Day 26: Cafeteria, Lunch

[right_handed]

Scar felt cold and sick, though more the latter than the former. As he rose from his bed, he didn't quite know which way was up, and the artificial light coming from overhead seemed as hot and as blinding as the Ishbal sun

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[muted_flame]

Roy had made certain to make his shower quick, as he had more than a few memories of awkward situations that had gone on in there. He wasn't certain why people wouldn't keep to themselves when cleaning off, but apparently some of the other patients didn't understand common decency

[usoppsenchou]

The supplies tucked neatly in his arms made it hard to go through the lunch line, and he found himself thinking, Isn't spaghetti one of those foods that you aren't supposed to eat on first dates because of the mess? Which was silly, since he was just going to talk about weapons with another guy, but he was still nervous as the nurse helped him juggle his items to get a good grip on them and the lunch tray. Dropping the whole plate of spaghetti, at least, would not give a good impression of 'competence

[muted_flame]

It really hadn't been that hard to spot who he thought to be Usopp, especially since he also seemed to be carrying much more than the usual patient did. Most people kept everything they found in their rooms, so why was he carting things around in plain sight?

That nose, on the other hand, certainly was unique. Roy wasn't sure what to make of it, but at least it was a good way to identify him. He eyed Luffy's friend until they made eye contact, and then watched as he made his way over.

Once Usopp approached and asked his question, Roy had to hold back a smile. He seemed as impressed as Luffy always was, which was nice. He hadn't had quite as many admirers at Landel's, so having a taste of home was comforting. Usually the admirers were female, but...

"I am," he responded with a nod. "Please, sit down." The other patient looked ready to lose his balance, and Roy didn't really want the food he had to go flying everywhere.

[usoppsenchou]

Usopp began to place his baggage on the table, and although there had been a dangerous moment when the plate of spaghetti seemed to be ready to slide off the plate he finally managed to put his tray down firmly on the table. To the side, the art and medical supplies he'd swindled talked his doctor out of were placed together, though he immediately picked up the tube again. It was meant to stop itching, the doctor had said

[muted_flame]

Roy watched closely as Usopp set down the food, what looked like art supplies, and then something that caught his attention quite a bit more. Medical supplies, which he had for some reason brought along with him. Though when Usopp asked his question, the reasoning became obvious enough - he wanted to tend to his wounds some more.

"Go ahead." Roy was by no means squeamish - being in a war tended to get rid of all of that. As a matter of fact, their wounds were dealt with in a much cleaner, neater way in this institute than they ever had been in Ishbal. Sand had always worked its way through the bandaging, which led to nasty infections more often than not.

"Right. I'll be right back," he said as he stood from his seat. Getting a close look at the food Usopp had brought over had stirred an appetite in him. Besides, he needed to get his strength up, since he would be making a weapon for someone tonight. So, with that, the alchemist headed over to the lunch line.

[usoppsenchou]

Usopp was fast about unwrapping the wounds and rubbing the antihistamine ointment on them. He didn't use much... in fact, as little as he could and still feel that he'd adequately covered the round wounds on his arms. His back and legs could wait for now, he thought. Anyhow, he needed to save it to share with Sai and Luffy later. After reading the back of the Tylenol bottle, Usopp decided to take just one to ease the aching from the massive bruises that had swelled around the neat sucker wounds. It was a tiny bottle, and he remembered Ashton saying Roy had made his swords in exchange for some Ass-prin, whatever that was. Roy's glance at the medicine hadn't gone unnoticed. Tylenol, Ass-prin, and whatever the doctor had been dosing himself with. Probably all different strengths... the fact that the doctor hadn't minded Usopp dosing himself was a sign that this was weak stuff. But weak was better than nothing. Abruptly, he wondered if those drugs the doctor had been taking had helped him feel so generous. Lucky...After

[muted_flame]

It didn't take all that long to get his food, seeing how most of the people had already procured their meals. He got a small bowl of spaghetti and a salad with some juice, and with that all balanced on a tray, headed back to where Usopp was waiting for him.

By the time he got back, it looked like Usopp had already finished dealing with his wounds and was now doing something in his journal. He refrained from glancing over the other patient's shoulder, as he had no idea how private he was about it.

"So, if you don't mind me asking," he started as he sat back down, "where do you get those medical supplies?" It sounded like a lot of people were looking for them, understandably, and Roy wanted to make it his business to know where to look for them. He could always send one of the cooking groups out to find some...

[usoppsenchou]

"I got them from the doctor I had therapy with, when I showed him my injuries. I faked being mostly convinced about the Mr. Housman stuff, so he said I was making progress and could be trusted with a little bit of self-care." Usopp stuffed another bite of spaghetti in his mouth, chewing and swallowing quickly. Without Luffy around, he didn't have to be quite as defensive of his food, but eating fast had become a bit of a habit, especially when he had other things on his mind (and was thus less likely to catch hands stretching over to grab from his plate.) "It's not a lot... if you're in any pain, these are supposed to be painkillers. I don't mind giving you one, but I need most of these for the other two guys I was with last night. They probably are pretty weak, though, since he thought I could be trusted with them. He had them in his desk--but that seems like an obvious place. Sorry I can't help you with any real supply ideas

[muted_flame]

From his doctor, huh? No wonder he was carrying them around, then - he must have come straight here from his doctor's office. Roy had to wonder if he could try the same thing with Stegman, but he didn't have much faith in that idea. His doctor was pretty strict, or that was what he had gathered from the few sessions he'd had with him.

