47

Re: M47

Re: M47

Re: M47

Re: M47

Re: M47

Re: M47

Re: M47

Re: M47

Re: M47

Re: M47

Re: M47