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... )
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.
Reply
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."
Reply
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.
Reply
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?"
Reply
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.
Reply
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."
Reply
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.
Reply
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."
Reply
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."
Reply
Leave a comment