Day 60: Music Room (Fourth Shift)

[stray_shinigami]

It wasn't often that Renji felt less like punching people in general as his day wore on. This was a new experience for him. A not unwelcome one, if he was being honest. And the fact that he felt less like punching Fai? Kind of mind-blowing. The sort of thing Zen masters would probably use as a kouan to reach an all-new level of non-punching

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[scientist_skye]

Between recent releases and--more recently--deaths, Ema's friends in the institute were growing fewer and fewer. She was relieved to see that Mr. Dent was not among that number. Sure, he was somewhat abrasive, but it was because he was a serious person and meant business. Having grown up following her sister around the LAPD building, she was familiar with the type. Of course, he probably had some kind of unspoken history that she didn't know about; a man didn't end up with his face that injured for no reason at all. But her questions about that (and she had several, after seeing the sheer extent of the damage two nights ago) would have to wait until they could get somewhere more quiet.

Steeling herself, Ema gave Mr. Dent a nod, approached the nearest nurse, and did her best to give the woman an pathetic look. It didn't take much effort, given that she was in pain from all the noise. "Excuse me, but Mr. Dent and I--"

"Who?" the nurse interrupted, scanning the room.

Oh, right. Of course, the nurse would insist that he had a different name. Ema removed a hand from her ear to point. "Him. With the bandages." Once Mr. Dent was correctly identified, she quickly covered her ear again. While her hands didn't actually block much noise, they blocked enough that it was worth keeping them over her ears.

After looking at the man to whom Ema referred, the nurse gave her a pitying, almost condescending smile. "Mr. Eckhart, Marie. Or you can simply call him Aaron. There's no need to be so formal with your fellow patients. Calling him anything else is just enabling him and hindering his recovery."

Although she was slightly thrown off by the name correction, Ema made it a point to press on. "Mr. Eckhart and I were wondering if we could go somewhere quieter so we can talk? We're not feeling very musical today, and all the noise hurts my ears and is giving me a headache." A pause. "Please?"

Several moments passed as the nurse gave her a critical look, as if trying to determine if Ema was actually telling the truth about suffering physically from all the noise. The examination concluded with a sigh. "Marie, if you want to function in the world outside of these walls you're going to have to learn to deal with noises you don't like. But since you're obviously in pain and you've asked nicely and you plan on being social instead of hiding off somewhere like you did for lunch, I suppose I can allow it. The two of you are free to go to the Sun Room for the remainder of the afternoon."

"Thank you!" Ema chirped, quickly leaving the nurse behind so she can collect Mr. Dent and leave the room as quickly as possible. The lecture was not appreciated--the reason Ema couldn't handle the noise was their fault, not hers!--but she simply let it roll off of her. In the end, she got what she wanted, and that was what mattered.

"They said we could go, Mr. Dent." With that accomplished, there was no point in wasting time in getting out of there.

[to here]