Day 20: Dr. Crane's Office [Doctor's Office 1]

[damned_doctors]

At least Crane felt he was more prepared for the second group. Files could only tell you so much, after all, and he hadn't expected the attitudes that some of them had had. But people were people, all different and firm in the belief that they weren't insane. Crane figured he just needed to get used to doing therapy again. Anything fairly recent

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[explosives_r_us]

Karasu was hardly ready to go to this so-called therapy. One on one with some slap-happy human being to match the nurses had not precisely been his entire idea of a fun way to spend his afternoon. However, he wasn’t about to make a big deal over it; it was pointless, was it not? He couldn’t even do anything to prevent it, or even prevent the nurses that escorted him from living any longer. If only…

The demon stopped right in the doorway, listening to it close behind him as he felt it press up against his back. He breathed a sigh under his breath, reaching up to adjust his mask while cold eyes scanned the room. They stopped suddenly-stopped on a rather familiar man.

“A Scarecrow seldom travels, yet I see that you have moved away from your quaint field amongst the wandering crows to be amidst the source of this confusion…”he spoke smoothly, uncaring of the other’s reaction and allowing his statement to hang be not speaking another word until he received said response. This was his doctor?

[damned_doctors]

Crane was hoping after the last one that there would be no more 'surprises' to deal with of any sort in his patients. It seemed, however, that some higher power decided to frown on him today, or else took this as a joke. Yet another mention of him, his other nickname. He hadn't seen many of them, but he supposed shared delusions were possible, but this...he hadn't said anything yet, least of all anything that the other man would interpret to mean a scarecrow.

"I'm Dr. Crane, Mr. Burton," he corrected, "and I'm no scarecrow." Not for the moment, at least. One never knew what would happen in the immediate future. "See?" he pulled at his cuff. "No straw. Would you like a seat?"

[explosives_r_us]

Mr. Burton? There it is again...

“You needn’t lie,” the crow demon smirked, moving to slowly take a seat as directed, “Your lying is about as effective as your ability to scare those around you…” he added, rather amused as he watched this… doctor-or more or less the very same man that he had met the day before.

[damned_doctors]

"What's the lie if that's my real name?" he asked, watching the other man carefully. "Perhaps...perhaps I went by Scarecrow, long ago," or maybe a few weeks, but who was counting? "However, my name is Dr. Johnathan Crane. And just because they don't seem to be externally fearsome, scarecrows do have their own quirks that make them frightening." He would do well to remember that, and maybe it would make all their lives easier.

"Would it be too much to ask, Mr. Burton, if you could remove your mask? I'm aware of your...condition, but I like not to have anything physically between me and the patient, if that makes sense."

[explosives_r_us]

Karasu knew that something was up. Something a bit more so uncanny than perhaps he even knew; and he knew well and good that he had seen the other man the day before. His sick and delusional imagination was only triggered while he was asleep-or thinking deeply to himself of which he seldom did. It was never quiet enough for his liking.

He was a bit hesitant in turn of the question of removing his mask, the very idea not seeming like a good one to him. Without it, he somehow felt as though he was more vulnerable and yet at the same time he would be much less restrained; with he powers he certainly needed that, but as for the moment, he really wasn’t at all sure. He done well at lunch-but the circumstances had been much different, “Forgive my objection, Dr. Crane…” he answered at last.

“But I seldom remove this mask of mine; and wouldn’t it be a true pity for me to catch something dreadful in the air upon doing so? I am already quite sick mentally, correct?” he questioned, allowing anything more to fall into silence

[damned_doctors]

And there went his safety net. It was always tough to tell with mental patients whether or not they would attack at any given time given the proper provocation, but Crane had always felt safer with his gas. He knew he wasn't strong physically, but so long as there wasn't anything covering their nose and mouth, the gas made up for that. He'd have to look into something else, apparently, to carry along as well. Maybe a can of mace or pepper-spray.

"I suppose you're right, Mr. Burton," he replied after a moment of his own, nodding. "It would certainly be a pity if you caught something in the air. I'm sorry for bringing it up." Well, maybe not exactly sorry, but certainly disappointed in the response he'd received.

"Moving on, though...could you please tell me the last thing you remember?"

[explosives_r_us]

Karasu was quite pleased that this doctor saw it his way and perhaps even more so relieved that Crane wasn’t persistent in asking him to remove his mask. He had apparently posed a valid point thanks to his wit; however he hardly wished to answer the next question, let alone spill his thoughts out to someone that he saw as untrustworthy on all accounts.

Then there was the question of what he possibly had to lose? His life again? Who was to care about that?

