"Hellooo? Anyone in there?"
I jumped in my seat and hastily looked up into a pair of ashen eyes. My gaze was drawn to the stark orange scarf wrapped around their neck and shoulders. I slid my eyes back up to the stranger's face to see them blink owlishly down at me.
"Oh, man. That scared me for a second when you didn't respond." The stranger sighed and blew their black bangs back from their forehead in relief. "I see you met the Yosen duo. How'd that go?"
I stayed silent, thinking of an appropriate response. The stranger took my silence as an answer.
"So that's how it is." They nodded in misplaced understanding. "Not good, huh? I could hear your conversation all the way from across the room." They pointed a finger at the resting area with the cushioned chairs set aside by the glass wall that had a pleasant view of the setting sun. I noted the color of the sky matched the color of their scarf.
"I do not think Himuro-san regards me as his friend anymore," I said offhandedly, knowing the other person would not understand. Himuro-san's furious outburst reflected that of Kagami-kun's earlier today. I did not understand why my presence caused so much unrest. Saying my worries out loud relieved them somewhat.
"You talked!" The stranger slapped a hand over their mouth, gray-blue eyes widening. "I mean...er, that guy is just suspicious of strangers. I wouldn't take it to heart." They leaned in closer, moving their hand to whisper in a gossipy manner. "I heard he got into some street brawl in the States that permanently scarred him, and that's why he's always got that 'keep out danger' vibe around him."
I regarded the black-haired stranger, a sociable male of some undetermined youth, and remembered. "I do not know your name."
"You're right." The man agreed after a moment, as if coming to the same realization. He held out his hand. "I'm Takao Kazunari. Nice to meet you...?"
"Kuroko." I took his cool, strong hand in a steady grip. What the significance of the action was for, I did not know.
"Kuroko. I think we're going to get along the best." Takao-kun pumped my hand once and released it to snake an arm around my shoulders. "How about we go meet my buddies where I room?"
"Alright."
I complied and let him steer me out of the dining hall and up a flight of stairs into the second floor where there were signs and arrows directing visitors to each wing and room numbers. Takao-kun paid them no mind and made several turns to a hallway labeled with 'Shuutoku'.
"Here we are." He waved an arm grandly across the open area leading to several numbered doors with name plates. "Good old Shuutoku. Never underestimate the strangeness that goes on around here."
Takao-kun directed me to a door with a green name plate of 'Midorima' etched on it. Along the door's surface and frame were various stickers, charms, and mysterious symbols scrawled in black ink.
"What is this?" I inquired, feeling uneasy.
"My best buddy Shin-chan rooms here." Takao-kun side glanced me with a mysterious light dancing in his eyes. My sense of unease grew. "Would you like to meet them?"
I processed the pros and cons of meeting this person who Takao-kun regarded well enough to introduce first. There was no reason not to, putting aside the unique markings and items on the door. Perhaps they were a person of suspicion. I nodded my consent.
"Okay!" Takao-kun clapped his hands together. "Shin-chan~! We're coming in!" He knocked and pushed his way in without waiting for an answer.
Inside, it was dim with exception to the light from the doorway brightening the wall where multiple shelves held items of different sizes and variety, ranging from normal trinkets to large antiques. I decided the occupant was most definitely a person of suspicion, or had a hobby of collecting random objects that held their fancy.
A figure was seated on the edge of the bed pushed to the wall farthest from the window. They looked to be in the middle of wrapping their fingers with a roll of white tape in one hand. Their face was darkened in shadow, and the dim light reflected across the lenses they wore. It was eerie and strange, just like the contents of the room.
"Takao, I did not say you could enter my room," the man said. He continued wrapping his fingers nonchalantly.
"But Shin-chan, I wanted to show the new guy around," Takao-kun flippantly replied. He pushed me forward. "This is Kuroko. I met him downstairs in the mess hall."
The man Takao-kun called 'Shin-chan' regarded me in judging silence as he took me in. After a moment, he finished taping his fingers and rose from where he sat.
The clothing he wore confused me. Not only was he dressed properly, he also donned a lab coat like Doctor Alex. Perhaps he was not a patient at all.
He loomed, not nearly as intimidating as Murasakibara-kun, but close. His height had me wondering if all patients in the center were tall, excluding Takao-kun. His hair was a fern green like the forest I had seen on my way to Teiko, a color I could not see as flattering on anyone but him. The glasses he wore had to be of a heavy prescription to have frames so thick. In the right angle of light, the reflection obscured his eyes from view.
When he had stepped out into the hallway light, the reflection had been replaced with transparency, and I at last spotted the long lower lashes the man sported behind his lenses. He could almost have been considered a pleasant man to look at if not for the crease between his brows and the frown carved into a stern mouth.
I had an initial sense we would not get along well.
I said my greetings and bowed, hoping the other man would do the same. Instead, he stepped closer and stared at me in silent scrutiny.
"Is there something on my face?" I asked. I looked to Takao-kun questioningly. He shrugged his scarf-covered shoulders, as confused as I.
"You..." the man began, "what is your sign?"
"Pardon?"
"What is your sign?" He repeated, this time with a strange tick of 'nanodayo' ending his words.
This question was not in the book of common etiquette. I glanced to Takao-kun again, this time in panic. The occupant of the room followed my gaze and understood.
"I mean, when were you born?" he clarified. He sighed when I showed no signs of understanding. "Your birth date?"
My panic disappeared and reappeared with two times as much force in a span of seconds. I did not have to tell him the year, right?
"January 31st."
He nodded and pressed a hand to his chin. His irises were several tints lighter than the hair on his head, and they narrowed as he searched me over.
"You're an Aquarius." He gazed at me in pity. "We are not compatible, it seems."
