damned_institute | Day 40: Greenhouse [Fourth Shift]

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Day 40: Greenhouse [Fourth Shift]

Most days, fish and chips (and a cold beer or three) was pretty goddamned high on S.T.'s list of perfect expense-account lunches. Today, the idea of picking at greasy hunks of unidentified bottom-feeder odds-and-ends (politely known as scrod, to the delight of teenagers all across the Northeast) didn't appeal.

He begged off and collapsed into his bed, after using his damp shirt as an excuse to surreptiously check the contents of his closet. Bingo. His nurse watched his little show, unimpressed but (more importantly) unsuspicious. Not that his hairy chest was much of a catch today, pale and sweating from fever. At least she didn't tuck him in.

The intercom woke up up right on schedule, and pulling the sheets back over his head almost won. But a handful of unanswered missives and a vague sense of duty dragged him out to the bulletin, and from there it was easier to stagger over to the greenhouse.

It was warm inside -- a deep, humid warmth that actually penetrated to the aches in more joints and muscles than he could remember the names of. Like a sauna, without the hassle of finding someplace to look that wasn't a mound of pasty middle-management cellulite. Or a sweat lodge, without the opposite hassle of being conscious that he was the only white guy in the room. In fact, besides the nurses in holding patterns, he was the only person in the room.

He located a tray of tomato seedlings going rootbound in their tiny six-packs, and a potting bench whose location was a quick-and-dirty approximation of equidistantly far from anything blooming. He assured his nurse he knew what he was doing, and after a couple of successful repottings, gently sliding the little seedlings out and loosening the tangled roots, she seemed to agree and backed off. It was, by far, the most fucking theraputic thing he'd found in this hellhole so far, and he let himself sink into the rhythm of the task.

[Free!]

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Well, that conversation had been fruitless, and much less relaxing than he'd hoped. Really, would it kill people to think about something other than the meaning of existence and/or death once in a while? Shikamaru was getting pretty damn sick of the subjects. In fact, the next time someone tried to talk to him about something like that, he was just going to pretend to be asleep. Or actually sleep. It would be more productive, anyway.

The nurse sat him down in front of some budding plant that looked like it would bloom just fine without his interference, so as soon as she wandered off, he decided to leave well-enough alone. The wooden tables towards the back seemed like the best place to keep out of everyone's way, so he flopped onto a bench and, after sliding his hands behind his head and crossing one leg over the other, focused on the glass ceiling. It was hazy with moisture, blurring the sky into indistinct smears, but by now, Shikamaru was too sick of being annoyed to even bother scowling at it. Instead, he closed his eyes, letting the nearby conversations fade into a dull murmur as he concentrated on the clearest sky-related memory he could summon.

[free]

Edited 2009-04-09 22:29 (UTC)

Sai had begun potting plants on his own before he noticed Shikamaru off by himself. He made his way carefully around the other patients and rows of plants, eventually kneeling over him with a smile less fake than usual. "Good afternoon, Shikamaru-san," he greeted

While he thought the sun room would be a better place for a nap, he wasn't one to question the other ninja's actions.

[sorry for my shortness as well!]

"Hm?" Shikamaru didn't open his eyes, though he recognized the voice. His grunt wasn't exactly the warmest of welcomes, but, considering his mood, a neutral grunt was better than what the vast majority of people here would have received. "Oh, Sai. Hey."

Shikamaru was intent on watching the spread of blue and white his mind had created, but that was one of the good things about Sai...he was probably too socially inept to realize that conversations ought to involve two people looking at each other. He didn't mind the company--Sai wasn't the type to waste energy on existential crap--but he assumed the other ninja had approached him for a reason, so he waited for Sai to continue.

Sitting down all the way, Sai continued the task he'd been doing earlier. It was something to do with his hands, at least, though there wasn't much of a point to it. He wondered briefly if he might be able to sneak another trowel back to his room, seeing as he was down to his last two. It was doubtful.

"I spoke with Sakura at breakfast," he began, as Shikamaru had expected. "She told me you didn't make it as far as you hoped last night. My group didn't either."

Shikamaru accepted the news with a nod. "This place seems to do that," he agreed with an edge of weary frustration beneath his tone. He unclasped his fingers and slid his hands down his face while he thought. Though he could picture the skies of Konoha with near-perfect clarity, the thick, stagnant air of the greenhouse made complete immersion impossible. Figured. He tried to overlay the scent of flowers with what he remembered of Ino's family's store, but everything in this place was sickly-sweet and out of season. Just familiar enough to remind him how unfamiliar it was.

