Day 24: Intercom, Breakfast

[damned_intercom]

And so the day came, eerily similar to what the Head Doctor had foretold. For once, things didn't seem to be so bright and sunny as they should have been in this perfect Landel's world, and ominous grey clouds lined a stark sky that didn't seem to offer much sunlight

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[notachick]

Okita Souji woke up slowly, turning over lazily as he pondered getting up to make tea or going back to sleep for a few more minutes. In his hazy state, he didn't fully register that the bedding wasn't a futon. He did, however, notice that he wasn’t woken up by his usual coughing. Perhaps Hijikata-san's medicines were actually working despite how bitter they were. The Vice-Chief would be happy to hear that, at least. But if that was the case, Okita needed to take more of it, which meant he needed to wake up and make tea.

The effeminate swordsman sat up, stretched his arms up above his head, yawned slightly, and felt surprisingly well rested considering the ruckus around town due to the Gion festival. He was also surprised to find that, despite it being the middle of summer, the room was only pleasantly warm rather than stiflingly hot. Maybe it had rained during the night, he reasoned, patting the bed to see if Saizou would come shuffling up like usual. When his pink piglet didn't show, Okita finally took a gander at his surroundings and paused.

White walls, a strangely western looking desk and chair, no shoji, no tatami, no gardens, no sounds of the festival, no Saizou - nothing familiar.

"..."

In a flash, Okita jumped out of bed, expecting to slide easily onto the floor, and had quite a rude awakening when he fell rather unceremoniously to the ground with a loud and heavy thump. Large purple eyes stared, bewildered, at a bed that was raised off the floor by a good foot and a half - also Western. He reached for his swords, but finding nothing in the area, he scrabbled under the pillows for the knife he usually hid there. Instead, he found some strange metal object with a circular glass disk at one end. Dumbfounded by this contraption and the panic racing through his mind, he almost didn’t hear the nurse come in - almost.

"Good morning, Mr. Ikeda! Thrashing around like that, you'll wake up your roommate, so shhh," she said, pressing a finger to her lips. She spoke cheerfully in that strange language Sakamoto always used - English, wasn't it?

Okita quickly hid the toy behind his back and fought the urge to slash at her neck, seeing as he had no weapon. Obviously this was some Choshu trick, or another one of those strange spell things that Saitou-san sometimes talked about. The last time he'd acted hastily, he had gotten them all in trouble, so this time he would play it safe. The swordsman laughed pleasantly and replied, "I have no idea what you’re saying."

He blinked and touched his throat, disbelief spreading on his face. English? Did he just speak English?

The nurse seemed unperturbed, laughing lightly. "Oh, Mr. Ikeda - always the joker. Well, you’re finally well enough to go out with the other patients, so shall I take you to the cafeteria? After all those medicines and the long recuperation period, I bet you're famished!"

"Aha ha, yes... I’m very hungry." Ikeda? Medicines? Okita smiled to hide his panic and nodded, waiting until her back was turned to hide the flashlight back under his pillow. He gave a quick glance over at his 'roommate' and took note of the short blond hair. He'd have to find this person later.

"Good! Then right this way." The nurse beamed, holding the door open for him. The purple-haired swordsman warily followed her out into the hallway, eyes darting from the lights on the ceiling to the plaster walls and tiled floor to the strange grey clothing he was wearing. Once he distanced himself from the spy leading him to this 'cafeteria,' he'd have to find someone else to explain the situation to him.