Interlude 4 - Bedside Talks

"...m cliche, look, another sad song, I've got the freeway in my sights..."

Consciousness slowly returned to me, and with it came the dulled throbbing pain that came from all over my body. My senses faded in and out, with sight escaping me again and again. I could smell the telltale sterileness of the Medical Building, I could feel the soft fabric of a mattress and a blanket, and I could hear someone quietly singing along to some sort of song. The voice was fading in and out, however, as a headache ripped through my head.

"...So how do I learn to love myself if I hate everything else? Is anybody there to watch me drown? Don't-"

A groan involuntarily escaped my lips at the pain, and it was apparently loud enough to cause whoever was singing to stop mid-lyric. The song seemed familiar to me though, I think one of my friends recommended it to me one afternoon before all this IS nonsense…

"Oh. You're awake."

The deep voice was laced with what seemed like a hint of annoyance, though it also had a healthy amount of embarrassment. I slowly opened my eyes, flinching somewhat as the artificial light seared itself into my sight. Plenty of white blurs greeted my vision, and when I looked around, there was little to break the monotony. The only other blur that was not white, was a shock of yellow to my left.

"Careful with moving around, Orimura-san. You had to undergo surgery for your ribs."

'That voice…'

"Sa...Sahaku-san?"

The blonde blob seemed to huff, and I could slowly make out those distinctive purple of his staring back at me. My vision began to clear up, and more and more of the room became more distinguishable.

We were in one of the rooms within the Infirmary, obvious from all the medical items around us. We occupied two of the four beds, and a few chairs were arranged around us. Taking a look to my right, I blinked at the darkened sky through the windows.

"Huh…"

...Wait!

I turned to my roommate, panic setting in just as a pained hiss escaped my lips. The mere action of trying to turn my torso rewarded me with agony. "T-The attack! What happened to everyone?!"

The blonde merely rolled his eyes as he laid back on his bed, the upper half of it having been inclined at a comfortable angle. "Calm down. Everyone's fine and those black IS' are nothing but scrap now. Don't undo the hard work of the doctors in treating you just because of your recklessness."

"S-So everyone's fine?"

"Yes. Now go lay back down before you rip some stitches or something."

A relieved sigh escaped my lips, a wince accompanying it as my ribs protested at the action. Laying back down, I stared at the ceiling while the pain slowly faded away.

There was an awkward silence between the two of us, occasionally broken by what seemed to be beats and verses. Glancing back at him, I only just noticed the black earbuds that were looped around his ears. The blonde seemed to be nodding along to the song, his lips moving as he mouthed the lyrics. It seemed to be in English, if those-

"What is it?"

...Oops, maybe I was starting to stare.

"That uh…" I started awkwardly, trying my best to remember just what the name of the song's artist was. I know the song he was singing, I just can't place my finger on it! "I heard you singing earlier. The lyrics sounded familiar…"

Ephraim raised a brow, a hand slowly raising to reveal his phone as he lowered the volume. "You listen to songs in English?" There was a hint of accusation and disbelief in his tone that caused me to blush slightly.

Scratching the back of my head, I glanced away. "Y-Yeah. There's a lot of English songs in ConsciousCog's soundtrack. I also had a few friends that recommended a bunch of foreign artists with funky music."

"You play ConsciousCog?" The disbelief grew and so did my shame.

'Aaah, I knew he didn't have the same interests as I did! He's too uppity for something so plebeian!'

"...Is there something wrong with that?"

I took a risk and glanced at him, right into the wide eyes of the blonde. God, he was looking at me like I was an alien!

Ephraim eventually cleared his throat, easing that blatant disbelief of his into a neutral half-smile. "Nothing. I just didn't expect you to play something so...metal."

'Is that an insult or-'

"And it was 'State of Mind' by Jake Hill." The blonde crossed his arms, and I noticed the amount of bandages around the whole of his right. There wasn't any blood on it or anything, and he seemed just fine moving it around. Maybe it was more of a brace or something..?

'Wait, no wonder the song sounded so familiar! Dan used to listen to it last summer!'

I grinned at him with a bit of smugness. Two can play at this game! "Okay, now that I didn't expect from you. I thought that you would listen to classical stuff or soft instrumental, not R&B."

"Shut up, you normie." The blonde snapped back almost immediately, his smile turning a bit strained. "I happen to listen to a lot of genres."

