Dayshift 52: Doctor's Office 1 (Dr. Yumeno) [fourth shift]

[thisboyprince.livejournal.com]

From his first session through lunch, Daedalus had kept to himself in his office, attention on his computer. It wasn’t just the patients who had questions, but the question was whether or not answers were forthcoming. He had his curiosities and even his doubts, to be sure, but now that he had come to see how the wheel turned here, but did he care? What didn’t affect his standing didn’t precisely affect him. He didn’t think prestige was as important an element as it was elsewhere.

As he typed, he thought, and as he thought, he watched the clock. Unless the second and final patient of the day failed to meet his expectations, Daedalus thought the day was going to end rather uneventfully. From the looks of things, there was nothing surprising in this latest patient’s file.

As the appointed time for the nurse to bring in her charge neared, he wrapped up his business and sat back from the computer.

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[livesbyinstinct.livejournal.com]

And Kiba almost did.

There was a slight, half-jerking twitch that started in his legs and died in his shoulders, a ghost of a movement made by someone just seconds away from turning around and walking away, but the seconds passed, and Kiba stayed put.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to leave. He did, and he was sorely tempted to take Yumeno up on his offer, even if all that awaited him back in the game room was more dull entertainment that would eventually end in boredom, but the more stubborn part of him refused to do so, to give in to Yumeno’s invitation and take the easy way out. It felt too much like running away, and Kiba didn’t run. He took it as a challenge, albeit an unsaid one, and he intended to face it head-on. His back straightened, and he dug his shoes into the floor with a renewed sense of determination that was only matched by his growing annoyance and irritation. He wasn’t going to back down.

"Then what the hell do they pay you for?” he said, not allowing his eyes to stray from Yumeno’s face, not even wanting to give up the man his name, which was more of a childish knee-jerk reaction than anything else. And silly, and Kiba knew it. "You’re the one with all the files n’ crap.”

[thisboyprince.livejournal.com]

Daedalus didn’t have expectations--or rather, he didn’t put them forward--and so while the boy debated whether to stay or to go, again, Daedalus did nothing but wait it out. He rested his hands on the desk near his sides and leaned in, his posture turning a degree more easy while Kiba’s became obstinate.

He met and held the other’s gaze, but not for means of confrontation. The patient was taking stock of him, studying his position and manner, and he was welcome to do so. In a matter of perspective, the boy had more to lose than Daedalus if he misjudged, whereas Daedalus could take his time. "That doesn’t mean so much to me," he said in regards to the files and what knowledge in general was attributed to the staff. "Files are just files. I’m here in the capacity to find out more about you and help you, but I don’t think anything will come out of merely reading a record."

[livesbyinstinct.livejournal.com]

He scowled. "Maybe because your records are full of shit.”

Not that he knew what was in them, but he could guess what was: a multitude of shallow lies that only someone overly stupid and gullible would ever believe. He wasn’t Conor. Never was and never would be. He was an Inuzuka, and nothing could ever tear that sense of identity away from him. Who did these people think they were fooling, anyway? With the night hours how they were, he wished the institute would just cut the crap and stop trying to pretend the place was something it wasn’t.

His eyes wandered around the room then, not sure what to make of the utter plainness of it. There was nothing to hold his interest, save for a few photographs he couldn’t quite make out, and he quickly found himself staring at Yumeno again, gritting his teeth. “It’s Kiba,” he said finally, despite his initial unwillingness, though it still irritated him to do so. His subsequent glare dared the other man to tell him he was wrong. "Inuzuka Kiba.”

[thisboyprince.livejournal.com]

"So I’ve been told," was his slow, ponderous--and for the more apt listener, also his resigned--reply.

Daedalus would confess, though, that the difference between the physical record and the patient record was not that great of a quandary. Mystifying for those of lesser means, perhaps, the young doctor hadn’t spent this much time at Landel’s Institute to still be unaccustomed to the people and the idiosyncrasies that dwelt within. This boy was certainly not the type he would have been treating under any normal circumstances, but he thought he could handle the bull-headed temperament just as well. Such a personality meant unnecessary resistance, yet hot-headedness was not so far removed from simple-mindedness. Faced with Daedalus’ calm, it remained to be seen whether the patient would find further fuel to ignite his temper as time wore on.

As the other reluctantly confessed his identity, he kept his demeanor neutral. Like he’d said, the name was nothing Daedalus hadn’t found in the file. "Then," he started, "it’s a pleasure to meet you." One didn’t need great powers of perception to tell that the sentiment would be one-sided. "At least, I think so. But I‘m sure you want to know why we‘re meeting in the first place? In the simplest terms, these are sessions where we can talk about various sorts of things. My main function is to ultimately see you released."

[livesbyinstinct.livejournal.com]

Kiba very nearly laughed. "How the hell is talking going to get me released? You think talking is going to get my head set on straight, or something? It doesn't solve much of anything, in my experience. Ain't going to get me released either."

At least, not where he wanted to be. He didn't know what sort of world he unwittingly had been pulled into, but he didn't like it any more than he trusted the people in it. They had kidnapped his friends, taken Akamaru from him. Why should he even begin to trust? It was obvious the institute didn't want to help them either. All they wanted to do is make their patients dance to the their own twisted music.

"The only way I'm going to get out is if I break out," he said, a motion of which his mind contended he was perfectly capable of, despite obvious obstacles and blocks on his abilities. "And I could do it," he said, his confidence rising over whatever nagging doubts had managed to invaded his system, "if I felt like it. I've climbed over plenty of walls. This one here ain't gonna stop me."

[thisboyprince.livejournal.com]

The patient had let fly more than enough to keep the average doctor busy for quite some time. Denial, combativeness, escape… At first Daedalus gave a wry smile at the snub to the profession. He himself was not like to jump to its defence--this was not his place either, playing nursemaid to the mind. His skills were worth more. But the key was in the boy’s own words: since it was unlikely he’d encountered similar situations before, evaluating them through preconceived notions was a deficient way of thinking.

His smile didn’t completely disappear once the boy declared his intentions to break out of the hospital Daedalus was expected to serve responsibly, but it changed color to something partly amused and partly resigned, as though Kiba had unwittingly done something he shouldn’t have. Certainly if he’d said as much in front of one of the others, anyway; even a wholly empty comment would warrant some suspicion from a doctor if he or she had any sense of liability. Daedalus didn’t care terribly if this one went ahead and succeeded at what he claimed one day, but did the boy really not think Daedalus had the means to make an escape that much harder? Or was he so confident he felt he didn't need to worry?

"Well, you’d be the first," he eventually responded. He then brought a gloved knuckle to his lip before starting out slowly again. To be honest, this patient had gone further than the rest in making his feelings transparent, which deserved a kind of credit. "Naturally, I’m obligated to disagree…" As if the line of thought had escaped him, Daedalus trailed off, pausing to give Kiba another look. Finally: "I’d just be careful of who you talk like that to," he advised simply around another smile. "The day staff could make your life harder if they heard that."