Scene #4253: And then afterward

Owner	Pose
No. 9	The Golem King snorts awake, eyes lighting up in the gloom... only to follow with a dimming as they closed, and quite the groan. Nine isn't used to being in pain in a way that he really measures or cares about, but then he's also not used to having his leg snapped like a fucking twig. Ow. A shift, then, "TAROOOOO." Shift. He's in obvious pain. "Taro, TARO- are you okay? Where th' fuck are ya man?"
Taro	"Good morning, Nine." Taro's voice, from somewhere to Nine's right. Specifically, from the adjacent hospital bed. "For certain definitions of 'good', at least." Losing limbs has become so common that the android is nearly accustomed to it. He's lying flat on his back with just a pillow propped under his head, the left sleeve of the Obligatory Medical Pyjamas flat and empty. He turned his head toward toward Nine when he heard him stirring, and his brow furrows a bit at the obvious twinges in his voice. "Did they not give you enough for the pain?"
No. 9	Shuffleshuffleshuffle, shuffleshuffleshuffle. That's Nine turning over, sort of, since he's on his stomach. His back is missing a plate, and laying on it is, just, out of the question. He turns his head. Hff. "G'mornin." There's a pause, a blink, and the eyes narrow. "You aint got an arm Taro." It's not quite accusatory, just... surprised, and irritated. "Fuuuuuuck I went off n' let you get hurt. AGAIN! M' s'pposed t' be lookin OUT fer you man..." a blink, and a shift. "M'fine." Painkillers only do so much for him, despite Vrid's gift to him. He wasn't feeling great, but he wasn't screaming either, so there was that.
Taro	"Really. I hadn't noticed." Sarcasm, a clear sign that Taro is not in a good mood. He rolls his head back, gaze fixed on the ceiling. "I suppose that stubbornly refusing to bleed profusely from the neck annoyed the woman." A pause, his tone sliding to irritation. "I lost my beam sabre."
No. 9	A blink, then the eyebrows narrow. "Well mebbe if we kin set up sum sorta pump system n' sum artificial blood- ya kin bloodkake her in th' face next time she tries, like 'h-ha!' an-" A pause, then, deep, low and slow, a mournful sorta sound, "Ohhhhhh mannnn... yer beam sabre? Holy fuuuuuck man, thass bad news." A deep metallic SNAP of his fingers. "Tell ya what, soon s' I kin move we'll go get it back akay? Who wus you scrappin wif?" A pause, then, eyes wide- "Wait you wus fightin lil Nasrin? Sheeeeeit Taro she's a fukkin 'Sassin man, she wus tryin t' kill you! N' she cut yer fukkin arm off! Whut was ya thinkin? She coulda really hurt you!" like she, had?
Kari Wolf	Kari hops down the corridor and into the area where Taro and Nine are, cheerfully. "Hi Mister Nine! Hi Taro!" And she hops up onto the little table things between the beds. "I heard you went out of a limb again, Taro!"
Taro	"You mean one of them actually has a name? I thought they all simply went by Assassin." Taro brushes his hair from his face with his remaining hand, which then slips down to gently run fingers over the stiff collar-like thing protecting his neck. "If she's the one who broke your coffeepot and feels sorry for that, yes, that's who it was." The faint frown deepens. "No doubt she took my weapon as prize." Then, Kari arrives, and she's punning. His scowl relents somewhat as the shinki hops up to join them. "That was terrible."
No. 9	Nine seems to brighten up. "H-Hey! Kari! How th' hell you doin girl? Been a while!" It has. Nine had that unfortunate narcoleptic thing he was doing and... well, yeh. He looks embarrassed. A glance to Taro. "Naw man, they all had names n' differen' outfits, it wus kinda involved, yannow?" A pause. "Yeh I uh didn' really, uh, lock, my door so much back then? N' I woke up wif a 'sassin over my bed. Well technically I woke up cus she stabbed me in th' back- n' it got stuck, then she tried to cut my throat and slit the skin over the metal plates? N' I didn't really... notice? So I got up, grabbed her n' went inta th' kitchen to figure out whut was stingin me, n' I guess she kinda kicked my coffee pot inta my face? It... made sense at th' time." And then medtechs are grabbin the bed and moving it down the corridor. Squeakusqueakusqueaku.
Kari Wolf	Kari hops over to Nine's bed after listening to the story and whispers. "Was her name Kaede?"