'Normie-?!'

"Normie?!" I nearly recoiled but the stinging pain in my chest prevented me from doing so. "How is me listening to the soundtrack of ConsciousCog 'normie'? If anything, I'd be considered a metalhead or something!"

"Then name another metal band and their song."

"Huh-?"

The door sliding open caught both of our attention, with us turning our heads to the entrance.

A nurse poked her head in, a small frown on her face as she looked at the two of us sternly. "Our monitors told us of increased heart rate, is everything alright?"

I made to open my mouth to reassure her but Ephraim beat me to it. "We're fine, madam. We were just in a discussion that stoked our...passion about which music genre was better."

Her frown softened as she sighed. "Well, don't stress yourselves out too much. And it's getting late, so please get as much rest as you can for a quicker recovery." The nurse palmed a panel next to the door, and the lights began to dim down.

"Understood."

"Y-Yeah, we will."

Without another word, the nurse left the room.

Once more, there was this awkward silence between the two of us. I glanced at him and he looked back with those purple of his that seemed to glow. He huffed and closed his eyes, placing his phone on his lap.

...It seemed as if he was going to sleep.

'Maybe I should too…'

Looking back up at the ceiling, I willed myself to do the same.

…

"Hey, Sahaku-san…"

"...What?"

"Are we...friends?"

"...Acquaintances, more like."

"O-Oh…"

"Though, if you become a competent combatant, then maybe. Maybe. I can consider you a friend. Maybe I can consider you trustworthy enough to watch my back."

'...Well, then!'

I couldn't help the grin from stretching my lips. At long last, progress with the cold blonde!

"Then I'll do my best."

"...We'll see. Go to sleep, Orimura."

'Heh...just like...Chifuyu-nee…'

…

"You reckless idiot...don't go charging in all willy-nilly like that next time."

…

"Luck was what saved you today. Don't rely on it too much."

…

"Damn it, what am I gonna do with you..?"

…

"...Sahaku. I know you can hear me, your breathing pattern changed the moment I went in. Watch over this idiot for me while he's here, would you?"

…

"...Understood."

"Good. Then I'll leave you both to your swift recovery."

The next day...

"What kind of games do you play, Sahaku-san?"

I could see the blonde pause while he was eating breakfast. It was a standard bento set that every hospital would give, the one that's kinda bland and neutral. He sent me a raised brow as he set the egg roll down. I wonder how sharp his hearing is if he can hear me over the music coming from his earbuds.

"Excuse me?"

My cheeks flared a bit in embarrassment. It was out of the blue to ask him something like that.

"I-I mean, I was just wondering if you play any video games and what genre you enjoyed." I tried to keep my cool, because that judgmental stare of his was really heavy!

"...I do play, but I tend to enjoy RTS' the most." Ephraim shrugged, looking somewhat reluctant to tell me. Huh, who knew that he actually did play video games? "I'm flexible in that I can play any kind of genre and be considered good at it."

'...Huh.'

The blonde merely stared back as he ate his egg roll, raising a brow as if asking 'what?'.

"So…that means you have played fighting games then?"

A part of me wishes that he did, maybe we could bond on an off day in an arcade? That is, if he actually played fighting games.

My roommate snorted, turning away from me as he finished his breakfast.

"If you're asking me to play ConsciousCog with you, I'm going to have to turn you down. I'm a tad bit burnt out of that genre."

My shoulders slumped in slight disappointment.

'Aw man, there goes that idea.'

"Well, how about–"

Suddenly, Ephraim's shoulders seemed to stiffen before he turned his head ever so slightly towards the door. The action caused me to stop whatever I was saying and ask what was wrong before he raised a finger. Removing one of his earbuds, he closed an eye as he seemed to focus on trying to listen to something...

"Orimura, set that bento aside and pretend to be asleep."

"Huh?" I let out a confused noise, looking at him in befuddlement. Why would I need to pretend to be asleep?

"Huang-san seems agitated and is heading to our room in a few minutes. I can hear her screaming from the lobby all the way here."

I paled and did as he told me to. I set the bento on my nightstand, cleaning it up in the meanwhile. Using the napkins provided, I swiped away any stray rice or grease away from my lips and then reclined on the bed with the blanket pulled up to my neck. Closing my eyes, I tried to keep my face neutral as a few tense seconds passed.

