Tick. Tick. Tick.
Dunamis watched through dull eyes as the hands of the clock jerked forward with every second that crawled by. A few hours ago, the nurse had come running at the sound of his screams. After she had sedated him, Dunamis hadn't missed the wary glance that she had shot his way.
She probably thinks I'm crazy, he thought bitterly, hands fisting in his blankets. Even I'm starting to wonder if I'm completely sane.
Of course you aren't, the voice crooned in the back of his mind. You never were quite right in the head.
Shut up! Dunamis snapped wearily.
The curse chuckled. Dunamis was relieved that the curse's image had disappeared as soon as the nurse had arrived, however the voice still remained, taunting him endlessly. The guardian stared out the window, watching the bustling stream of cars below. Vaguely, he wished the sounds of the evening traffic rush could be louder.
Maybe it'll drown out the voice.
As if in a daze, he pushed himself out of the bed and staggered over to the window. Wrenching open the metal clasp, he shut his eyes as a stinging gust of air buffeted his face. Instantly, the distant sounds of honking cars and the rush of speeding vehicles increased until they filled the room with a jangling cacaphony.
The dark whispers were forgotten, as Dunamis concentrated to the noises below. He gripped the windowsill tightly, leaning out as far as he dared.
The wind nipped at his skin, blessedly numbing. He sighed, eyes shadowed and pensive, as the world seemed to pass him by. He searched for the stars, but they remained hidden from sight.
Why am I always alone?
...~*~...~*~...~*~...
"Hello, I'm Dr. Kobayashi Osamu. Your name is Titi, right?"
The pink-haired child nodded, legs swinging as he perched in the chair. The paint on his tanned cheeks was looking a bit smudged, probably since he had not had any chance to reapply it. He was dressed in a set of white robes with a black shirt and leggings underneath. According to the nurses, he had insisted on changing out of the hospital clothes as soon as he had woken up in his room.
His neck was bruised, dark blue splotches marring his skin.
"Can I go see Dunamis?" Titi's eyes were as wide and blue as the sky.
"Not yet." The doctor winced as the child instantly deflated, looking down dejectedly.
"You can visit him soon." Osamu reassured him hastily. "But first, you need to answer some questions for me, alright?"
The child nodded again, flinching as the movement aggravated his throat.
"Okay, can you tell me some things about Dunamis-kun? Things like how he acts and his personality."
"Ummm...he's always serious, and he doesn't smile a lot. And he always goes on about Gaia's will and how he only follows he heavens. But he's nice to me, and he's fun to battle." Titi grinned broadly. "I haven't beaten him yet, but I almost knocked him out of the dish last time!"
The doctor nodded, thinking to himself. Gaia's will? Following the heavens? He made a few notes on his clipboard. "You live alone with him right? What about your parents?"
"I don't really remember my parents, and Dunamis never mentioned his." Titi shrugged nonchalantly.
"Then can you tell me how he was acting a few days before he attacked you?"
Titi shifted almost guiltily before reluctantly answering. "He wasn't getting a lot of sleep and he ate a lot less too. I don't know why, but he got angry more often too. And he kept talking to himself when he thought I didn't notice."
"Talking to himself? Did it seem like be was talking to an invisible person?"
Titi hesitated, struggling to recall the conversations that he had eavesdropped on.
"I guess so. But we're the only ones on the mountain. There's no way that he could be talking to someone else!"
Osamu nodded, jotting down the new information. He opened his mouth, about to ask another question. But then he noticed that the child was looking a bit distressed.
Poor thing. First he's nearly strangled by someone close to him, and then he has to answer all these upsetting questions.
"Why don't you get some food?" The doctor suggested instead. "The nurses make a delicious chicken curry."
Titi nodded and pushed himself off of the chair. He paused as he reached the door, one hand on its handle.
"Is Dunamis going to be okay?"
I hope so.
"Of course." Osamu said smoothly.
...~*~...~*~...~*~...
"Hello Dunamis-kun, my name is Dr. Kobayashi Osamu, but I would like it if you would just call me Osamu, alright?"
The doctor frowned as his words elicited only a curt nod of acknowledgement. This patient, known as Dunamis-kun since he apparently didn't have a surname, had a cool, blank expression on his face. He definitely wasn't smiling, but be wasn't frowning either.
