damned_institute | Day 31: Intercom, Evening

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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! ]

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Haku laughed softly again and shook his head. "I was only teasing, relax."

He grinned and lifted his scarred eyebrow again. "Even if I looked more masculine, you'd still think of me as the same girl that you believed was your roommate not too long ago? Oh, thank you."

"That's not..." Artemis growled in defeat. "I just can't win, can I? You're going to take whatever I say and twist it!

"Well, we'll see about that," He cleared his throat and shifted himself around so he was sitting and facing Haku. "No matter what you looked like, be it man, woman, or whatever, it wouldn't matter to me. What I like is here," He touched Haku's forehead with a finger. He moved his hand down to his friend's chest, "And here. This," He brushed a hand against Haku's cheek, but lost his nerve and removed it after a moment. "Is superficial, comparatively."

Haku blinked, listening. He ... hadn't responded to the teasing quite like he thought he would, but still, this was interesting too.

When Artemis removed his hand from his face, he reached out and took it in his own, smiling. "I've never heard that before." He thought for a moment. "It's the same here. I like you too." He smiled happily.

"Although," he couldn't help but add in a slightly teasing tone, "I'm rather fond of my 'superficial' appearance, thank you. I took after my mother."

Artemis wasn't expecting Haku to take his hand like that, so of course his face turned pink again. He really needed to get that under control, before he died of embarrassment.

He struggled to find something to say about being liked as well, but failed. All he managed was, "She must have been very beautiful."

"I don't remember much about her," Haku admitted. "But I remember her hair and I still have a memory of her smiling at me. I know she was beautiful though. The rest is hazy. I was very young when she died." And the memory of watching Father beat her to death kind of over-rode any other pleasent memories he had of her.

Artemis felt rather guilty, or lucky, now. Of course his mother had lost her mind at one point, and his father had been kidnapped by the mafiya and thus his family life was all but nonexistent, but he had one.

"At least you remember her," Artemis said, smiling encouragingly. "Never let go of that memory. If you forget it, it would be a tragedy, I think.

"And now you have Momochi-san to be your family, as much as you protest that he isn't," He said with a grin.

Haku turned his head away and laughed behind his hand again.

"You seem fixated on the idea of Zabuza-san being my family," he said, turning back once he'd gotten back under control. "Shall I tell you about how we met?" Haku wouldn't share the gritty details, but the basics wouldn't hurt.

"If you like," Artemis said with a smile. "If it's something you'd rather not share though, I'd understand completely."

As much as Haku wanted to deny it, Artemis still couldn't get the image of Zabuza as Lord Montague out of his head. And although Lord Montague never explicitly slaughtered Juliet, it was starting to look like Shakespeare hadn't taken insanely protective fathers into account.

Haku smiled. "I don't mind, though I'd rather it wasn't somehting that got out.

"Perhaps I should give you some background about my country and out culture before I launch into story time, hm? The country Zabuza-san and I come from is called The Land Of Water. Of the five large nations of the land, it is the poorest. After my parents died, I had no one to take me in, and the village I had grown up in was unwelcoming of someone like myself. So, I travelled and survived. After a few years I met Zabuza-san. He was older than I and already a fully trained and highly acomplished assasin. He decided, for his own reasons, to take me in and train me. I was seven at the time.

"I was his student until he deemed me ready and I became what I would be until I arrived here." He was skipping over some parts, but they weren't terribly important.

Artemis listened to the story, nodding in all the appropriate places. It was sad, but at the same time a beautiful story. No doubt Haku experienced much hardship during the time he spent alone, but it only proved that there was always a light at the end of the tunnel.

"I'm sorry to hear that you experienced traveling alone at such a young age. But I suppose these things always happen for some reason, since you ended up with Momochi-san." It was no wonder that Haku was unfamiliar with the concept of friends--surviving was a full-time job.

"Well, many people where I'm from wouldn't think of that as a good thing. Zabuza-san was famous before he was my age." Haku smiled, but the expression was more thoughtful than anything.

"Zabuza-san murdered every child in the academy's graduating class when he was approximately seven years old."

Most of the color drained from Artemis' face. "...Is that so......?"

He was going to die. Painfully, and in a long and drawn-out manner. From now on, he'd have to be extremely careful with who he talked to about Haku. Renji and Hitsugaya only, so far. It would have to stay that way, for his own safety.

"Well," Artemis coughed to cover the crack in his voice. "That's... rather telling of his ability, isn't it? I think I need some water..." He stood up and poured himself a glass and drank it all in one go. Why were things always so damn complicated?

Haku frowned, worried. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you." He honestly didn't, but he hadn't expected Artemis to take such news so poorly. At least he hadn't had another panic attack.

Standing up, Haku walked over to Artemis and gently plucked the glass from his hand. "If you drink like that, you're going to make yourself sick." He poured out a measured half-glass and held it out to his roommate. "I really am sorry. It's common knowledge back home. I didn't think."

"No, no it's fine..." Artemis took the glass and looked into it. "And... I'm not so much upset by his killing his entire class--" Which was pretty bad, but not half as awful as his imminent death was to him. "--as by..."

He stopped, biting his lip in thought. "Well, back where I come from, there's a rather popular saying. When a girl's boyfriend comes to her house to pick her up for a date, the father will often take the boy aside and tell him rather gently that if he so much as keeps her out one minute later than he ordains, the father will be very angry. And so, the saying goes, 'I have a gun, and a shovel. I doubt anyone would miss you'."

Except Zabuza had a sword and multiple assassinations under his belt--anything could look like an accident. Artemis blanched and downed the glass of water again.

"You think Zabuza-san will kill you because you're my friend?" Haku frowned, then shook his head. "That won't happen," he said with conviction. "I won't allow it. You aren't a threat to us and you're useful. That's all he cares about in another person.

"And I know I said something about drinking so quickly."

Artemis took some small measure of comfort in this statement, but he still felt rather uneasy. If Zabuza ever found out that he'd kissed Haku, stared at him while he stretched, and even took a peek at him in the showers, he'd certainly be at least maimed.

"No, I am definitely not a threat to you both... unless," His expression became troubled. "He thinks I'm coming between you two? Is that a possibility?"

Haku thought about that. Zabuza-san ... they had spoken about their relationship (for lack of a better word) and what he shared wit hArtemis was utterly different. There was nothing at all to come between.

"No," he finally said. "The relationship I have with Zabuza-san and the one I share with you are two utterly different things. Zabuza-san is just, as I said, prone to being hostile towards other people." He'd even been harsh when they'd first met.

That wasn't exactly what Artemis had been getting at, but he supposed he should take Haku's word for it. Maybe he had read the situation incorrectly. It was a distinct possibility. Zabuza could have just been irritable that night and felt like taking it out on Artemis.

He nodded, "I suppose so. It's entirely possible that I'm just being paranoid. You two just seem to have a very close-knit relationship, and I'm... well, an outsider. Encroaching on his territory, so to speak."

He paused and put a hand on his stomach, "You were right, I feel like a balloon filled with water now."

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Day 31: Intercom, Evening

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