Day 39: Doctor's Office 3 (Dr. Kisugi) [Second Shift]

[damned_doctors]

The files for today's patients were waiting on Makiko's desk when she arrived, left in an untidy-looking heap that drew an irritated frown from the doctor. It was a pity she hadn't yet had the time to deal with the nurses here as she had back in the hospital at home - none of them would have left her office in anything but a pristine state, not if

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[cigarettes_plz]

Badou's head was swimming with new information, most of it Not Very Reassuring, but breakfast had gone pretty well for the most part. He sort of wished he'd actually eaten something though. He needed to make more valuable contributions to the Badou Nails Beer Gut Fund.

He should spend the next shift re-organizing his notes like a responsible little PI, then he could go find someone to complain at for the rest of the--

"Hey, where are going Nurse Cankles? Did you miss your medication or something? Sunroom's back that way." Shit, she was finally going to kill him and toss his body in a shed. It just had to be the morning that he'd missed his usual tirade. He knew this day had started off too decently.

"As I've told you already, you have a therapy with Dr. Kisugi." The nurse replied curtly. There wasn't time for much more discussion. She shoved allowed him in and shut the door firmly, leaving Badou to stand there with his hands in his pockets.

"...Hey."

[damned_doctors]

When he entered Makiko didn't bother to look up, her attention instead fixed on the notes she was adding to the file on her desk. How they expected her to keep up when they were overloading her with patients, she didn't know, but she did have to wonder if the place particularly cared about the patients getting better, considering some of their practices. Not that she minded - the longer they stayed, the easier it was for her.

"Please, have a seat, Mr. Riedel," she said, gesturing almost absently toward the empty chair with her free hand as she continued to write. She finished the last sentence with a neat tap of her pen and only then glanced toward the man, whereupon her gaze focused with slightly more intensity than was her standard.

Interesting. Far more interesting than the others who had entered her office so far. Considering that he was a man, though, not likely to stand up to real pressure, but he might actually not be a waste of her time

[cigarettes_plz]

Well, at least she seemed disinterested. With any luck she'd find him boring enough to let him get out of here and continue being useless elsewhere. He'd never done much in the way of dealing with psychiatrists, unless his caseworker from way back when counted.

Badou crossed the room and slouched into the offered seat. Ugh, that name. He didn't bother to correct her. She was doing a fine impression of a creepy robot anyway, so she probably had the usual reply at the ready.

"Ok. So what do we do? Hold hands and talk about our feelings?"

[damned_doctors]

Makiko smiled just slightly, though the expression was a mere movement of her mouth without any sign of it in her eyes. "If you'd like that, I suppose I could manage something. But you certainly don't seem like the type." Even just looking at his physical appearance would give that indication, really, without the other information she had.

She glanced down and leafed through his file for a moment, lips pursed in thought. "These sessions are entirely for your benefit, Mr. Riedel, so it's up to you. If you'd like, you could begin by telling me a little more about yourself - something more than what I already have on paper."

After a moment of that she glanced up again, studying him with that same almost-smile. "After all, there's never enough information in these to really get an idea of who a person is. How best I could help you to get better."

[cigarettes_plz]

"Well..." Badou laced his fingers across his stomach. On the one hand, he wanted to get out of here quickly. On the other hand, he'd be just as bored outside and he didn't have any pressing appointments. Might as well turn his doctor off therapy and have some fun at the same time.

Badou's expression was completely serious. "The truth is, I think I was born the wrong gender. I wanted to be a woman but my parents wouldn't let me change my name to Olivia, so I decided to rebel by running away to be a loser. You're a doctor. Do you think it's too late for hormones? And are boobs really all they're cracked up to be? I really think this would help heal my tattered soul."

[damned_doctors]

"Would it, now. That's quite fascinating," Makiko replied, one brow arching just slightly, though otherwise her expression didn't change. "Your file says that you're a photographer, though, not a fiction writer."

Perhaps it was just because the people here didn't choose to be that she was getting the rather uncooperative types. Or was it just because she was new, and female? She felt a brief flare of irritation at that; they'd best not be dismissing her so lightly, for she was far, far more than they could ever dream of being.

She glanced briefly down at the page in front of her before returning her attention to her current patient. "When you described yourself as a 'loser' was that honest, or simply more of your attempt at being amusing?"

[cigarettes_plz]

"I have an artistic soul." Damn, she really had no sense of humor at all. Not that Badou was really expecting one from the staff. Mostly he was just being an asshole until she let him go. What was Dr. Robot going to do about it, really?

"Oh, I was being honest about the loser thing. It's probably some deep rooted self confidence issue. I don't think I got enough love, you know, because people like you don't take my gender issue seriously."

[damned_doctors]

The man clearly had no intention of taking any of this seriously, so it wouldn't be worth it to continue humoring him, much less allow him to get a rise out of her. With one of the lesser doctors, perhaps, he might have, but not her.

