he really likes hospitals oh baby [OPEN]
Who: Big Boss & anyone that wants to see a grouchy, blind old man bound to a hospital bed
When: Sunday to Wednesday? WHENEVER YOU LIKE
Where: Skye Medical
Summary: Big Boss almost got killed while chasing the remnants with Triela, but instead of losing his life he just lost his eye and is now in the hospital! Whoo! He also punched a doctor in the ( Read more... )
When: Sunday to Wednesday? WHENEVER YOU LIKE
Where: Skye Medical
Summary: Big Boss almost got killed while chasing the remnants with Triela, but instead of losing his life he just lost his eye and is now in the hospital! Whoo! He also punched a doctor in the ( Read more... )
Anger was a blinding emotion. It had always helped him in the past, but this was a different place, a different world and he needed to be able to go into this with a clear head. If Kadaj was right, they'd go after everyone sooner or later. They had to be taught a lesson, taught that you don't play with Snakes.
He needed to see his Father.
Big Boss had been the most famous, strongest soldier in the world when he was alive. Liquid had never known him falter, or fail. Failure was something applied more to him, to the weaker, inferior of the twins. Not a word applied to Father. But Father was still just a man. He wasn't a hero, because there were no heroes, there were just men who did the right thing in the right places and maybe got lucky a little. Just men who did their job, or just stumbled into it. Despite that knowledge, deep down there had been a tiny part of Liquid's more childish nature that dramatically posed and exclaimed "Father can do anything!". Part of him that had viewed his father as the type of person that never failed.
He was afraid to see him in that condition.
So at first he'd made excuses to himself, evaded the issue. It hadn't lasted. Father would need to talk to him anyway. Brother was gone, Father was in the hospital - this wasn't the time to evade his duty, to indulge in his own childish need for revenge.
In the end, he'd simply made some tea for everyone, to keep their calm, and headed off. It had taken a little longer than he expected. He hadn't known - didn't care to know - where the hospital was, and why would he? Hospitals were risk factors, full of people who thought they knew what was best when what was best was really getting the hell out of the way and not treating them like children. Liquid had a few unhappy memories of hospital-like facilities from his youth. It was not the kind of place he wanted to go back to. He rather pitied his Father, being stuck in this place.
The faint sound of arguments could easily be heard from his father's room, he was sure, but before long he'd managed to bully some nurse into letting him in.
He stood in the doorway to the room, leaning against the doorframe as he studied the man lying there. It was odd, somehow. He didn't like his father, of course he didn't, never had- so why was it oddly painful to see him lying there like that? Why was his throat oddly tight? He swallowed to clear his throat, closing his eyes and sighing lightly. For a moment, his mind seemed to have gone blank and he couldn't remember what he'd come here for. Then it faded and he found himself back in control, if a little disconcerted.
"Father," he called, crossing the room to stand beside the bed, looking down at him. One hand lightly rested against his shoulder in an oddly affectionate gesture, showing the man where he was. Just in case. "Sadly, I'm not here to break you out - they wouldn't let me bring my gun in."
When in doubt, sarcasm.
Liquid's natural resource when there was nothing he could think of to say.
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When Liquid touched him (just a few inches away from his throat--), he flinched, and his breathing became erratic for a few seconds. He's going to kill me. There was no way in hell Liquid wouldn't use that opportunity, right? Instinctively, he grasped the man's wrist as hard as possible in his current condition, ready to break it because his subconscious registered it as a threat. It took a bit for rationality to kick back in.
When backed into a corner like that, with almost no defenses, you're little more than animal instinct, and automatically perceive everything as a threat; especially someone who'd told you before that they wanted to kill you.
But not like this. Jack didn't doubt that Liquid was aware that he was in no condition to deliver a fair fight, and one Liquid could be proud of winning.
No, no, no. Come on. Pull yourself together.
"That's too bad," he exhaled, and only just now realized that he'd been holding his breath. he released Liquid's wrist, too, albeit a little more reluctantly. Like relaxing around others wasn't difficult enough already, but now it became a real effort.
And on top of that, he felt pathetic. So frustrated that he might have cried, were he able to. But he wasn't going to show anymore weakness, so that was just fine.
He'll take this gracefully. Self-pity doesn't become him.
"And here I was hoping that somebody has finally come to kill me. Would be far more preferable to this."
Gracefully.
"Just kidding."
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Still, he couldn't really blame the man for being paranoid. He wouldn't have waited if he'd been in the same situation. His fingers lightly drummed against Big Boss' shoulder, a silent reprimand. It was oddly pitiful to see, that paranoid reaction.
For a moment, he'd almost snapped into paranoia himself at the feel of those strong fingers around his wrist, restraining his movements. If his father had had a weapon of some kind there, anything- but no, that was foolishness. This was a hospital, and there were easier ways to kill someone than to fake injury.
