Title: Essence
Description: Role-play Inspired
Disclaimers: ©Kazuya Minekura
Author's Note: Entirely role-play and collaborated with Alias
It had been three days.
Nii Jienyi lounged in his usual black blouse with a yellow tie, loosely wrapped around his collar. Sitting in upright position with his rumpled khaki's stretches across on the infirmary bed with his back on the pillow against the wall. He grimaces slightly in pain, as he moves around a bit. He then leans forward, reaching for table before him as he grabs the new pack of cigarettes that was given to him by the prince.
The doctor gave an odd glance before he popped out the nicotine out from the box and lit it. It wasn't the first time he had opened the pack either, since he last saw Kou Gaiji leaving the recovery room without a word the day before. He begins his usual ritual by leaning back casually with arms folded behind his head with the cigarette loosely hanging from his lips, letting it smoulder between hits.
It had been too quiet. Even with or without the prince presence.
The day somehow it didn't feel quite right, as if it was couple of days ago. Nii Jienyi reached for his bunny doll sitting from the side of the bed and places it next to him with one hand lightly holding it by his side. The doll smiled back endlessly as both of them stared across the emptied room, he then look down at his bunny doll and gave a long expiratory sigh.
"You don't suppose I messed up this time?" He asked, looking slightly worried.
The bunny doll gave no answer.
It wasn't long till one of the prince's servants enters the sickroom with a cart full of medicine. Yaone strolls cart across the room to one the nearby cabinets and opening few of the bottom draws. She began to fill up the emptied labelled bottles through the medications she had made and minding her own business as she does so. Nii observes quietly from his position as he takes a drag from his nicotine. He hadn't really taken noticed when the mousy apothecary came in. He takes it and opened his mouth, but nothing came out. The doctor takes another dragged hit from his cigarette and tries again.
"Have you seen, Kou Gaiji?"
Yaone swung her head towards the tone of voice. She acknowledged him that yet he was still alive, even though her mindset thought differently. She continues working away busily while ignoring the doctor presence. The pharmacist then worked her way up the cupboards and at a very quick pace, dealing with each mixture of drug. She pours the various substances them into various sized bottles, then placing them back into the cabinets.
The doctor closed his eyes in annoyance. Although, he would often managed to get her attention without a problem. He opened his eyes again with smiled spread across his face. He then hesitantly tries again.
"Have you seen, Kou Gaiji?" He questioned, using the same tone of voice.
The pharmacist turned her head again. "Even if I know where he is, I wouldn't tell you." She answered politely with a tad of coldness in her voice. Yaone finished with her last batch of medications and quietly pace out the room leaving the doctor alone.
"We have a bitter apothecary today..." The doctor rings out a short laugh, grinning somewhat at the pain that still lingers in his body. He sat a while longer as he finishes up the last of his cigarette, before he actually decides to move out the room and back into the laboratory. He had wondered where the prince might be in the palace, or perhaps gone reporting to his usual duties.
Nii narrowed his eyes as stares at the pack of cigarettes again, and then shoves it into his back pocket. He props off the bed, grabbing his book things, and his precious bunny doll, then exits the room. He walks down the large hallway until he reached a door leading into an elevator shaft. The doctor waits for a few minutes before he then enters the elevator, which led to the ground level of the palace. Nii Jienyi headed towards the stairwell and took a flight down the stairs into a narrow hallway, located several meters away from the main laboratory chamber.
The doctor prodded down the narrow hallway and into his private quarters. He drops off his books on the desk and glances over at his bunny doll; he goes through his many options and then discards all his ideas completely. He then lazily wanders out the room and closes the door behind him. He then puts back on his enigmatic smile with his cigarette hanging to one side. He enters the laboratory.
Nii quietly strolls past his fellow assistants. He completely ignores them as they work away. He heads towards the laboratory storage room and takes out a fresh lab coat. Since the last one got battered up with unwashable red paint, dealing with an unpredictable situation that he never thought that would happen. He continued to muses over the incident from time to time. Nii puts on the new lab coat, re-does his tie and heads out the chamber into the large hall with both hands shoved into his coat pocket, along with his valuable cigarettes and lighter.