Slightly shocked, I turned to Takao-kun. "Can he read minds?" I asked, astounded that a human could have a power like this.
Takao-kun blinked several times in rapid procession and then bursted into laughter. He covered his mouth when the doctor slash not-patient glared at him, but for some reason his gasps did not cease. He wiped at his eyes as he struggled to capture his breath and his fingers turned white as he clutched his scarf tightly.
With alarm, I recognized this behavior was by no means normal and he needed medical attention immediately.
Little as it was, I noticed the fractional softening of the green haired man's eyes as he stepped up to Takao-kun and slowly rubbed his back in circles. He gently brushed his hands underneath the scarf, lifting it to expose something shiny circling the smaller man's throat. With a few precise mechanical input of buttons, the short labored breaths from Takao-kun become deep and slow. The not-patient, more doctor in the past few minutes than I had seen, glanced at me to gauge my reaction.
Eyes wide and curious, I made no moves to be loud or threatening. I nodded to convey it was alright to proceed.
He rested his gaze on me briefly before focusing on Takao-kun, who was falling limp as he succumbed to sleep. He effortlessly lifted him into his arms and nodded his head toward the door silently. I obliged hurriedly and opened it wider, watching as he walked past to the room directly opposite.
The length of the door was covered from top to bottom in basketball player posters and hawk doodles. 'Takao Kazunari' was emblazoned in fancy sweeping handwriting for the nameplate.
Kicking it open impatiently, he strode inside and laid Takao-kun onto the bed in the middle of the room. Slightly disorganized with miscellaneous items strewn across the floor and any space with parallel surface area, Takao-kun's room was a different type of cluttered. Very careless and unintentional, I read from the vibe. Similar to Kagami-kun in its likeliness.
From the doorway, I watched Midorima-kun pulling the covers over the slumbering man. His taped fingers lingered over the orange material, reluctant to leave him. He adjusted the scarf instead to better hide his neck when he next woke up.
He rearranged the dark hair off of Takao-kun's relaxed face and finally turned away with a tired sigh. Midorima-kun looked up and rose his eyebrows once he saw me silhouetted in the light of the hallway.
"You are very kind," I said, indicating the gentle way he handled Takao-kun.
Another sigh. "Kuroko, I presume?" he said in a hushed tone as he shut the door with a barely audible click. "I apologize in Takao's place. Please, keep what you saw today to yourself. As a doctor and a...friend of Takao's, I advise you to comply in case of future risk for his health."
Gazing at him for a long moment, I nodded once, intending to keep the incident to myself anyway.
At my nod, he pushed his thick glasses up the ridge of his nose with a "hmph". Midorima-kun then gestured to the chairs arranged in the middle of the wing's lobby, and we relocated where we would not disturb many of the residents.
After we were situated comfortably, he got straight to the point.
"Are you a new patient?" Midorima-kun asked, bluntly. "If so, I will have to request you refrain from making contact with Takao from now on. He is easily influenced by others, and as you saw today, it endangers him."
Maintaining my cool mask, I answered as best as I could.
"I am not." He stared at me, waiting for more of an explanation. "You may count me as an aide of some sorts, though not the kind you and Doctor Alex are."
"What do you mean?" Midorima-kun had sat down straight with his back to the chair, but was slowly leaning forward with his forearms on his knees, an assumed gesture for curiosity.
Knowing his true feelings, I elaborated. "I was brought here by Doctor Alex to help solely one person."
Midorima-kun lifted a taped hand to his lips, brows drawn in thought. "Alex? Oh, you mean Doctor Garcia. That is not much different from me, then," he muttered. "Is your charge Takao?"
I shook my head. "They are not registered into Teiko."
"I see." His shoulders sagged in relief, and he caught himself stiffly, not realizing he was reacting this way. He eyed me warily, determining if I noticed or not.
I did, but I made no indication I had on my features. What was his business was of no business of mine.
"May I ask something in return, Midorima-kun?"
An unreadable emotion flickered in his eyes before nodding and silently waiting for me to speak.
"What are you in this place? A doctor? A fellow patient like Takao-kun?" I asked.
Midorima-kun pressed his lips tightly into a line. "I am different from Doctor Garcia, who specializes in another direly needed field. I used to be a head doctor for a well-known hospital. You have probably heard of it, but I do not wish to say. As for why I am residing in countryside Teiko is for one reason, same as you." He glanced quickly at Takao-kun's door and returned his gaze to me. "Anything else on your mind?"
"Only one. Do you know where I can find Doctor Alex's office?"
"Main corridor to your left, a right to the Seirin wing, and straight on to Room 203. My official office can be found in the Miragen wing if you wish to discuss other matters, such as your health concerns."
I rose and bowed with my hands at my sides. "Thank you for your time and advice, Midorima-kun."
"Shouldn't it be Doctor Midorima to you?" If I was reading it correctly, maybe there was a joking lilt in his tone?
"I am nowhere as familiar as Takao-kun," I teased. "And our friendship should not be so formal, I think, if we are to get along." He spluttered indignantly as I strode toward the exit.
I paused and turned back to see him fidgeting with his glasses as his cheeks had reddened. "Midorima-kun?"
"What is it now?" he snapped, though with little bite.
"How do you feel about androids?"
He frowned, appearing to not expect such an off-topic question."The advancement of technology has made it so they are a natural thing in our daily lives. Their existence is certainly remarkable in regards to medical science. What for?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.
Instead of answering, I smiled slightly, a sense of amusement growing as I left for the Seirin wing, leaving behind a bemused Midorima-kun. Murasakibara-kun's 'Mido-chin' was certainly an interesting person to befriend.
A/N:
I am currently writing Chapter 4, so be prepared to be introduced to some more characters! I After the next chapter I might not post for a while until I got things settled, but know I have the upcoming chapters saved to be proofread and published.