6/16: 2b

[randori]

[ The moment votes were cast, Natsuo had left. He didn't want to hear the results. He didn't want to be a part of it at all. So he picked himself off and left— slow, staggering, blood seeping through the bandages around his stomach that dots a trail from the garden back inside the castle.

He probably wouldn't be able to get very far, but the path he takes is directly up the stairs to his room, and he can be intercepted at any point between the garden and there. ]

Comments

[function]

[ jesus christ, natsuo.

this time, 2b does not even wait for him to give permission. as soon as she sees him trying to make his way up the stairs, she picks him up, one arm supporting his legs and the other bracing against his back. ]

You could have asked.

[ there's light scolding in her tone, but again, she's worried. ]

[randori]

Ahhh--

[ 2B takes him by surprise, again being lifted so easily, but this time, he's much more awake for it. His mouth works like he's wanting to say something, but in the end, he swallows it down, takes a breath, and tries again. ]

Didn't you say you weren't going to?

[ Like it's a joke. He'd heard her back then, when everybody was trying to keep him off Akechi, but it'd turned out that he really did bleed out and needed her. ]

[function]

That was before you started bleeding again.

[ she continues up the stairs, not having any trouble supporting natsuo's weight. ]

Am I taking you to your room?

[randori]

...Can you take me to the bathroom? In whatever common room. I want to grab some paper towels so I can blot this off.

[ And not bleed all over his room, although his is a nice dark red everything and the blood will blend right in. ]

[function]

All right.

[ sometimes she forgets that humans need more than maintenance to recover from injuries... as she walks toward whichever chamber is closest (i can't check im on mobile), she turns to her pod and gives it the following instructions. ]

Pod, search for bandages.

[randori]

[ I don't even know what the layout of these chambers are haha, whatever's closest, he'll borrow their bathroom for a bit. If there are any real first aid kits to be found, he wouldn't know of any, but there are supposedly fabric bandages in the tailor, and Ion and Souji had made some and might have some in their rooms.

His attention, though, is on the Pod. ]

I've seen this with you before, but what is it? A robot?

[function]

[ she nods. ]

It's my support unit, Pod 042. It's like a... personal assistant, in human terms.

[ and, as if on cue, pod returns holding enough scraps of fabric to function as makeshift bandages for natsuo's injuries. 2b takes them and waits for him to be finished in the bathroom, because even though she finds a lot of human customs unnecessary, she at least understands privacy. ]

... This'll have to do for now.

[randori]

A personal assistant... So somebody that helps you and takes care of you. Like a friend, but a capable one. That's awesome.

[ He has to get into the shower to spray down whatever blood's on his torso, rolling his shirt up so he can get a clear shot of his stomach and let the water drip down his pants. Sorry to whoever comes to use the bathroom next, because the wastebin is going to be filled with a handful of bloodied paper towels as he pats it off, then presses a clean stack of it over the wound. It's not red and angry anymore, but it's not closing either. It hasn't been long enough.

A wet hand sticks out from the other side of the door. ]

I'll take them.

[function]

[ she hands them off when prompted, then takes a place leaning against the wall. (though natsuo can't see what's happening, pod responds affirmatively to his comments, to which 2b rewards with a simple pat. look, she does have feelings!)

she'll give him a couple of minutes to himself before offering, ]

I'm here if you need help with any of it.

[randori]

I think I got it!

[ He's had to do it himself from time to time, messily but securely tying the bandages around so they don't shift or get loose. While he's in there, he washes his face too and blows his nose— he'd been crying on Akechi, but the ice cold water shocks him back to something more normal by the time he walks back out of the bathroom. ]

Can Forty Two do the whole pew pew thing?

[ That 2B said she doesn't do and crushed all of Natsuo's hopes and dreams ]

[function]

[ abruptly: ] Zero-Four-Two. [ pause ] Though, since it's the only pod here... just "Pod" will suffice.

[ as natsuo leaves the bathroom, pod flies inside it! when it comes back out a few moments later, it's carrying natsuo's used tissues and paper towels. the bathroom is also free of any blood or other bodily fluids natsuo might have left; it'd be rude to leave a mess!

2b pets pod again for being such a good citizen. ]

Normally, it can fire bullets and lasers, yes... but it seems to have lost that functionality upon coming here. It's not surprising, given that my combat abilities have been weakened, too.

[randori]

[ Natsuo pulls a face at first, trying and failing to wrangle it back in to something happier, or at least more neutral. ]

Pod, is it okay calling you what you are, instead of who you are? And you too— 2B, is that what you want to be called?

[function]

"Affirmative," it says.

[ ... natsuo's second question is harder to answer. she thinks on her reply for a long time. ]

Of course. It's who I am.

[randori]

If you like it, I'll keep calling you that. But if you don't, I could give you a nickname, like I did for Summer— for Steph! People kept calling her Batgirl, 'cause that's her job. But that's not who she is.

[ Is 2B a name or a model? There's a difference, he thinks, and it's just nice to have something just for yourself. ]