Black Box Society Day 4 Morning(Continued)
"Edi-ou~ Good Morning~ " Ino greeted his co worker as he entered the hospital room he was staying at. He carried a black messenger bag and two large paper bags about ready to burst. He had a refreshed pep in his step and a fanged grin on his face. This mood turned to curiosity. "Eh? Rough night?"
Eddy looked like he participated in Fight Club. He was disheveled, fidgety and covered in a mix of white bandage straps from his neck to his hands. Just a couple bruises on his face and he would be his complete lack of surprise. "They didn't tell me they were going to give me a 5 inch shot in the gut at 5 in the morning," Eddy spoke as calmly as one who is in fear of being forced asleep again would be. He moved his book to his nightstand. Above his belly button was a familiar square. It was almost symmetrical with everything else. "I'm not an old man, why should they worry about blood clots anyway?"
"Heheh~ If I didn't know any better," Ino laughed placing two full plastic bags near the window sill to the right of the wardrobe. "I would of said you have a curse following you around."
"Would not surprise me," Eddy sighed putting on his gown. "I once had a house drop on me you know. And that was when I actually wanted to get hurt. Didn't even do its job."
Ino blinked. "If I didn't know anything about Obe or Peach Creek, I would of thought that was babble you just told me."
Eddy wanted to prod since the topic was raised but he didn't want to risk anything. He just turned to Ino's new additions to the room. "What's in those bags? You finally decided on a new dog house to lay on."
"He-he-h-he-heh, shut up Woodstock," Ino's sarcasm infected his laugh. He then turned back to normal with a puff of steam leaving his nose. "These are gifts. Looks like you are getting notoriety around here. Savior of the Flower of Kokoro Academy."
"Did Sayori rat me out?" Eddy asked a little frustrated. Not from the girls behavior but from her inconsistency.
"Yeah, for two home-made snickerdoodles from a Rasputin," Ino laughed. "Now you know why I keep her away from my phone conversations when I make meals."
So much for low profile, Eddy thought slumping over as Ino fiddled with one of the bags.
"You have plenty of time to look through them when you get home," Ino smirked as he pulled a brown envelope from the top of the jostled bag. "However I want you to open this now."
"Palisade Town Rumor Mill Authority," Eddy read from the top of the parcel. His eyes started to shine in reverence. The head honchos? He tore into the parcel and inside was a single white sheet of paper. It just had a letter n in the middle "What's this?"
"How much do you know about the Rumor Mill Identification Name?" Ino asked like a teacher.
"Not much, I wasn't in the register when I was working with Obe," Eddy recollected. "I had to learn that I had a RMIN from Boss when Sado called her about what happened with Sayori. She told me it was important but didn't get into specifics, it wasn't really appropriate at the time."
Ino beamed pridefully. "Eddy, in this town your RMIN is your standing in the community. This standing is what sets apart good hard-working folk from the dregs. This standing is shown on the number of letters in the second half of the name. 2 is the basic level, everyone starts at this level, even if they are not registered. You do a good enough deed you get 3 letters. This is the elevated standard, you are able to get benefits at this stage, payroll, health insurance, term life, dental and eye. The whole nine yards. You also get voting power in the elections so I'm going to harp on you to vote like mad when the time comes. It's our civil duty after all."
"Wait, does this mean I-" Eddy was glad he was sitting down for this.
"That's right Edi-oun, that right there is your third letter. Great wo-Gah!" Ino was pulled into a bear hug by Eddy.
"I FINALLY MADE IT PAPA INO~" Eddy yelled in joy as his griped around the dog's waist. Flowers appeared around him. "MY SHIP HAS COME IN!"
"Hey! Too close! 3 feet! 3 feet! People will stare Baka!" Ino roared trying to pry his underage ward off. He succeeded by pushing the kid back. Eddy raced back to his bed."And you still got to make a living. No resting on your laurels just because you're known now, that clear? Your ship did not "come in"."
"I know that, I just wanted to see how you would react," Eddy grinned picking up The Portrait of Markov from his nightstand. "Do I get those benefits now?"