Ignoring the chair, he sank down onto the edge of the bed, leaning over the man so he could study him better. The man was probably aware of it, if not by the sounds than by the feel of long hair lightly brushing against his skin. He brushed it back over his shoulder, only to feel it slip forward again, before giving up.
The man's condition didn't really look so bad to him, save for the bandage over the eyes. That was the only injury that he would have paid a heightened level of attention to if it had occured to him.
He didn't make a mention of the man's paranoia. It was perfectly normal to him. It simply slotted into place after the initial surprise faded. An ordinary part of life. Take everything as a threat - especially from him. It would have been easy for him to kill the man like this. It had been part of his motivation for continuing on for the longest time. Somehow, he knew he wasn't going to.
"Assuming you came back, it might have been a valid option, but without knowing for sure, there's too high a risk factor for that," he replied, smiling just the tiniest bit at the show of humor. "Don't worry, I'll be happy to kill you some other time when you're less helpless." It was an idle joke. How had his life changed to this absurd level? When he'd heard Father was hurt, he'd been defensive, angry, and not just because someone else had been trying to steal his right to revenge. Why? Surely the man couldn't have come to mean something.
There was a pause while he mulled over that revelation before dismissing it. This wasn't the time. "When are they letting you out?" he asked.
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When.
"I don't know," he replied. When they decided what to do about my eyesight, I guess. Until now, no one had even told him what exactly was up with that...irreparable damage probably wasn't out of the question. His arm was nothing, and would heal up quickly, especially with some help. The abdominal wound wasn't too bad, either, so that couldn't be the reason why they kept him here.
Maybe it was someone else's doing. Edgeworth, perhaps. He wouldn't put it past him. Jack was seriously debating if he should just ask Liquid to help him get out of here, though that would prove to be difficult. Aside from the eye problem...
"They don't tell me. Keep me drugged instead. I can barely move." Well, he supposed that's what you get for almost killing a doctor, and achieving precisely nothing with that. If they had done more modifications to his body (like removing his other scars, god help them), he was going to blow this hospital skyhigh.
"Listen," he began again, making an effort to sit up. It took a while, but it wasn't too painful. The drugs had made him numb. No way he could just walk out of the hospital like this. With his one healthy, functioning arm, he reached for Liquid's upper arm (took him two tries, missing him by an inch the first time), but this time not to hold him in a threatening grip, but in a similarly affectionate gesture - and to have something to hold onto. The initial paranoia had worn off, fortunately.
"You probably already know the rough basics of what happened. Whatever you do, don't retaliate. I don't -" He paused, ducking his head for a second, inhaling. "I don't know when and if I'll fully recuperate. This will have repercussions anyway, so it's more important to do some damage control now. I'll take full responsibility for that, because I'm the one that miscalculated and failed, but I need help. It's not about me. It's about protecting everyone else before they suffer because of my mistake. I'm sorry that I'm asking this of you, but please make sure that everyone is safe and that they don't do anything stupid, together with Kaz. I can't - I can't protect anyone in my condition."
Not like he ever could when he was in better condition. It wasn't easy to admit that.
"A soldier's purpose is to fight for those that are too weak to fight and protect themselves. I'm weak now. So's Triela. So are others. It's up to you to recognize that and decide on the best course of action, and it's not always retaliation."
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The words that came out of his father's mouth were expected. The gesture was not. The feel of his father's hand against his arm was almost comforting in a strange sense. He sat in silence for a long moment before speaking, wondering what to say.
"Father," he began, almost gently. "If I was planning on retaliating I'd have gone after them first, rather than coming here. One of them was ranting over the NV about what happened. I spoke to him, found out what happened. Talked Tsuna out of antagonising him. If I was going to retaliate I would have gone after him then, while he was weakened, while I was angriest."
A sigh slipped out as he paused. "Not that I don't plan on dealing with them eventually. Kadaj said that he was going to kill a lot of people in retaliation for this. At one point he said he planned to kill everyone in the future. If that does become an eventuality, I'll deal with him. Until then..."
Another pause. He brought a hand up to lightly cover his father's. "I wanted to hurt him, but I kept thinking about what would happen if I left everyone to handle themselves. With you gone... they don't need my recklessness causing more chaos."
It was odd, to admit those thoughts to his father. He had been so angry, so eager for revenge. Why had he bothered to hold back, to see his Father? Was it just their talk the other day that had effected him? No, the words hadn't meant that much to him. Liquid wasn't afraid of retaliation - not against himself, anyway. It had been the thought of leaving everyone with Miller and Otacon that had stilled him. Triela injured, Father in the hospital, Snake still gone... that left them with highly lowered defences.
"They didn't know who you were until Tsuna mentioned your names," he mused. "Didn't care. Kadaj said you weren't his concern any more, and that he had another target in mind."
