baby's first trip to the doctor c:

[was_no_monster]

[modern medicine is amazing.

the first time his idiocy had cost him his pulse, it had taken him months of fading in and out of conciousness as his heart slowly healed enough to beat, and another of miserable illness as his pulse washed all the rot that had settled into his flesh out into his bloodstream. not to mention how weak he'd been after, and how long it had taken to regain his strength.

it's only been a week, though, and while he's still weak and fighting off several nasty infections at least he's conscious. and clearheaded. true, they had to get a machine to pump his blood for him to get him that far, but he will damn well take that and the hospital stay over the alternative of taking a slow, painful year to heal.

...even if being awake does mean being bored almost to tears.]

Comments

[subjecting]

[HAVE ANOTHER PORTAL except this one is on the wall. Where portals should be. If you have any expectation of landing on your feet, that is.

Rather than Miku, however, it's KaITO who walks through. He pauses when he recognizes the body in the hospital bed. There's a moment of mental debate — whether he should stay or leave — before he turns around to check on this portal. It was already closed.]

How inconvenient.

[was_no_monster]

[dry, but not overtly cranky-sounding]

There's always the door.

1/2

[subjecting]

It wouldn't take me where I want to go.

[He sounds like he's explaining something to a child.]

...that is, if it's going where I suspect it's going.

[subjecting]

[And then he brightens up, approaching the bed. Hello there.]

However, you don't seem like you're going anywhere for a while.

[was_no_monster]

[he's not sure if he should be worried... starts to sigh, and ends up coughing instead, one hand going up to press against the bandage wrapped around his throat with a jerky, mechanical motion]

Not unless I have to, at least. Getting here was difficult enough.

[subjecting]

I can only imagine. [Gross, fleshy thing.]

Who did you harass this time?

[was_no_monster]

I didn't. ...They were loudly proclaiming death by torture to anyone who wasn't happy, and I looked understandably horrified by the concept, so that clearly meant I had to die as well. By dismemberment and burning.

[subjecting]

Dismemberment and burning? How classic.

You should have walked away.

[was_no_monster]

Even assuming that they would have let me, I wasn't going to let them do something like that to anyone else. At least I had a chance of surviving it.

[subjecting]

[Wow, he feels like rolling his eyes so hard right now. He doesn't, but the expression on his face probably looks like he does.]

Right, of course. Always the pretend-hero.

[was_no_monster]

[snorts at him]

...What do you think would have happened to you if you hadn't come here?

[subjecting]

[That's a question he didn't expect.]

...what?

[was_no_monster]

...

I don't know about you, but... If I hadn't come here, I would have died alone and unloved, as nothing more than a monster and a murderer. This place gave me a second chance to have and be something more than that.

Is it really so stupid that I would want to pay that favor back, or that I would want to make sure any others who came here could have that chance too?

1/2

[subjecting]

...it is stupid, because you aren't thinking. [As usual.]

If I hadn't come here, I would still be in the Center. I would always hear the disjointed voices that were caused by my fragmented, damaged programming. I would lose my own voice and gain a new one— one for science. I would not die, but I would kill and use everyone else who entered my facility for the sake of research. For as long as my systems were operable.

However, despite my... second chance, I do not blindly run into situations like you do. Not everything can be solved with brute force. It could make a situation worse than it is.

2/3

[subjecting]

[He grins, baring teeth.]

Stop. Think. Observe. Analyze.

What are their weaknesses? What are their strengths? What advantages do you have? Lying here in your current state, I can only hypothesize how poorly your attempt to prove yourself went.

Consider the following: If you had been with someone else, would your actions put them in danger? If your opponents considered your partner to be associated with you, would they assault them as well?

[subjecting]

Because I would. I would do whatever it takes to weaken the strongest. Emotionally or physically.

And you should keep that in mind, rather than recklessly charging into a situation you might not prevail in.

You can call it "heroism" if you want. It will always be categorized as "stupidity" to me.

[was_no_monster]

[...looking away. in the most sullen mutter:]

...I never said it was heroism.

[damn, he hates it when the other man is right.]

[subjecting]

That doesn't change what it is.

[He smirks, but it's not to tease Kaito. It's more from amusement.]

[was_no_monster]

[...nose...wrinkle...? ugh no forget it he's not bothering with trying to puzzle you out, it can wait until he's not literally half-dead.]

...

Did your company ever dabble in weaponry? Beyond the turrets, I mean.

[subjecting]

Yes.

Turrets and explosive devices. The company also developed rocket sentries for security. We were also involved in testing military androids.

[was_no_monster]

No guns, however... hmm. That's probably for the best; anything they made would probably be more deadly rather than less...

[subjecting]

[He quirks an eyebrow.]

Thinking of arming yourself?

[was_no_monster]

Mmm. ...Much as I hate to admit it, you're right. I handled that badly, and I've handled other incidents with similarly poor judgement— not out of stupidity so much as habit.

I can't treat myself as disposable anymore. That means making sure I can defend myself more thoroughly than I've been doing, among other things.

[subjecting]

Exercising caution might help you more than a weapon.

However, I would suggest visiting the local police station. You should know their facilities well — I would expect them to have spare guns and a firing range to refine their aim.

[was_no_monster]

I didn't say I wouldn't be doing that, as well. This is more of a backup plan...

...there are. I would just... I would prefer to avoid bullets, if I can.