Day 26: Intercom, Evening

[damned_intercom]

The intercom clicked on with its usual jingle, the Head Doctor clearing his throat before he made his last shift-changing announcement of the day

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M60

[tsunagari]

Sai was somewhat distracted as he sat down for dinner ("What? Oh. Salad, thank you.") and he couldn't put a finger on why. But he was also refreshed after his shower, and that was a good thing with the night shift coming up. He couldn't only hope tonight didn't end up being as dangerous as the night before. The pirates had plans, it seemed.

He picked idly at his food. Peas were good. And potatoes. The steak was a little more hearty than he was used to, but getting some meat down too would probably do him well. He wondered about his roommate as he ate. Being sedated so soon to the beginning of night shift might put him in danger.

[hotlittledragon]

Being able to walk was one of the few things Kurikara had never been properly thankful for. It was a blessing to make it all the way back to his room, feeling a little woozy but on his own two feet. He hated being carried.

When he got in he reached imideatly for his food and, flopped onto his stomach in bed. He was so hungry after eating almost nothing he could care less what he was putting into his mouth - meat, potato, part of the plate... He didn't even look at his roommate until his hunger was stated.

He rolled over onto his back and pulled his shirt up slightly, letting his hand rest on his bare stomach. There were things he should be doing tonight. Seeing Byakko, yes, but also - Hisoka. All of his tension returned to him, and he felt his own claws digging into his side slightly. He looked over at Sai again.

"Boy. Did you look at the bulletin just before you were brought here?"

[tsunagari]

By now, Sai was used to his roommate referring to him as though he was older and thought nothing of it. He still seemed to be suffering from the effects of the sedative somewhat, but was recovering well. Perhaps he wouldn't need the ninja's assistance.

He blinked at the question. "No, I didn't." It hadn't even been on his mind, actually. He'd just been led directly back to his room from the showers. Obviously, he should be checking the board more often. "Is there something I should know?"

[hotlittledragon]

Kurikara shook his head and sat up, perhaps a little too quickly. His head swam but now he had to push it away and focus. "No, there's something I should know."

He had to meet with Byakko still. He could ask then.

Until then, so much for his good mood. His irritation battled with the remains of the drug in his system and he found he couldn't lie still any longer. The dragon gave a soft growl and slid out of bed. Moments later he'd pulled his journal out of the drawer and padded back to Sai's side of the room, boundaries be damned. He stood in front of the boy's bed and held the book out to him. "Here. I don't have time to waste when the doors unlock, so copy quickly."

There were maps inside. The entire first floor and part of the second.

[tsunagari]

Opening the book, Sai immediately went about retrieving his own journal. One thing about Sai's ninjutsu techniques was that in mastering them he had developed an almost inhuman drawing speed. You had to be quick when even attempting to create an ink image in combat. The pen he had now wasn't nearly as fluid as his usual brush, but it still took him hardly a minute to do them both.

Usopp in particular might be interested in the second one. It might be more complete than his own. "Thank you," he said with a smile, handing the dragon back his own copy. From the ones he'd copied, Sai would probably need to make a couple more. Spares to give to others and to keep in case he lost his own.

[hotlittledragon]

Kurikara took his journal back from Sai. There was one thing in the room to distract him from driving himself nuts, and he was going to take full advantage of it. Him. Human, male, not an it.

...Damnit, he missed his prison.

Kurikara settled on the floor, grumpy but curious. "Where did you learn to do that so quickly?"

[tsunagari]

"Do what?" Sai blinked, then recalled his previous action. "Oh! It's a byproduct of one of the ninjutsu techniques I use. Outside of this institute, I mean." He would offer to show the boy, but he couldn't afford any drain on his chakra, low to non-existent as it was in this place. He needed all his energy for the coming night. "I'm very fast with an ink brush."

The lines on his own copied map weren't particularly as straight and neat as those on his roommate's, but the design was still obvious enough.

[hotlittledragon]

Kurikara leaned forward, his palms pressed flat against the ground to keep his fingers still. "Ninjutsu? You're from old japan then? A ninja?"

He was a little skeptical. There had been real ninjas in his lifetime, and perhaps some of them had possessed real magic, but Sai looked very young still in his eyes.

[tsunagari]

"Old... Japan?" Sai tilted his head, honestly curious. "I'm a ninja, yes, but I'm not familiar with this place." Had he seen it mentioned before? On the bulletin board, perhaps? "I'm from the Village Hidden in the Leaves, the ninja village of the Land of Fire. I'll understand by now if you haven't heard of it either."

It seemed odd, though, that people would recognize what a ninja was, but never have heard of locations in his world. Usopp had been the same.

[hotlittledragon]

Kurikara shook his head. "You must be from a different world. There were ninjas in my world once, and they came from a place now called Japan." He shrugged. "They're not called ninjas anymore."

What was it now? FBI? It didn't really have the right ring to it. "You come from the Land of Fire.. Does that mean your power is affiliated with the fire element?"

It was possible for Kurikara to be civil towards a human, apparently. It just took some specific circumstances. He wouldn't realize how close to a child he looked, torn between impatience and unabashed interest.

[tsunagari]

"The Land of Fire does produce many ninja with fire elemental affinities in their chakra, but it also has a lot to do with location. My main element isn't fire." Sai held up his pen, though the ink wasn't anything like what he was used to using. Not that the ninja had such preferences, of course, but he almost considered this ink inferior. Certainly it wouldn't perform as well as his usual supply. "My techniques are ink based."

He shrugged lightly. "I would show you, but... I'm sure you know why I can't."