There was a casualness to the last words. He wasn't going to admit how long he'd spent talking to the silver haired madman - or that he didn't really care who the target was as long as it wasn't one of them. If they were weak enough to die, that was their own problem.
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His hand sank, just as his heart. Exactly what he'd expected, and feared; that Kadaj and his brothers would now punish others for his failure. There was no way in hell he'd know that Sam and Edgeworth had anything to do with it; unless Sam told them himself. Aside from Sam, Big Boss was the only one that knew.
But did it really matter, in the end, who had hired him? Those silver haired freaks had made a lot of enemies, and killed people for no reason. Then again, a lot of people had probably also died that night, again for no reason - because he wasn't able to kill them. And even if he managed to do that, who could guarantee they wouldn't just come back and take their revenge then? Violence just spawns more violence. He knew that best.
It was pointless. The whole bounty hunting business here was pointless. Then again, what was the difference? No matter if the enemies stay the same or not, you still keep doing the same thing, and people will die. That's what he does. That's what he is. That's why he had agreed to this, because he didn't know how to do anything else.
It's as simple as that, but it's still no excuse.
"They killed people even before this," he said.
He doesn't like to see others suffer, but his own group always has the highest priority. He'd failed the mission and lost his client, so protecting Sam wasn't his task anymore, either.
"Did you find out who that target is?"
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He rather hoped Kadaj had listened. The man had seemed much calmer by the end of their conversation. It didn't bother him if Edgeworth was hurt or even killed - Liquid had long since learnt how to repress things like that, and Edgeworth hadn't been important to him anyway - but the idea of Kadaj striking blindly out at whoever jumped to mind was pitiful.
Glancing around the room, he frowned at it. It seemed wrong, somehow, that his father should be confined here. He wasn't sure what to say. 'You were lucky' didn't really fit. His father would probably have been better off dead than blinded. "If nothing else, I'll keep the little 'family' you've been building safe," he mused.
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Safe, maybe, but as much as he could dislike Edgeworth at times, he didn't deserve to be killed - even though Kadaj and Yazoo had already been targeting him, but the chaos that could cause...not to say that Sam could blame him for it, if anything happened to Edgeworth.
God, this was just a pile of crap. And even if he had any idea as for what to do, his hands would be bound. Maybe next time, before accepting any assignment, he should make sure that no one he actually called a friend was involved in it. Sam...he needed to talk to Sam, as soon as possible.
--Where was his NV?
It wasn't on his body, so they must have taken it.
"Liquid, my NV. It's not here, is it? Can you get it back from the doctors? I really need it." And he added, as an afterthought, "And perhaps a cigar. They won't let me smoke in here, and I'm slowly going crazy."
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He laughed a little at the last part, honestly amused. Typical of his father. Really, he didn't know what Snake or Father saw in those cigarettes. Besides, the doctors would know the moment they smelt the smoke. "I can probably sneak the cigars in. What does the NV look like? If the police haven't confiscated them, I'll get your things back."
It was almost a relief to hear his father sounding so normal. He rose to his feet, feeling considerably calmer.
There were still issues that needed to be worked through. Father was still irreparably injured, if Kadaj was right, and there would probably be people investigating the man. This entire event was utter bullshit and he still itched to shoot something - or someone. Despite that, he kept his voice level and calm.
"Just be patient."
Such a comical thing to hear from him.
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He explained to Liquid what it looked like - small, military radio. Not a fancy phone or computer thing.
"I've been nothing but," Jack said, and trusted himself to smile a little, even though he still looked horrible and there was absolutely no humor in it. The more time passed, the greater the panic became. He can still fire a gun, yes. But what good is a gun when you can't see who you're aiming it at. No eyes. Useless. Expendable. "Thanks. I owe you one."
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The hospital was not as easy to navigate as he'd hoped. Nothing ever was, really. Liquid's speciality was not stealth, not like his brother. That didn't mean he couldn't sneak around when he wanted to. He was rather more distinctive than he'd have liked, but it was easy enough to spot and evade the security cameras. People were harder to evade.
It was a good thing the hospital was busy. Security had been tightened and with recent events, one more visitor wandering the halls was easily dismissable. The problem was that he had no idea where the things he was looking for would be. That was why it took so long for him to retrieve his father's equipment and hide it in his coat - and a little longer to find his way back, since he was utterly lost by then.
He returned to the room, hiding outside while one of the nurses was inside before slipping back in. His footsteps were not nearly as silent as Snake's would have been, but he didn't speak until he was beside the man again. He simply pressed the NV into his hand.
"Here. I retrieved the rest of your possessions as well. I believe I got all of it, at least."
He spoke softly, keeping his voice low so that nobody listening in could hear. "I got your cigars, too. Just don't get caught with them, for God's sake."
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