As Nii walks out into the hall, seeing a guest that had been waiting on him dearly. A long smirk stretched across his face with the nicotine hanging from the side of his lips. "Servants like you should really learn to listen..." He grins, as his voice glides up with amusement. The liegeman did not hesitate; he dashed forward throwing a punch towards the doctor's jaw. Nii casually sidestepped away, dodging the blow. He extended out one foot tripping over the brunette demon.
The doctor swung his head towards the prince's servant watching him fall onto floor his all fours, from behind. "You might learn something, Dokugakuji." He says as he sits on his heels, still sneering away. Nii takes the cigarette from his mouth and looks at it with curiosity dancing in his eyes, before smoking up the darn thing again.
Dokugakuji glares at the doctor from the ground, "You bastard, what-"
"I haven't done anything to him." Nii answers, cutting him off.
"More importantly... Where is Kou Gaiji?"
The liegeman stares at the floor, unwillingly to give an answer.
"Well..." Nii muse to himself as he waits patiently.
Dokugakuji cursed at himself and gives up. "He's in his room, on the second floor."
The liegeman then rose to his feet. "If you-"
"I heard you the first time." Nii grins to himself as he stalks off again.
The doctor heads into another elevator shaft near the experimental laboratory chamber. He waits a bit and then enters the elevator, heading up to the second level. Nii continues to stroll down long stretched hallway; he managed to find the prince's chamber with the door wide open. He leaned himself up against the doorframe and silently watched Kou Gaiji for a few minutes before entering.
The prince had been lying in his bed, on his side with one hand flung over his other arm. Troubled and unable to sleep, he continues to stare at the wall before him, and yet oblivious to the guest outside his bedroom door. He released a deep sigh, then closes his eyes and tries to rest up again.
Nii paces into the room and then take his seat by the mattress. He takes the golden skin hand and gently holds it, and quietly smiles down at the prince as he does so. Kou Gaiji shifted his head and looks up at the figure. He looks at the doctor somewhat startled, but not surprised either. He groans, turning his head back to the wall and tries to sleep for the fifth time. He shrugged off the hand from touching him.
"Go away..."
Nii let go of his hand immediately, still smiling softly at the prince. He grabs an extra pillow and sits it up against the headboard. Still wincing slightly at the pain as he moves, he then hitches himself upwards and lies lazily on the cushion. He smirks as he removes his white coat. Only taking out his nicotine and lighter from one of the pockets, placing onto the bared table; then discards his jacket onto the floor.
The doctor looks down, grinning at the prince. "Make me..."
Nii then shrugs as he removes the last of his cigarette from his mouth. He looks at it and makes a face, then tossing the remains into the garbage. The doctor returns to his daily routine again by taking the pack of nicotine from the table, tapping the end of the box as he does to pop out a stick, and then place the entire pack back onto the bared table. He takes the nicotine and puts it between his lips, then lights it up the precious thing as he blow few light streaks of grey clouds into the air.
Kou Gaiji still facing the wall. "Can't you ever leave me alone?" He grumbled.
"Cause you know I can't."
Nii glances at him, pillowing the back of his head with his hands with his cigarette dandling from his lips. He stares at the prince for several long minutes before speaking again. "Kou Gaiji..." The prince turns his head around and looks at the doctor. As usual being confused and puzzled.
"I don't want to you thinking the wrong way..." He says in a quiet subtle voice.
Kou Gaiji could only stare back, blinking a few times.
The doctor continues. "Just because I sent you back off to your duties..." Kou Gaiji turns slightly away as he begins sulking a bit. Nii reaches over, gently resting his hand above the prince's wine coloured hair. The prince remains silent; he moves his head back to the opposite direction glancing at the doctor.
"Don't trust me?" Nii says, with a soft smile. Kou Gaiji shifts his body away from the wall and moves in a bit closer towards the doctor. He raises his head and lays his head as he closes his eyes, resting on the doctor's lap. Nii leans forward; reaching for the bed sheets, he snatches them, covering the prince. Nii glances down at Kou Gaiji; he takes one hand softly and playfully stroking each strand of the prince's hair, quietly watches over him as he sleeps.
END