A First For Everything [Kyo | Closed]

Die still wasn't sure what had led him to wanting to leave his room. It'd been three days since he'd seen Doctor Mori and he had at least had two good night's of sleep and the IV had been removed this morning. It wasn't much to some people, but to Die, it was a large amount of progress to move back to eating rather than being fed through a tube.

As such, he had reason to need to visit the cafeteria area. Settling into one of the uncomfortable plastic seats, Die stared down at the table in front of him. He still wasn't all that familiar with the rules, but he'd seen some of the nursing staff coming around and delivering trays to the patients, so he assumed he was in the right with how things were working: like a restaurant, sit down and wait.

He pulled a piece of paper toward himself and flipped it over, finding it completely blank. With a shrug, he began to fold up the paper, working on making it into an origami lotus flower, his work very diligent and focused.

I was feeling a little better. A few days have passed and since then I’d not only found someone I felt like I could decently get along with for some company, but I’ve also finally been addressed by a doctor who saw my peculiar situation. How I didn’t belong. And he even said he’d help me, if I helped him. That, in itself, was surprising after all of the bad reps I’ve heard out on the streets. I wasn’t about to act an idiot and turn down my only chance at getting out of here though. My first decent night of rest since my admittance and now I wanted to try eating a better meal without getting interrupted, and feeling like I needed to constantly scream until someone fucking noticed me. My stomach was curling up on itself from the inside… not a pleasant experience.

Having cleared the assembly line I sighed quietly, tray in hands while dark eyes scanned the cafeteria. I wasn’t on any sort of a set meal plan so I simply just picked out whatever I wanted from what was being served today. A simplistic deli sandwich, some baked chips, a cup of fruit. And a bottled tea this time, I was getting real sick of water and I didn’t exactly feel like soda. Why the fuck would I caffeinate myself up when there was literally nothing of interest to do around here.

Searching for a spot to stake my claim on while I ate I bitterly passed by a chair, kicking the legs of it out of irritance as it scooted across the floor with a metallic sound. I’m sure by now I’ve got a reputation as the loudest, most trouble making patient here. Oh well.

Die sat until he finished the flower, noticing that there still wasn't anyone paying the slightest bit of attention to him. Pushing the blossom to the center of the table, he watched the area for a few minutes, seeing someone - a patient - come in and disappear behind the little walled-off area, re-emerging with a tray of food a few minutes later. Well... perhaps that was how things were supposed to work after all then.

He pushed himself up out of his chair and skirted around the table, staying closest to the wall, making his way toward what he could only assume was a food line. The one that had emerged from that same area kicked a chair, causing Die to jump a little bit, though he just shrugged it off as an accident.

Rounding the corner, he found trays and a wide array of foods. His stomach made a loud, irritable sound, telling him he actually did want to eat today. Quietly, he picked up a tray and made his way through the line, picking up a peach, a bottle of green tea, some sort of cold noodle salad, and a chicken breast. No one seemed to care what he was getting or anything of the sort, so he assumed it was just meant to be a free-for-all on that respect at least.

Coming out the other side, he padded back toward his original seat, eyes mostly on the floor.

My own dark irises watched out of feigned interest as the rather quiet, scrawny male rose up from his table, passing me and disappearing to fetch food himself. Heh. I didn’t really care where the heck I sat down either, it wasn’t like this was high school all over again… so making my way to an empty row I simply dropped that tray with another obnoxious clatter, my food bouncing and shifting around. My tea even tipped over and began rolling away, but it didn’t get very far before I was reaching out with a sigh to catch the damn thing. Dropping carelessly into the seat I cracked it open and helped myself to a generous swig, letting the chilled liquid refresh my throat before I actually dug into my meal. At least the cooks couldn’t fuck up what I assumed was a pre-packaged deli sandwich. I sank crooked teeth into the surprisingly soft bread, narrowed, sharp eyes going back to watching my surroundings. As always.

Die paused once he reached his table, finding that there was someone sitting there... the same chair-kicker he'd noticed before. Biting his lip, he shifted a little and then slid into the seat across from him, carefully putting his tray down.

Reaching out, he drew the lotus flower to himself, silently attempting to explain why he'd decided to sit where the other man was at rather than one of the other empty tables. Idly, he picked at the petals for a moment before putting it back down and reaching for the plastic fork, stabbing the chicken and pulling it toward him, his eyes on the other man. "Hi," he offered quietly. "I'm Die."

My endless chocolate orbs followed the red haired individual as he just so happened to come to a halt right in front of me. You’ve got to be joking. I chewed silently, definitely giving the man an assessing, dark and silent eye as he sank into his chair again, completely having spaced that in all technicalities, he had been here first.