...

BAM!

"ICHIKA!"

"...Huang-san, please don't do that." My roommate's tone was filled with annoyance and exasperation. He didn't even need to pretend, it seemed like, because he really did sound annoyed. "Orimura-san needs his rest. We would both appreciate it if you didn't barge into our room all the while yelling at the top of your lungs."

"Serves you right!"

'Oh crap, is that Houki?!'

"Oh, Shinonono-san. Good morning."

"...Morning, Sahaku-san." Houki begrudgingly greeted him back. "So, Ichika went back to sleep after eating breakfast?"

"Yes. I'm willing to pass on whatever message you wanted to give him when he wakes up."

I ever so slightly open my eyes to peer at them, hoping that they wouldn't spot me.

Rin seemed to be carrying a large bento box while Houki had her arms crossed and was giving Ephraim the stink eye. My current roommate was ever polite as he dealt with them, weaving those words of his in such a manner that made me sort of envious. I wish I was that social when talking to girls, because they either just hit me or agree to everything I say.

Or simply ignore whatever I say and look at me like I was scum of the Earth.

"...make sure to pass it along. You ladies take care of yourselves in class."

"Sure." Houki seemed uncomfortable talking with the blonde, rubbing the back of her neck in a nervous manner. What was with that? I know that she kept her distance from him and the other two but…why? "Hope you two recover quickly."

And with that, she turned around and left.

Rin stomped a foot down, pouting as an angry blush washed over her cheeks. "Darn it! I wanted to feed Ichika some breakfast I made!"

I twitched.

Rin's cooking was really good...

"You can try again perhaps tomorrow. We're going to be released by then." Ephraim informed her with his lips set in a neutral line. There was a tired lilt in his tone that spoke of his fatigue. "So for now, please let him sleep. The doctors said that he'll be right as rain, though sore, when he gets out of here."

"Fine! You better remind him of that!" She pointed at me, and I had to shut my eyes again so she wouldn't see me peeking. "I still have to pay him back for what happened yesterday."

I started sweating.

'Oh god, what's she gonna do?'

"I will." The blonde sighed. "Now please, head to class. Orimura-sensei won't be too forgiving if she found out that you started screaming in the Infirmary wing."

"Hmph!"

The sound of rapid footsteps running away entered my ears.

...

"...Are they...gone?"

"Yes."

"Phew, I wouldn't want to be yelled at so early in the morning..."

"You already get enough of that from Orimura-sensei."

"Yeah, I alrea— Hey!"

Well, you know how it is when you're bored and stuck in bed. You tend to do whatever you think can break that monotony.

I spoke with my roommate to deal with that.

At first, he wasn't really receptive to me trying to get to know him better. Brushing me off with polite words that ended the conversation before it could begin to take off, listening to his music, taking short naps, etc. But I kept on trying and I think he realized that and gave up trying to be all mysterious and stuff.

So, he talked back, with a reluctance that was somewhat surprising coming from the normally collected blonde.

In that short time we were confined in that room, I learned more about Ephraim Sahaku than I ever had in my whole month of knowing him as a classmate.

The first of which was that the overly polite demeanor he wore when in class wasn't really all that genuine. It was a mask of his that was kinda scary in how natural it was. Not that he wasn't polite to begin with, no, he just didn't like to trouble others with his 'resting bitch face'. It was what he had during our three days of being stuck healing in the Infirmary, and he looked very...stand-offish because of it.

I can see why he wears a fake smile, it would have been jarring to approach someone and have them turn their head with a frown at you.

He was also a video game enthusiast, much to my pleasant, and hopeful, surprise. Though he said that he was burnt out from playing fighting games, he and I talked shop about optimal combos of ConsciousCog characters.

I was even more surprised when I found out that he was a Kai Kiske main. As a Sole EvilDood main myself, I couldn't help but laugh at the idea of two fundamentally rival character mains could exchange character combos like this.

I thought him as very bookish and preppy, which he admits was the image he was going for and that he sorta was a preppy.

So when I asked him what he read as an example, his range was just so wide that it almost left me speechless. From science, to medicine, to culinary arts, and even to psychology, he was pretty adept at some topics. But when he began talking about strategy games on a tangent about history, my interest was piqued. I wouldn't mind playing some old-school Command and Conquer with him, he seemed like he knew the ins and outs of game mechanics.