"Not until your 18, after that you get the whole sha-bang," Ino gave a thumbs up.
"Sounds good Ino-hene," Eddy started to read but stopped. He was curious. "hold on, you're a fourth level RMIN aren't ya? What does a forth level give ya?"
"Can't tell you that," Ino said pulling up a chair and placing his bag on the floor next to it.
"Because of the box?" Eddy raised an eyebrow.
"Even if your memory was clear, you run the risk of developing Epiphany if I told you," Ino looked to his feet.
"Kind of harsh isn't it?" Eddy asked unnerved.
"You have no idea," Ino simply stated. He pulled out a volume of Fruits Basket. "Heaven knows I want to tell though. You look like you would be able to make it to 4."
"W-what makes you say that?" Eddy was touched but he didn't understand.
"You are not from here," Ino said happily a pink glow graced his eyes. "And you're already one of us after a month. It takes someone with very special traits to be able to pull that off, Rookie."
Eddy noticed the glow but he was afraid to say something and ruin the mood. He chuckled. "And to think I was planning to fight you four days ago."
"I've-" Ino looked away ashamed. "been meaning to apologize about the way I acted then. I just got into town, and I wanted to show that I was willing to follow orders, and-"
"Water under the bridge Ino, don't worry about it," Eddy waved off his mentor's worries as he began to read."You've shown your true colors already." If this was a bait statement Ino didn't acknowledge it. A small blush did appear in the dog's complexion though.
For an hour or so the men just read their books to the hum of the air conditioning and the activity of the hospital around them. Eddy soon noticed Ino's increased agitation. Like he was not handling something well being in that room.
This silence ended when Eddy spoke up."Is Abe here too?"
"Y-yeah, he's in Miss President's room, it looks like a floral shop now," Ino spoke not looking up from his manga. "He said he felt inspired to write about it."
"I figured Monika was popular based on the traffic around here, but how popular are we talking about?" Eddy raised an eyebrow. "It sounds like people kiss her feet or something."
"From what Onzai's been telling me she is the ideal that people aspire to be in the Academy," Ino placed his book down and moved his hands like he was holding a statue. "All the girls want to be her, all the boys want to date her. She is pretty much the closest Palisade Town has to a School Idol."
"Sayori does like to talk people up though," Eddy nodded a little for emphasis.
"I don't discredit that, but my allergies says there's truth to her sentiments," Ino pointed to the general direction of Monika's room with his thumb. "And that is just because the Mill heralds were able to spin the crowd into thinking of this as just a Crimson Attack."
"I'm a little interested to know how they would of reacted to her having Epiphany," Eddy wondered as a chunk of last night bout played in his head. "From what I remember it isn't really something that can be easily covered up."
"We do our jobs, we won't have to find out," Ino simply returned to his book. There was an apprehension to his voice. "They don't call it the Rumor Mill for legal purposes you know. Even though it wears many hats now, it can still do real damage to someone if the wrong people are informed."
"R-right," Eddy replied as a chill went through his spine. He had just stumbled across the "Selective Breeding Process" Sado said he was worried about, in Markov. Without giving away spoilers it is intense in both description and connotation. Eddy grew uneasy and almost needed a minute to process. No wonder everyone in that camp went berserk on the lead researcher. I hope that third eye opening was worth it Ahn-tou. That's all I'm saying.
After a few minutes Eddy decided to try to make sense of his recent memory. The key word there was try, he couldn't get pass Yuri's last rites. Seeing her in such a state nearly brought the Scammer to tears again. He shook to get the visual out of his head. His sadness turned to anger. He wanted answers but it seemed the only people that were aware of what was happening are either dead, was dead, was too deep in a trance to be of any help, and not in any condition for "fond" reminiscing respectively.
For all intensive purposes he was stuck until his or Monika's flippant gatekeepers decides they are ready to remember the closest truth. I hate amnesia tropes! Yuri isn't dead anyway so this is just making me feel bad for no reason! I just- need to try and relax now. Things are settling down now hopefully. Granted, last time I said that, it was a false positive, I get that, I understand that. It was bound to happen. I'm not exactly a good teller of fortunes.