At least until he reached out and tugged his little origami fucking flower closer. Then it clicked. Whoops. Oh well, too late now. I was comfortable and eating. He could deal with my company, not that I’m terribly friendly or even interesting. I watched his slow, almost weary movements carefully, gauging his demeanor. Immediately I figured he probably had a real reason for being here, unlike myself. He just screamed helpless.

When the other introduced himself I offered a slow blink, waiting until I chewed most of what was already in my mouth before speaking up, mumbling softly. “You look it.” Look what? ‘Die’, of course. The guy was skinny as hell. Reaching down I picked up a grape and popped it behind my teeth, continuing to eat away almost as if I didn’t quite realize that I hadn’t even offered my own name in return.

Die regarded the other, his lips pursed for a moment. The comment stung... of course it did. He knew how he looked and it was awful... the spiral down had been longer and harder than almost any other time this go around, and it had nearly not stopped in time.

He didn't want to offend the other though, knowing well that perhaps the other wasn't fully in control of what he was saying. Who knew what the other patients in here had anyway? Well... nosy people, he supposed. But he didn't want to be that person.

Die finally picked up the chicken like that, the place offering no knives with which to cut it, and took a bite from it. He chewed for what seemed like forever, finally swallowing the bite and putting the hunk of meat back down on his plate. Finally, quietly, "Yeah.... I do... thanks." Maybe not the nicest thing he could have said, but what exactly was he supposed to say to someone about his current state after a comment like that?

Apparently I was terrible at registering just what would be cruel to say and what wasn’t. I had just sort of spouted the words off without actually thinking. That was simply who I was, and I wasn’t about to tip toe lightly around here either or apologize for it. It simply didn’t click that a mental disorder could have to do with one’s thinned appearance, heh. I more or less chalked it up to the fact that everyone else I’d met seemed fairly normal... so maybe I just figured.

In any case the awkward silence that lingered between us only caused myself to thoughtlessly shrug a single shoulder, continuing about my day as I ate wordlessly. Popping in fruit between sandwich bites every now and then, breaking it all up with a swallow of my tea. By the time this Die character finally responded I had already long forgotten what the hell was even said, so I blinked puzzled at the man, trying to think of something to retort with in the strange quiet that followed.

“Mm…” Welp, that was the best I could come up with right now. At least I could blame it on the fact that my mouth was full.

Die thought the other's lack of any official response just to be because his mouth was full, thankfully. He looked back down at his plate and made a little face. Focusing on his weight didn't make him want to eat, that much was for sure. But he knew what he had to do and he was determined to do it, just as he always was when he wasn't on a downward plunge.

Shifting slightly, Die picked up the chicken again, tearing off another piece of meat and chewing it. This one went down better and he followed it with a few more bites before placing the thing back on the plate. Pulling the fork free, he moved on to the noodles, trying them tentatively. Not bad, but also not good. Shit happened though, he supposed. At least the chicken didn't taste like rubber.

He resumed eating the chicken and then reached for his tea, opening it and taking a long drink from it, his eyes flicking up toward the other man a few more times throughout his meal. When he was finally done with the chicken, a few more noodles forced down, he pushed the lotus flower toward the other as a sort of peace offering. He had no idea what to ask someone else in here. How are you evoked all the problems, what's up seemed crass and irritating... conversation starters seemed pointless and rather dysfunctional here.

Finally, he murmured, "What's your name?" hoping he'd at least get an answer to that.

I myself ate with little care, it wasn’t like I was ashamed of being hungry. And since I hadn’t eaten so well yesterday… nor the day before… I was definitely getting caught up on my nutrients now. I didn’t exactly look up either, whereas most other people in this hellhole I vividly stared them down in a wordless, silent challenge this one almost seemed to… shrink away timid, and I guess a part of that made me feel uneasy. I felt like I needed to assert my dominance, not let any of these people think they could take advantage of me – patients and doctors alike – but Die here… I hardly saw him as a challenge. So maybe I backed off a little.

Instead I let my eyes roam the cafeteria, still quiet as ever as I finished up my sandwich. I did catch the tiny paper flower being scooted across the table though and dark irises dropped to it, helping myself to another swallow of my own tea. What was my name? Oh, that’s right. I never gave it in return. Part of me toyed with the idea of keeping it a secret but what did I really care? I didn’t plan to be here for long. Everyone would likely forget as soon as I was out.

“Kyo.”

At the response, Die tilted his head a little, murmuring the name so that he'd remember it if he encountered the other again. He offered a small smile and then took another sip of his tea. Closing the lid, he stared at it for a moment, along with the peach and murmured, "Think they'll notice if I take these with me?" He hated the idea of wasting food, but he was sincerely overly full for the time being, given he'd been getting his nutrients from an IV for a while now and not any other way.

Brown eyes flicked up to meet Kyo's - if he'd let him - and he tried offering a sincere smile to see if it might placate the other into answering him once again. After a moment, he bit at his lower lip and then looked back down at the table, lightly running his fingertips through the condensation from his tea bottle.