He also admitted to being miserly with his money, something that prompted me to ask how much cash he had anyway. Imagine my surprise, and no small amount of envy, when he admitted that he was rather well-off due to his previous high-paying jobs. That's when I learned that he had been a bartender, barista, and occasional model.

"The jobs paid well, but together they were hell on my schedule." He had stated with a faint grimace. "Didn't help that it was a pattern of night-shift, day-shift, then night-shift again, and so on and so forth. And don't get me started on the modeling gigs…"

…Somewhat, I didn't envy him as much when he said that. I've done a few part-time jobs myself, but they weren't hell on my schedule unlike his. Then again, he said that they weren't part-time, and that he may have had to fake his age to get in.

…Yeah, I don't think I have the courage to do that. I'd rather not get arrested, thank you very much.

There was also the way that he talked now that he wasn't all overly polite and stuff.

Kinda condescending, kinda mean, but also very matter-of-fact and brutally blunt. Sort of like how Chifuyu-nee would talk most of the time. I think that's why they get along so well, they were both on the same wavelength, so to speak.

But there was also one thing that kept popping up in my mind the whole time we were stuck there together.

It was about his scars…

"...Drop it, Orimura. You don't want to know how I got these."

I backed off immediately. While his tone was nearly hostile, it was more akin to him warning me off. Maybe sometime in the future, when we're both more comfortable with each other, I can ask him about it again. I…want to know and to help, if he needs it.

You know, I'm glad that I got to know him a bit better. He was by far the most mysterious of the three test pilots. Ryo was pretty open about himself and enjoyed doing his job delivering and parkouring, and Davion was kinda awkward but so was I. Now that I had a lick of sense when it came to Ephraim, hopefully I can become their friend. Maybe all of us could hang out next Friday, the girls seemed to be talking about organizing a movie night and the theme was horror.

Oh...maybe...

Breaking out of my reminiscing, I turned to the blonde just as we exited the Infirmary building. The sun was high in the sky and we both had an hour to prepare for class.

"Hey, Sahaku-san...um..."

"What is it?" He glanced at me with an indifferent gaze despite the genteel smile on his lips. I can finally decipher a hint of emotion in said gaze, and it was curiosity! Score!

Scratching the back of my head, I looked away involuntarily, still somewhat awkward in broaching this topic with him.

"You know how the 1st Year Dorm has this Friday Night Gathering program where the girls hang out in the common room? They're organizing a horror movie night next Friday and I was kinda hoping that you and the other guys could be present. I...don't want to be smothered and deafened by girls screaming their lungs out."

I heard him sigh and give out a small chuckle. "Horror, eh? I'll see what I can do." He began to walk away, the light clacking of his dress shoes audible against stone. "Don't get into trouble in the meanwhile, Orimura-san."

Turning, I saw him raise a hand in farewell over his shoulder. That was the friendliest gesture I got from him this whole month!

Unable to keep the smile from stretching my lips, I went my own way with a pep in my step.

Finally, I wouldn't be choked by estrogen all the time!

AN:

[Rewrite Finish Date: 7/16/203]

*Future Cipher is lying on the ground before he wakeup DP's*

Changed a bit of dialogue so that Ephraim doesn't seem too much of an asshole than he was. So instead of one dude trying to wring out any information from another, it's two dudes actually bonding about video games.

Tokyo Vacation Update: Went to Nikko and visited Kegon Falls. Haven't seen any waterfalls that large before so it was definitely a novel experience for me. On the way to Kegon Falls, I visited Toshogu Shrine and paid my respects. I also did another omikuji and got Fair Luck, so I suppose that's good tidings.

Future Cipher, signing off.

*Gets blown away to the next stage*

I will say this now, I don't like writing in 1st person.

I just suck at it, plain and simple. My writing style is already all over the place to begin with, I don't want to further complicate it by constantly changing from 1st to 3rd person. That said, I may have to change it sometimes, much to my great dismay. Some ideas are far better executed in 1st person.

And yes, ConsciousCog is obviously a nod to GuiltyGear. I would have mentioned BlazBlue in there since it's getting Rollback Netcode (fucking finally), but I couldn't really think of a parody name for it.

Next Episode will be published next week!

...Hopefully.

Cipher out!