“I remember a lot of things…” he answered with a slowly bow of his head, strings of hair falling down in front of his partially covered face, “…but my final moments seem to be the most vivid. I remember pain-but a sweet feeling that it was…” A smirk played across hidden lips, followed by an eerie chuckle, “…The feeling of my heart beating faster in my chest-barely grasping onto the life that was being slowly pulled out of me; a gasp, darkness, and the overbearing silence that consumes it all

[damned_doctors]

Well, here was another one who said he had been dead. Maybe he could investigate further with this one as opposed to the other; it would probably be more pleasant, if anything, without having to listen to inane nicknames being tossed around.

The only part Crane may have found creepy about what he was saying was the chuckle, and even then it wasn't exactly too new to him. Working with manic killers tended to do that to you, he supposed. "No fear? It's rare to find someone who does not fear death, and for that matter, it's rare to find someone who takes pleasure in such things. Though I suppose that this was a wake-up call. What were your final thoughts, if not of fear?"

[explosives_r_us]

There was a brief pause, a beat-a fleeting moment before the demon’s chuckle returned, his eyes closing all the while his chuckle began and then slowly drifted off, “Bliss, my dear Dr. Crane…Complete and utter bliss,” he answered at last, his head slowly lifting so that he could look at the other through cold violet eyes.

“It is the sort of bliss that one only feels once in a lifetime; the true pleasure that is felt when a dearly beloved kills you with their own hands,” he said, the very thought causing him to chuckle once more-the man was nearing laughing maniacally and probably would have had he not had such a grip on himself. “With the perfect visualization of my beloved lying in a mangled heap from my hand is what I died seeing and with immense surprise in my life being taken in the stead of his was what I died thinkingKarasu seemed to have been enjoying himself so much more than he would have ever thought regardless of the fact that Crane seemed like nothing more than a worthless traitor. “The two put together only allow me to

[damned_doctors]

...So, there really were some patients who were insane as they were said to be. He didn't want to give the other man what was certain to be satisfaction from this, but Crane was struck utterly speechless by the description. Finally, he coughed once and glanced down, writing down a note on the folder: We have a long way to go with this one.

The doctor knew what it was like to find bliss in something like that, he found it in using his toxin to make others cower in fear. He'd been around prisoners who murdered for fun, or out of compulsion grown from fun, and other such things; he'd been around patients who had murdered their families, children, other members of the community. And yet...perhaps it was the way that the other man put it, so poetically, but the odd fascination with death was unnerving.

"...I've heard some interesting thoughts and philosophies today, but I must say that this is the most interesting one so far. Why are you so fascinated with death?"

[explosives_r_us]

“Why…? Why-oh-why…” the crow demon mused, slowly lowering his gaze once more, “Why, indeed. To tell you would be a long course of a story in itself…” he chuckled, more than willing to share ‘why’ without being the least bit wary, “Death is but a beginning to something greater-something more beautiful, for it is the only thing that this worthless life promises

[damned_doctors]

'Long course of a story,' indeed. Crane briefly thought that maybe Karasu just liked hearing himself talk, but that thought was quickly forgotten in lieu of being wary that he was up and walking around now. And yet, what the other man was saying made a strange amount of sense, though Crane doubted he would ever admit it; he liked to believe he was better than that line of thinking.

Insane criminal mind. Just keep remembering that, he thought to himself before continuing hesitantly. "When did you first...begin to think this way?"

(( Sorry. The comments need an edit button. >>'' This may show up a few times in your inbox because of my retardation. ))

[explosives_r_us]

Karasu hardly had to pause or even think of how to answer. It all came so quickly to him; so quickly that it nearly scared the part of him that actually desired to be sane-if there was any part. “It would seem that I can not recall such a time that I didn’t think in such a way…” he answered, continuing to drag his fingers along the edge of the desk after each slow step that he took.

“…however, there must have been one time-one time. A rather brief point in my life that my mind was able to handle the pain, but never again after it had ceased to burn like the hottest flame,” he chuckled, placing his fingertip at the end corner of the desk, as he stopped and then looked up with the same cold, malicious eyes to meet Crane’s gaze; to grab his attention and see to it that he was listening well.

“After then-I found that there was only one solution to my problem... one solution that would cease my bleeding heart and allow me to carry on further.”

[damned_doctors]

Crane met the other man's gaze without flinching or trying to look elsewhere. That would be showing some sort of weakness that, though he was becoming more engrossed with what Karasu was saying and not paying too much attention to his own actions, he wouldn't allow himself to do. His attention had been grabbed back when they started.

"And this is the result," he said when it seemed the other man was done speaking. Out of all the homicidal patients he'd interacted with, this was certainly one of the more fascinating ones. Or rather, what he was saying held a sort of morbid and somewhat uneasy fascination for Crane. "And what will happen once you're able to deal with your 'beloved', as you put it? Or rather, since you say you died, what would have happened?"