I lifted my eyes slowly as Die spoke up again, moving to focus on the fruit in his hands. He… wanted to take food and drink out of the dining room with him? “Yup.” I mumbled simply, shrugging a single shoulder pointlessly as I finished up with my own meal. If he really didn’t want to waste it so much I would eat the damn peach, hah. I fucking love food. That, or I’m sure some poor sap who was hungry would wander around in here eventually.

Leaning back where I sat I managed a contently full sigh, motioning towards the bottle of tea in his grip. “They might let you keep that but I sincerely doubt it.” I had to hold my tongue from saying anymore – I wanted to point out ‘especially if you are a problem patient – but I had no idea if this man was or not so… I actually watched my mouth… for once. See? I could be compassionate.

At the answer, Die sighed and put the fruit back down on the tray, a sad sort of look on his face. It was perfectly ripe and would be juicy and succulent. But if he ate it, he'd only get to keep it for a little while and that wasn't the general idea of what they were supposed to be doing. And god forbid they think something else was wrong with him just because he couldn't keep that much food down. It took time... and patience, and he damn well knew that.

Sitting back, he wrinkled his nose a bit and then murmured, "Rules are so different here than anywhere else." It was true, he felt like he was a child on a short leash here. And that was without him being any sort of troublemaker. He looked back in Kyo's direction. "What'd you do outside of here? Like... hobbies... job... whatever." That seemed to be sort of a conversation starter... maybe.

Dark eyes watched that fruit as it was returned to the tray, but I made no immediate move to swipe it or anything. If he was going to waste it though you better bet I would take it. Give the damn thing a good, stomach home instead of the bottom of a trash bin. So instead those chocolate hues flickered back upwards, watching the rather frail man as he resituated himself.

Our opposite personalities were entirely obvious through just the way we sat ourselves down at this table even. He, more delicate and soft spoken as he sat proper and contained. And then me; legs spread wide, slouched over with not a care in the world, elbows splayed against the table top.

What did he mean anywhere else? I peered at Die closely, inwardly wondering if he’d been in and out of mental institutions all over the place. I wondered what kind of a level of crazy I was dealing with here. Heh, maybe the guy was bi-polar. He seemed pretty.. neutral to me right now. Not like that woman I’d seen in the cafeteria the other day. She was literally a mental and physical wreck.

At least Die could hold a conversation with a human and not a stuffed animal.

As a question was suddenly shot at me though a single, slender brow lofted skywards slowly, reaching out for my tea to help myself to a swallow before speaking. How would I answer that? I really had no hobbies… no talents… certainly no job. I’m a grade A fuck up. “… Stayed out of jail.” I smirked, propping one elbow up against the table as I leaned to one side, pressing my fist into my chin for casual balance. That would likely cause a flurry of even more questions, but I didn’t ask any of himself in return, I simply stared at him, quietly assessing the man.

Die regarded Kyo for a while, watching the other's mannerisms and his response to the question he'd asked in both the physical and emotional sense of it. He huffed out a tiny laugh through his nose at the response, a grin sliding over his lips for an instant, showing the man he could be if given the chance.

"I used to work in construction," he offered, "got hurt though." He stopped there, not wanting to bring his somewhat up mood down by going into detail. "I wish I'd had the foresight to bring books or something... it's so dull in the rooms. Just alone with your thoughts and everyone else's sounds." Maybe it wasn't the cheeriest of things to switch over to, but he supposed it was somewhat better than thinking on what he'd done before he came here... on how he'd failed.

I was surprised, when more questions didn’t come. He didn’t want to know why I apparently frequented the law on the wrong side? Or even deny that I actually should have some sort of a life besides that? Hn. Interesting. I watched that smile pull across his features and for half a second, I was jealous. The guy had such nice teeth, what the hell. Absentmindedly I pressed my own full lips tighter together in a tiny effort to hide what I knew was inside of my own cavern, despite the fact that I wasn’t exactly showing off my grin to begin with.

There was a reason why all of my smiles were just sarcastic smirks.

In any case I quirked a brow hearing that the guy did construction. Of all things? And he was so tiny? I wasn’t about to delve into his life because lord knows I didn’t actually care, but I could entertain the simple conversation for now. “If you have company they can bring you shit.” I pointed out with a lazy shrug. “As long as you’re on good behavior.” I myself have been rewarded with a cigarette, and Jiho got a radio and a sketchbook… and a flute. Spoiled kid, heh.

Die listened to Kyo's response, offering a little nod. Maybe his brother or someone would bring him something to read. But the hopes of that were slim, given how he'd screamed at him before he'd come in here. He clasped his hands in front of him on the table, still studying Kyo.