So what did Sai want, then? A better strategy, or was he just trying to be friendly? "We made it into the kitchen. Some other fight was going on in the cafeteria, and Kakashi wanted to make sure that everyone there was okay." It wasn't the choice he would have made, but his tone was matter-of-fact and showed no hint of disapproval. There was a reason Kakashi was a jounin and he was only a chuunin. "Where was your group headed?" Then, a second later, "and who are you working with here, anyway?"

Sai nodded as he listened. Getting involved with larger groups did tend to slow things down. The lives of other patients were important, though.

"We were headed to the second floor. To the pharmacy. My friend, Usopp, wanted to make a list of what was kept there." They weren't certain if definitive lists had been made before, and this was one way to make certain. Usopp also needed to know what he had to work with. "His captain came along as well. They're pirates."

It might have seemed like an odd thing to say a couple weeks ago, but you never knew what sort of person would be showing up here.

Shikamaru made no effort to hide his frown, and after a couple more seconds, he opened his eyes and turned his head enough to see Sai. He was really getting into this whole friendship thing, wasn't he? The exact meaning of the word 'pirate' was lost on Shikamaru, but that was irrelevant. Pirates weren't Leaf-nin, which meant that unless Sasuke was with Team 7 on a regular basis, the team had been working one member short.

There was nothing to stop Shikamaru from speaking his mind, since Sai didn't outrank him, but he'd dealt with enough today and didn't feel like getting into a bothersome argument unless there was no way around it.

"What's your friend want with a list of stuff in the pharmacy?" he asked instead. Stuff like bandages and tape were understandable, but wasn't a pharmacy just medicine?

"I think it was just for the benefit of the patient population in general." Sai tilted his head, having thought the answer would have been obvious. Still, it wasn't Usopp's only reasoning, so he'd give Shikamaru that.

"He's something of an inventor, I believe, and possibly chemist. He was probably interested in knowing what would be of use to them." Then he paused, reminded of something. "And I believe their crew has a doctor as well."

The bothersome argument was becoming less and less avoidable. Shikamaru gave a loud sigh, equally divided between exasperation with the situation and exasperation with his conversation partner, then he sat up enough to fold his legs before him.

"So you're working with this pirate crew now?" he asked. He didn't know much about Sai, beyond the fact that the guy liked attacking fellow Leaf-nin to test their strength, but Team 7 had faith in him and Shikamaru trusted their judgment. This however, was inexcusable. "What about your team?" With a few exceptions, the others seemed to have taken care of themselves, but that changed nothing about the situation. The loyalty of a Leaf-nin was to their village and their team, and unless a ranking ninja had told Sai to work with these pirate-chemist-doctors or whatever they were, it was an irresponsible and dangerous decision that wasn't his place to make.

Shikamaru folded his arms, waiting for an answer.

Sai watched Shikamaru carefully. He was obviously displeased with his actions, and he could understand why he would be. However, the circumstances here were rather... unique. "You're worried that I may be abandoning them," he stated seriously.

He turned his gaze back to the plant in front of him, slowly fitting it into the pot and making certain that the soil wasn't too tightly compacted. "I assure you that's not my intention. However, you need to understand... there were several days - which isn't much in the long run, but feels so much longer here - where the only ones from the Leaf Village were myself and Sasuke-kun. And even then, the team that's here now doesn't recall being here before, and the team that was here before didn't remember me." The ninja set the pot aside, starting diligently on another. "It was necessary for me to make other alliances here, and I can't abandon those now that more of you have arrived. If anything, we should all be working together."

Dark eyes glanced back toward Shikamaru. "If you need me tonight, I'm with you."

Shikamaru nodded, agreeing with Sai's assessment of his concern. However, he considered the explanation, and though he wasn't pleased with it, he was accepting enough to lean back against the table and cast a quick glance to the sky. Looking over Sai's shoulder, he watched Naruto attack a table on the other side of the greenhouse, but with Kakashi a few feet away, there was no reason for him to get involved. Shikamaru cringed and, though fully aware of what a pain in the ass it would be, made a mental note to talk to Naruto later. Naruto had trained with Jiraiya for over two years, so his reaction was natural, especially for someone who'd never been great at compartmentalizing. Eager to look away from the two, Shikamaru closed his eyes long enough to yawn.