Eddy breathed in and out slowly. He returned to the unpublished horror in his hands. B-besides I'm nearing the end of Markov. At least I can say I read a horror book once. Wouldn't everyone be surprised. Yes, that's good, and I think Yuri will like that someone could keep up with her words. It took a while I will concede, but I figured out the gist of it.
Eddy hummed pridefully as he entered the climax. He was sold enough to make it that far. And he was too invested to stop. His eyes had a mirthful shine as he dived back into the camp's sins.
Alright Lady Matsumoto,
Open the Third and End the Tome.
You have carried the Eye,
Now make it writhe!
After another few minutes Ino rose up from his seat."I'm getting something from the vending machines, you want anything?"
"Hot Fries if they got it, please and thank you," Eddy turned to the last page. Ino nodded and left the room.
Another few, a knock came from the door. "McGee-san? Are you awake?" A man's voice asked softly as he entered. At first glance the man could have been confused for an older version of Sado in a white over coat. The differences became more apparent upon closer inspection, he had a redish tint in his eyes, his hair was pulled into a back-knot, his form was thinner and more defined. And he had a foot difference in height.
"As well as I can be," Eddy replied as he finished Markov. He closed the book and looked up. The eye on the book closed and disappeared. An indigo insignia appeared in its place. "No thanks to the knock out juice."
The man made a coy smile and raised his hands like he was trying to defend himself. "Sorry about that, the night shift had to follow protocol, I had no say in that. Memory re-integration can get a little intense, especially when it comes without warning,"
Especially when it took the term Death of the Author too literally. Eddy nearly slammed his head into the back of his bed for thinking that. "H-how are my numbers Dr. Sado?"
"Let's find out," The man turned to a monitor on the side of the counter. He made a few keystrokes. "From what I see, your blood cell count has returned to acceptable levels, so that's good. You may feel a little dizzy but we can safely say you would be allowed to leave on that regard. And after a little fine-tuning after last night's escapades the Encapsulation should be running as it should be; so unless you have any questions I can give you my stamp of approval for your release."
"Uh, this is a little embarrassing, but could you explain why the box was acting up back at the school? I don't think I understood you the first time around," Eddy rubbed the back of his head. I hate forcing someone into exposition dumps.
"No problem, You were in and out of consciousness; so I would be more surprised if you didn't need me to explain it again," Dr. Sado chuckled then began his explanation. "As you are already aware, the Crimsons are not as smart as Violets, nor as strong as Pinks, but it makes up for it by having the strongest hexes of all Color variants. The most dangerous ones are the hexes: Happy Thoughts and Sayonara. What had befallen Miss Shashi was the deadly Sayonara, what happened to you is the less deadly but equally painful Happy Thoughts. Happy Thoughts is triggered when the Crimson roars in pain during a dust-up. Happy Thoughts almost works the same as Sayonara in the sense that it activates 12 hours after trigger, but Happy Thoughts is more effective against abstracts like your Encapsulation Case and Naomi's Black Box."
"Wait, did the crimson know I had a box?" Eddy was unnerved.
"I think it's more likely, since it wasn't happy enough to talk to you it had to resort to using that hex. I think it didn't know anything about you," Dr. Sado scratched his chin.
"I don't think it knew anything about Takeshi either, it still began talking to him though," Eddy pondered.
"I know and it's the strangest thing," Sado mused. "The Colors have always been a problem here but for some strange reason all variants seems to become happy when a Sado talks to them. Not just my son but everyone in the my family is able to do it. It was this trait that we were able to save a lot of lives during the Veil Wars. It is a helpful trait I tell you."
"Seems to me it would cause a lot of problems too," Eddy reminded. "Takeshi was distraught when he realized he caused Monika to become cursed."
"He did the right thing though all things considered, the Color was not going to stop attacking after it did it's job," Dr. Sado spoke with relief in his voice. "And if Monika wasn't cursed we never would of caught her Epiphany in time. So really she has her life thanks to you two."