Dunamis sat on the hospital bed with his hands folded in his lap. Osamu noticed that his patient refused to make eye contact, choosing instead to stare at the wall above the doctor's shoulder.
Hmmm...looks like I have my work cut out for me.
Osamu scrawled a few short notes on his clipboard before returning to his questions.
"Tell me, Dunamis-kun, how are your parents? The ones who brought you here didn't have much information, just your name and a brief summary of the situation. I'm sure your parents are very worried abou-"
"They're dead."
The doctor was taken aback by the calm, almost emotionless response.
"Dead? Oh, I'm very sorry for your loss."
"My mother's not dead", the patient amended, almost as if reminding himself.
The doctor watched, one eyebrow raised, as a series of emotions flitted across the teenager's face. First anger, then guilt, and then, finally, an almost weary sadness. Then Dunamis's face returned to its earlier impassive state.
Interesting, Osamu thought to himself. He made a mental note to bring up this topic in a later session, but for now, it seemed better to switch to a, hopefully, safer conversation.
"I hear that you're quite a strong beyblader."
The doctor waited for a response, and when none came, he continued.
"My son is a fan of the sport. He blades a little, but rarely ever enters any tournaments."
"How old is he?" Dunamis finally asked, voice holding some emotion that the doctor couldn't quite name.
"He turns seven in a few months. How long have you been blading?"
"Since my father died."
The flat, matter of fact way that Dunamis spoke was really starting to creep Osamu out. The doctor stumbled over his words, scrambling to find some topic that didn't lead to talking about his parents.
"Oh. Well, um I'm sure your hungry. I can get one of the nurses to get you something. What do you like to eat?"
"I'm not hungry."
"Are you sure? The food here is not that bad, I assure you. If you'd li-"
"I'm not hungry." Dunamis repeated. He finally dragged his gaze from the wall over to meet the doctor's eyes.
Osamu suddenly felt very, very small under he piercing stare of Dunamis's startling blue eyes.
"Kobayashi-san, I would like to know how long I'll be staying in the hospital. There's someone waiting for me back...home."
The doctor did not fail to notice the formal name, nor the hesitancy in which Dunamis dubbed his supposed home.
"Well you see, we still have to run some tests before you can go. I'm s-". Osamu had a hesitant idea on what was wrong with the patient, but the doctor still needed make sure.
"I'm fine." Dunamis stated evenly. He returned to staring at the wall. Osamu resisted the urge to turn around and look at the wall himself.
What is he staring at?
The doctor decided that it was time to take a more direct approach.
"Dunamis-kun, what are you looking at?" He inquired.
The blader in question stiffened before glaring hauntily at Osamu.
"I said I am fine." The teenager hissed, eyeing the doctor almost suspiciously. "What are you going to do to me?" If possible, the teen's flinty blue eyes seemed to become even colder, burning a proverbial hole through the alarmed man.
"Okay, okay. How about you get some sleep, and I'll go check on my other patients, alright?" Osamu hastily backpedalled out of the room.
Sheesh, that kid is scary! If looks could kill I'd be dead.
The doctor sighed before looking over his notes. As he flipped through the pages, his frown became grave.
Violent behavior, lack of emotional expression and eye contact, delusions, paranoia, and possible hallucinations...
The doctor bit his lip, worry evident in his grey eyes.
It could be schizophrenia.
...~*~...~*~...~*~...
A/N: Apologies for the my late update. Writer's Block is really aggravating.
Good news (for me): school has started! XD Yay!
Bad news (for you): I have no idea how much time I'll have for writing.
Originally, I had planned to write the rest of the chapter about Gingka and the others visiting Dunamis, but then I remembered a project I had done in 7th grade on schizophrenia. And thus, a plot bunny was born.
Schizophrenia is a mental disease that has many varied symptoms, including hallucinations, lack of emotional expressions, violent or disorganized behavior, paranoia, and delusions. Delusions are false beliefs of grandeur, such as ideas that one has magical powers or, in this case, believes himself to be chosen to carry out the heaven's will. (cough, Dunamis, cough)
Osamu Kobayashi is an OC. Osamu can mean friend and healer. Kobayashi means little forest. Why did I choose Kobayashi? ...I don't know. *shrug* it just sounded nice.
Anyways, next chapter will be up a lot sooner. I'm already halfway done writing it. Oh, and reviews help feed the starving plot bunnies. Save them! They're dying over here!