So instead, it was time for a change of tack. "Or perhaps you didn't get enough love because of the situation with your brother?" Makiko regarded him for a moment longer before glancing down at the file, flipping to the next page before adding a note. "Unless you're going to start playing games with me about him as well - though I suspect not, considering the way you seem to have looked up to him."

[cigarettes_plz]

Badou's eyes widened just a fraction, but he got his expression under control quickly enough. Why didn't they just spread it all over the damn precinct? He knew it probably wasn't their fault if this place had gotten his records, but it still pissed him off. They didn't have any business digging around in his past.

He shrugged, deceptively casual. "Well, he was always an asshole but he did teach me how to wear a skirt," He replied lightly. "That's old news anyway. He's been dead for ages. Do we really have to talk about my troubled childhood?"

[damned_doctors]

"If your childhood pertains to the causes of your mental illness, then yes. It's part of how you get better." The CD switched over to the next song, softly playing some bland piano concerto that she didn't immediately recognize, and Makiko flicked a brief glance toward the player before continuing on with her notes. "One might consider a past such as yours sufficient cause for your current state. Or do you not

[cigarettes_plz]

What the hell was she getting at? Badou was tempted to lean forward and find out what she was writing. He couldn't be that informative. 'Patient confused about gender. Avoids questions. Totally sexy redhead. No, be still my beating heart.'

He shifted in his chair, but he didn't answer her first question. He was already rapidly running out of patience for them. His fingers were laced so tightly he might be cutting off the circulation, but he barely noticed, most of his attention focused on the doctor and sounding casual as ever.

"Yeah, so? I never wanted a puppy - " Unless you counted Haine. "They piss all over everything and wake you up at 3am. What do you want me to say? It was a long time ago. I barely remember." Which was why he kept his brother's bad habits after all this time. Damn, he really wanted a cigarette right now.

[damned_doctors]

And again she smiled just slightly, though this time there was just the barest hint of amusement about it. It wasn't exactly a pleasant sort of amusement, mind, not when she was rather enjoying toying with him (even if it wasn't what she really wanted to do, but that thought she quickly suppressed), but it could be mistaken if one wasn't observant.

"Somehow I suspect that cleaning puppy puddles in the middle of the night would be more tolerable than other things," she observed, in an almost absently-looking gesture lifting a hand to tap a finger next to her eye, mirroring the patch on his face. "Rather less permanent, as well. Or have you managed to forget about that incident, too?"

[cigarettes_plz]

He hadn't really been paying attention to her before, when he was just joking around. He didn't like it, but her only interest was professional - as much as it could be for this place - so he could deal. He was paying attention now, and that smile set him on edge. She was enjoying this.

Badou was about a hair away from telling her to fuck off and walking out. Somehow. He'd heard the lock behind him when he got in here, and letting her get a rise out of him would only keep her interest longer. That was what he tried to tell himself anyway. She was just a twisted doctor. She wasn't even involved. He sat up a little straighter, the tension almost visible. "Like I said, it was a long time ago. What do you know about a few old scars?"

[damned_doctors]

"What do I know?" Makiko looked down and flipped through the papers in front of her for a moment before closing the file and glancing back up at Oliver with just a slight smile. "I know a bit. Apparently more than you do, since your memory seems so faulty."

She also knew a bit more than what was simply in the files, and that was telling her that her comments were having the intended result, despite the way he was trying to pretend it wasn't. The ever-present hunger rose, insistent and demanding, and her hand closed with an involuntarily tight grip as she forced it back down again. Not yet. Not yet.

[cigarettes_plz]

That did it. In one swift, violent movement Badou stood and slammed his hand down on the file. The chair clattered to the floor behind him, but he didn't hear it over the blood rushing to his head. He wanted his guns, heavy metal and triggers and burning lead -- but it would be easy to cross the table and break her goddamn neck. The orderlies wouldn't be fast enough if he did it right now.

"Stop fucking around. If you know something, say it or shut the fuck up." He wasn't really seeing her there. Just inhuman black-clad soldiers.

He didn't care if she was just a doctor anymore. He tried to grab the collar of her shirt - or her neck, he didn't care which. What the hell did she think she was smiling about?

[damned_doctors]

It had been fairly certain what he was planning to do as soon as he'd started to move, and for a moment Makiko had toyed with the idea of letting him succeed, let him think he was going to get somewhere before she proved him entirely wrong. But in that instant she decided on a different course of action.

Just before his hand could reach her her own closed about his wrist, in a grip far tighter than should be possible for such a frail-looking woman. The smile that had so aggravated him only widened slightly, the malicious amusement becoming only more obvious. "Oh, Oliver," she replied, in a chiding tone, as though she were scolding a small child, "You really are quite delusional, aren't you?"