Eddy didn't much care for the recap but he was loving the praise. "I-i'll be sure to let Takeshi know that next time I see him."
"He already knows, and don't think I didn't leave out Sayori as well," The doctor wanted not to step on any feet.
"Anyone who can do a textbook Scorpion Tail Swipe deserves praise just from that," Eddy grinned.
"Huh?" The doctor asked.
"I'm back," Ino's voice sounded off into the room. "They didn't have the Hot variety so you may have to settle with Nacho Cheese."
"Did you empty the whole thing out?!" Eddy cried out seeing Ino enter with a bag of vending machine snacks and a mischievous grin.
"I tried out Suki's trick and it payed off big time," Ino smirked. He noticed the Doctor and his eyes sparkled. "Hey! Now there's someone I wanted to see again!"
Dr. Sado glanced at Eddy's guest. The doctor face turned to shock. "Ino?"
Ino paced the snacks on the counter and gave a small smile. "Dr. Yoki Sado, it's been a while old friend."
The two men shook hands The Doctor looked like he saw a ghost. "It has, it has. How have you been? How long have you been in town? I- I thought you were dead."
"Don't believe the hype," Ino commented chuckling. "Nice to see having a family didn't stop you from following hair trends. How's the missus?"
"She's fantastic, she finally landed that position in Rendering," Dr. Sado spoke proudly.
"Bout time, that waiting list is a bear," Ino laughed then rubbed the Doctor's shoulder. "Yoki~ We should meet up somewhere soon. I'm sure you have some new stories hidden in that dome of yours."
"I-I would like that a lot actually," D. Sado mused. "I'm actually hosting a dinner at the house tonight with Naomi's parents. If you want to come along we can make you a plate."
"I appreciate the offer but I have a meeting with an associate of mine tonight, maybe you wouldn't mind if McGee-san takes my place," Ino pointed to the foreigner. Who unbeknownst to the snack bringer had already pilfered his cheese fries, 3 protein bars, a can of coffee, and was nibbling on a chocolate chip cookie when he was caught. "Rookie! Get your own machine technique if you're hungry so much!"
"McGee-san seems to be picking up Sayori's bad habits," Dr. Sado laughed at Ino's rapid tone shift.
"Not my fault you get carried away in conversations," Eddy smirked as he tore into the case of cheese dusted potato sticks. "I'm up for that dinner if you would have me Doc."
"You won't hear a rejection from me," D. Sado returned to his duties. "It looks like everything is in order here. I will let the administrators know that you are cleared to leave. Just need to run one last test and you will be a free man."
"Sounds great Doc," Eddy responded with a gulp of sweetened coffee.
- It's nice we are able to talk under better circumstances. -
D. Sado just smiled at the Ed-boy. His eyes had a strange glow.
What? Eddy felt a jolt as heard the doctor's voice in his head.
-Do not be alarmed. This is just a final test of the Case's diagnostic system, don't mind me. -
A little more warning would have been nice. Eddy thought. Didn't know I was dealing with magical mystical wizards in this place.
The voice laughs.
- And done. Dinner's at 7. You don't need to dress up. -
"I have to get going now, business never sleeps here," The doctor bowed, then turned to his friend. "I'll keep in touch."
"Number didn't change Yoki. Thanks for helping out," Ino shook the doctor's hand again. And with that, the two utility workers were left to their own devices again.
"H-how did he do that?" Eddy stuttered. "He was in my head! What was that?"
"A small taste of what a legitimate level 5 RMIN standard is capable of," Ino spoke cryptically. "This town is crazy Edi-oun. Just breathe slowly, and listen to the air conditioning. We have checks and balances on all of this."
With that statement, Eddy spent a few minutes deep breathing as his mind raced with the implications of this information. And then with a shake of his head and a gulp he turned to Ino and asked. "Do you have clean clothes? I don't want to visit Monika looking like a slasher victim."
Ino laughed and shook his head. "That right there is why we consider you one of us. I have some in the wardrobe, I'll get them for you. "