Day 41: Sun Room
Haseo's steps were heavy with the weight of righteous anger as he was escorted into the Sun Room, his posture so sullen and reluctant you could almost hear the nostalgic cry of an electric guitar. He was seething, and though perhaps it was a bit harder to be intimidating while wearing the uniform of an insane asylum and flanked by a bored-looking
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[From here.]
Kaoru's stomach seemed to be trying to commit a mutiny. Moreso than usual. Nerves were the culprit this time though. He found and seat and curled up, waiting for Honey and hoping Usa-chan would be with him.
He felt so stupid and useless, but... he needed to talk to someone. Someone he could trust that was Hikaru. Sure Hikaru was aware of the problem, hard not to be, but... Kaoru didn't want to worry him too much. And now, with pressure from the nurses, the problem felt like it had grown a hundred times bigger, just as he'd been getting better. Their eagerness for him to eat scared him, made his suspicious. And he knew how stupid that was.
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"It's okay to be scared," Honey said as he held the stuffed toy out. It was only years of training and his own personal difficulties that had taught him that. It was only when the fear got the better of you that it began to be a problem. He still got a worried knot in his stomach at night waiting to see if Takashi would really come for him.
"If you don't want to talk right now, you don't have to, but... I'll listen," he said positively, adding a nod for emphasis.
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"I-it's.... it's not ok if you're scared of something so stupid," he huffed, sadly, voice muffled by Usa-chan.
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"Kao-chan," Honey said, drawing his own legs up into his chest, "I get scared just being in tiny rooms. Or of being alone in the dark. I know it's silly, but I can't help it."
Even if it seemed small or stupid, it could still have a profound effect on someone. That was just the nature of fear. He could try to control it, but even he had trouble not breaking into tears just by getting stuck in the washroom at Haru-chan's house.
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"I don't know what to do," he finally sniffed.
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As for ways to fix it, that was the difficult part. The good thing though, was that Kaoru did want to fix it. Lots of times, it was just getting them to admit it was actually a problem that was the hard part ( ... )
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It was good to see Kaoru laugh though, even just a little bit. That was enough to make Honey smile. The boy was holding onto the stuffed rabbit tightly, but at least he hadn't started pulling at him or tearing him just yet.
"I'll make a deal with Kao-chan, okay? Our secret," he promised. "If Kao-chan will work hard to conquer his fear, then I'll help Hika-chan with his too. Promise." Honey nodded solemnly and held out his little pinky finger for the sacred vow. Would that be enough to motivate him? This was going to be a lot of work, he could tell, but what were friends for?
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He reached out and linked pinkies though.
"Thanks, Honey-sempai... Sorry for venting on you. I just can't talk to Hikaru in case something happens to him because of me, you know? And...I want him to think it's getting better already."
So far so good. he attempted a light hearted but incredibly sincere "maybe they're just experimenting on me?"
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"Sure, you can come talk to me anytime you want!" he said, making sure the other boy knew. It probably didn't need to be said, but repetition never hurt.
At Kaoru's suggestion that they might be experimenting on him, even if it was given in a joking way, caused Honey to frown and look at him thoughtfully. The truth was, it was completely possible that it might be happening right under their noses. Honestly, it made him want to tear into someone, but freaking out about it now would only give Kaoru more reason to worry. "Hnn... maybe they want to steal our abilities so they can make an army of Super Hosts!" he said jokingly.
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"Likewise," he muttered, knowing that Honey would go to Mori and, well, Kaoru probably wasn't any good at advice unless it was for Hikaru.
"Damn these supermodel diets," he deadpanned.
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He was pretty sure he could put the two cooks, Anise and Wonka together and maybe even Kio. He'd have to check with Takashi though and see if the man was any good with combat or just with cooking.
"Oh, oh, that's right! There was something I was going to talk to Kao-chan and Hika-chan about!" he sat up straighter, remembering one of the reasons he'd meant to meet with the twins in the first place. "Me and Takashi tried to get to the phones at night, but all we got was funny static. So I thought um... that maybe we could do it in the daytime? So we could try to call someone to help. But we'd need a really good distraction."
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Honey was sweetly mature and it just worked better for Kaoru. He already knew he was an idiot and was beating himself up. He just needed someone to listen and know and help.
He looked at his friend curiously, smiling when he revealed the plan. Or the plan so far. Today was full of offers!
"Alright! We'll do it, we've been needing some motivation," he laughed.
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"I knew I could count on you!" he nodded with enthusiasm and clapped his hands together.
"I didn't want to post about it on the bulletin cuz... well, I thought the nurses would get mad if they found out. But we'll plan it all in secret, okay? Just let me know when and I'll be ready!" Even if it failed spectacularly, at least it would give them all something to focus on for the next few days.
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"Hey, maybe he'll start a fight and that'll be the distraction." Their fights, though they'd always been fake, always caught people's attention.
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"Okay," he agreed, patting Kaoru's head when he'd gotten comfortable. He reached to pat Usa-chan too, missing him for the few minutes he'd been out of reach.
"I'll leave it up to you two, but try really hard not to get sedated, okay? That doesn't look fun at all."
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