"I'm not the team leader," he finally said, punctuating the statement with a shrug. He'd come up with something if Kakashi asked him to, but he expected the jounin to have his own plan for the evening. "We should hear from Kakashi soon."

Even if he'd felt like trying, Shikamaru doubted he could find a way to explain why Sai's aloofness got under his skin so badly.

Following Shikamaru's gaze, Sai's eyes widened only slightly as he watched Naruto throw a fit. He was almost jealous sometimes of how much emotion the boy could put into any reaction. Almost.

As the other ninja spoke, he returned his attention to him, nodding once he'd said his piece. He'd paused in his work, and he sat watching him a few moments longer in silence before sighing. "Shikamaru-san. I know we're not very familiar with each other, but I want you to know that I care for my teammates as much as it is possible for me to care for anyone."

Shikamaru listened to the words and responded with yet another slight nod, neither emphatically accepting them nor brushing them aside. Aside from the violence of their first meeting, Sai had done nothing to warrant distrust, so he knew his feelings were irrational. Sai obeyed Kakashi's orders without question, even the dangerous ones, and although Shikamaru had skipped out on meetings with Sai, the mysterious ninja seemed to hold Ino and Chouji's trust.

After another series of seconds he lay back down across the bench, this time only using one arm to pillow his head. Despite his closed eyes he could still hear fragments of Naruto's panicked voice and the sound made him queasy, though he made a flimsy attempt to blame his nausea on the fried fish. Maybe that was what bugged him about Sai: he didn't seem to feel empathy, not in any way Shikamaru could see. It was hard to trust someone who didn't feel empathy.

However, it wasn't Shikamaru's call to make. Sai held Kakashi's approval, and that was enough. He knew how to work on a team, and Shikamaru had full faith in his skills as a ninja. That was all that should have mattered, but still, the Shikamaru took a small step away from duty to add one more thing.

"Your team's been through a lot recently," he said, eyes still closed and voice more distant than usual. Sai knew this, of course, but growing up together had given most of the ninja in his generation more insight into each other than Sai had been around to pick up. "Yeah, we all know how to deal with that kind of stuff, but it's still a pain in the ass." Sakura had seemed okay last night, but seeing Naruto in so much pain had to be wearing on her. Shikamaru sighed one more time and started to yawn, but then thought better of it and draped his free arm over his face. "Emotional people make mistakes. Deadly mistakes. If you care about them as much as you say you do, you need to start watching their backs. Your pirate friends can wait."

It seemed like common sense, sure, but Shikamaru would rather offend Sai by stating the obvious than risk letting the obvious go unnoticed.

"I understand this." Sai's words might have been slightly more biting than usual with this comment. Shikamaru didn't know him, so he should be willing to forgive the way he spoke to him, but at the same time the fact that he didn't know him made it seem as though he had less right. The ninja shook his head to clear it of such ridiculous thoughts.

He was right. Naruto was suffering. Sure, his pirate friends might not always be the brightest people, but they could take care of themselves. They didn't need him constantly making sure they were well. Yet he couldn't help but believe he owed them at least this much. He didn't like the idea of abandoning Usopp either. There had to be a way to work with and keep track of both.

His attention went to his blond friend again. Whatever Kakashi was telling him, it was likely important. Sai wasn't so sure about divulging events of the future, but if the jounin thought it was for the best he probably knew better than a socially stunted teammate.

Shikamaru gave a grunt of acknowledgment, glad that they seemed to be on the same page. As long as Sai understood that his first responsibility was to his team, nothing else needed to be said.

After another few seconds of silence, he stood up and pushed his hands into his pockets. Sure, the greenhouse was closer to the open outdoors than the sun room, but Shikamaru was getting sick of being helpless and if he had to sit around doing nothing while his friend was this upset, he'd rather sit around somewhere else. Or actually do something somewhere else. Whatever. As long as it wasn't here.

"See you tonight then," he said, giving Sai a small nod as he started back towards the greenhouse door.

[go go gadget avoid (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/600017.html?thread=50240209#t50240209)]

Edited 2009-04-12 03:14 (UTC)

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Day 40: Greenhouse [Fourth Shift]

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