Worth a shot, though, at the very least. "Oh, that's fine, I don't need any." While whatever Ashton had given him the other night had helped, it wasn't like he required it to function, and if Usopp knew other people that needed it more, Roy didn't want to deprive him. "But I'm curious to know who your doctor is. And yes, weapons, though I had a few things I wanted to ask you before we get into that, if that's all right."

[usoppsenchou]

Usopp scratched the back of his head, trying to remember. "Dr... Sohma. Sohma Hatori. He had a really bad headache and was dosing himself with some painkillers too, while I was in session with him. He had his hair over one eye, kinda looked like someone I knew from home, but the doctor's hair was dark instead of blond. He seemed to be genuinely worried about me, and clueless about all the stuff that goes on here."

Usopp at least had the sense, after these questions and looks, to quietly move his pill bottle and ointment to the side of his tray, where they were partially hidden from any random patient passers-by. He'd have liked to put them away, if only the stupid outfit had pockets on it. Sew pockets on the pants. Right, he needed more stuff to work on, as though he didn't have enough already

[muted_flame]

The name didn't ring any bells, but he would commit it to memory. It wasn't like he would be able to get a transfer or anything like that, but if someone he knew a little better was assigned to him, he could at least let them know that he gave things out. While Roy felt slightly guilty about taking advantage of the doctors (as Usopp had pointed out, they weren't really involved in the bigger picture here), at this point, he was ready to do whatever it took to survive.

But enough of that. To get to the point... Well, first Roy took a bite of his food, as he knew he could get distracted and then end up not eating a thing. "Well, first of all, Luffy mentioned that the two of you found a... soldiering iron last night? I was curious about what that does, exactly, and he seemed to think you would know." He was a tad bit jealous that people had beaten him to it, but at least it (whatever it was) was in good hands.

[usoppsenchou]

"Soldiering...? Oh. No. Soldering iron," Usopp corrected with a small sigh. "I was probably mumbling when I told Luffy the name... we were kind of waist-deep in leeches at the time. He tends to latch onto mishearings like that."

And here he'd been trying to be coy all day about what they'd found. Well, they did say that two people could keep a secret so long as neither of them were Luffy. At least, they should say that. To be fair to Luffy, it wasn't as though Usopp had remembered to ask him to keep it under his hat for a while. Heh. 'Under his hat.'He'd been planning on telling Roy anyhow, no sense in being upset. "It's a device that melts down metal so it can be used to make a powerful bond or seal. It's a really useful tool. The one we found last night was hand-held, and it looked like it probably used some kind of fuel for power, but I didn't get a chance to really examine it. If it's working right, though, it'll be a big boon to me when I try to make anything." Maybe something that melted metal would be no big

[muted_flame]

Oh, he had been pronouncing it wrong? Well, that was more than a little embarrassing, and didn't exactly give Usopp the best first impression, but it sounded like Luffy tended to mix up words. Roy would just have to make sure to say it the right way from now on, and that was that.

Well, that sounded helpful, but Roy did have an affinity for anything that had to do with heat. Though from the sound of it, the soldering iron would do more helpful in Usopp's hands. After all, Roy could already use alchemy to make weapons - had he found the item instead, he probably would have just used it to singe the monsters. Considering he could already do that on his own, maybe it was for the best that Usopp had found it

[usoppsenchou]

"It wasn't luck!" Flustered by the request, Usopp instead protested the choice of words at first. "We fought like hell to get to that thing, and Sai's still weak today from it... you can see the shape I'm in too. It wasn't luck at all!" Okay, seeing the bathroom and having the memory of repairing toilets and dealing with ball cock systems triggered was somewhat luck, but that wasn't the point. "We earned our treasure

[muted_flame]

"I didn't mean to offend," Roy responded, a little taken aback that he had gotten such a strong response. He honestly hadn't meant any harm by it, though now that he thought about it, he could see how his comment could have been taken the wrong way. It was the sort of thing that might have bothered him, had he been on the receiving end of it, so he could understand. "What I meant was that it was a convenient item to find, considering your skills. Most people wouldn't be able to make much use of it, but it sounds like it will be a big help to you

[usoppsenchou]

"Oh. All right, then." Still more than a bit flustered, Usopp took the apology with a little bit of embarrassment. It didn't sound so bad, when Roy put it that way, although taking orders from someone other than Luffy felt wrong. Okay, someone other than Luffy or Nami. "Making weapons is what I figured I'd be able to do... although to be honest, it's not like I can make swords, and it practically seems like all anyone ever asks you for are swords, looking at the board. I know swords are important to some people, but Ashton told me it was really draining for you, and it seems like a big waste of your abilities to just make swords every night when there's already ways to make sharp objects around here without alchemy. Or other dangerous objects. Plus, I don't know how effective swords are against some of the creatures around here