"It seems dumb... but I miss my cat the most, I think." At least his mother had taken her in so he didn't have to worry about what to do with her while he was in here. He was jumping topics like crazy, but he supposed that was relatively okay, it kept things interesting at the least.

"But... yeah, maybe I can get someone to bring me something... maybe." He made a face that clearly said he doubted it though. His dad was in denial that he'd had to come in here at all and his mom was basically tied to what he decided to do, so... there was that.

I continued to stare at the other man in return, partially amused at the way he bounced from topic to topic. Yup, definitely a space case. At least he had good reason to be in this shit hole. I couldn’t wait until I was out of here. Fuckers.

I continued to lean up against my own knuckles, sprawled out rather lazily where I sat. A cat? How… cute. I wish I was allowed a pet. Rather, I could have had a pet if I wanted, but since I rarely lived one place for long that would have been a dumb choice on my behalf. Not to mention, then I’d have to steal food for the both of us.

“I heard one of the nurses has a cat. Uses it for therapy or some shit.” I muttered absentmindedly, shrugging a single shoulder. Might make the dude less homesick or something.

A little smile slid over his features when the other told him someone had a cat. Maybe he'd try to find it and see if he'd be allowed some time to visit with the creature. "Thank you," he murmured softly, reaching for the tea again, taking a sip of it and then putting it back down and recapping it.

He closed his eyes for a moment, just listening around him, and then peered at the other once again. "Thank you for talking to me." Really, he was the first one other than the doctors to acknowledge his existence in this place.

When Die closed his eyes for a brief moment to take in his surroundings or whatever the fuck he was doing I took the opportunity to push off of my hand, reaching out to swipe the man’s peach – without asking of course. He wasn’t going to eat it anyway. Besides, we were acquaintances now… right? By the time he’d open his eyes again I was sinking my own jagged teeth into the thing with a devilish smirk that almost dared him to complain.

“Mm.” I simply shrugged to the other’s thanks. It wasn’t like I had gone out of my way to start a conversation with him. He initiated. “When the hell did you get here?” Surely he must have been fairly new with the way he played off being this pathetic, anti-social being. I was pretty new myself but rather than moping around I went around acting like a huge dick bag to make sure nobody would fuck with me.

Hey, it's working so far.

"A little over a week." Die pursed his lips for a moment, regarding the other as he bit into his peach. It wasn't like he was going to end up eating it anyway and he seemed to be enjoying it. He smiled and then leaned forward on his elbows, clasping his hands in front of him on the table. "Is it good at least?" he asked softly, "it looked really juicy and ripe."

Why was he talking about the peach? This seemed relatively stupid, but what was done... was sincerely done.

Hn. The guy had been here a little longer than I. It just helped me assess that there probably really was something askew in his mind. Well, at least he was getting treatment I guess. Good for him.

What with how Doctor Mori spoke with me too, I really was starting to wonder about all those terrible rumors I’d heard. Must just be shit talking down the grapevine.

I slowly chewed at the sweet fruit in my mouth, rolling the fruit back and forth between my own palms listlessly while dark orbs focused on the way Die suddenly leaned forward, ever attentive. “Yeah.” I answered past a full mouth, completely disregarding manners of any sort. “The fresh stuff isn’t bad. But if they prepare it, ugh.” I rolled my eyes and jerked a thumb over my shoulder in the general direction of the kitchen.

Die regarded Kyo as he ate more of the peach and then rolled it around in his hands. He nodded a little. "The chicken wasn't bad, but the noodles were... eh." He didn't really have a better word for it than that. It wasn't horrible, but it sure as shit wasn't good either.

Shifting a little, he crossed one leg over the other and leaned on one elbow, studying the shorter male across the table from him intently for a few moments. "What hall are you on?" he asked quietly.

Hmm, chicken. Maybe I’d have that for dinner tonight, rather than my simple sub sandwich. In any case as the redhead stared at me I continued to munch away on his forgotten fruit, still quite curious about the rather delicate way the other seemed to carry himself. By the time he spoke up again I had to do a bit of a double take, tilting my head in one direction as I pointed an ear riddled with piercings in his way. “Hn?”

I really had to mull over his question in my mind, at first I definitely thought he asked me what I was on rather than the hall I was located at. You know, since I’m in a mental institution and all. I clearly must be suffering from something. Regardless, it registered soon enough so I answered.

“I’m in room 304.”

Die opened his mouth to repeat himself at the obvious questioning inflection. But then the other answered just before he could manage such a thing. He blinked and then nodded, filing the information away. "We're actually on the same hall... I think," Die offered quietly. "Three thirteen."

Shifting slightly in his seat, Die reached to start staking up their dishes and stuff so they'd be easier to deposit in the correct places. He offered Kyo a soft smile. "Do you participate in any of the group activities?" He didn't seem like the type though.