Taro	Taro is in a right foul mood, though for Kari's sake he's now trying to moderate it somewhat. He rolls his head to the side again so as to better see her and by extension Nine. To the latter's explanation, he grunts quietly. "I see...they have always tried to keep their identities a secret from me. Not one of them has ever properly introduced themselves." Presumably they're both being moved, since Medusa did make the offer to him even if he isn't exactly one of her ideal patients. His brow furrows again slightly, this time in pizzlement. "Who is Kaede?"
No. 9	"Ya who is Kaede?" If he knows her the name doesn't jump out at him. "Nah iss Nasrin, she's an okay lil gal. She works hard. I dun exactly hav th' right kinda memory, but me n' th' 'Sassins have tangled more n' once, n' you get to know em quite a bit, specially after they stick their hidden blades up yer nostrils a few times." A bit of a shrug. He's working on old info. He's been asleep for fucking ever, and yet to him it was like yesterday. But then yesterday is foggy as shit anyway, so... They're all being wheeled down, huzzah!
Kari Wolf	Kari explains. "Kaede is a shinki like me who gets really mean in fights! I tore her arm off once and after that she did it to a bunch of other shinki."
Taro	Welcome to the Parade of the Injured. King Golem Number Nine leads, with Taro following, and with Kari as its unofficial marshal. Respective gurneys are wheeled in the direction of wherever the orderlies have been ordered to move them.
No. 9	Low grumbling. "Remind me not t' fight three people next time. It's hard t' keep tha many folks in yer head, yannow? 'Specially the fact that I aint got a good head t' keep shit in anyhow." A low, wet chuckle followed by a low wincing hiss of pain as it jangles certain things, like his leg and his back. Fuuuuuuck. :<
Taro	"At least losing arms isn't as traumatic for us," Taro notes, picking up the thread of conversation about Kaede. "Irritating, yes, but replacable." Once they've been settled again, he looks over to Nine, brow still furrowed. "I didn't know you had attracted -that- much attention with that dramatic display of yours."
No. 9	A blink. "Whut? I- whut?" Pause. "Ohhh, th' three folks? It wun't nuthin, jest Captain America n' Maaka n' a friend a hers, thassall. Jest a lotta gettin shot n' punched in th' mouth s'all." A shrug, turned into a tight little wince and a seething whimper. "Ah, ah, don't do that Nine dun you fuckin do that no more, sheeeit."
Taro	Taro gives a small, unhappy huff in response to that, then falls silent for a short while. His eyes remain open, however, and his gaze drifts back toward the ceiling. Thinking, probably.
No. 9	Nine is always a bit edgy when Taro is thinking. He can't read faces for shit, and he has these massive insecurity problems. Did he make him mad? Did he disappoint him? He turns his face away, lying there like a particularly ugly, pathetic heap, quiet for himself other than the deep wet sound of his breathing or the occasional wince or hiss.
Taro	It doesn't help that Taro's face is difficult to read in general. He's never really mastered human facial expressions, smiling in particular. That he can lie so still as he is now means that there isn't even body language to offer a clue as to what's roiling through his neuralnet. Finally, he gives an unhappy grunt. "The mission was a complete failure. I should have recognized this sooner, and cut our losses." There's anger in his voice, but it sounds mostly self-directed.
No. 9	There is no such thing as self directed, not in Nine's universe. He was the big fucking distraction; if he wasn't distracting enough, Taro would get hurt. Lo and behold, Taro got hurt. A grunt. "Fuckit, next time I'm settin off explosives. They got playful, they can get nasty next time. Ugly nasty, shoot t' kill fuckin shit all up in 'ere. Anything t' lure em all away. Sheeeeit, I fucked up bad. Fuck Taro I didn' do my fuckin job. Fuck." Because it's all his fault, obviously.
Taro	Taro was hurt. While to remain unscathed is preferred, of course, injuries are an acceptable outcome of any mission, a price to be paid for success. Nine seems to be far more upset over his wounds than he is. The failure, however... Taro's lips curl back a bit as he snarls at his half-brother. "You did your job. The failure was mine."
No. 9	A snort. "I call bullshit. It wus bull n' you know it." An uncomfortable shift. "You were helpin me out b'sides. You did yer job, which wus t' be all sneaky an shit, I wus s'pposed t' draw aggro n' I didn' do it right."
Taro	Taro quietly huffs again, and draws his remaining arm up to fold against his chest. It's not a concession, not hardly, but for now the laying of blame is dropped. Silence. Then, after a little while, he turns his head back toward Nine, one eyebrow slightly arched. "Her name is Nasrin, you said?"
No. 9	A nod, and a grunt. "Yea, Nasrin. I'll try t' bargain it away frum 'er inna bit, see whut I kin do." Nodding, more wincing. "Err, I didn' know th' 'Sassins that well. I jest hung out wif em on occasion, occasionally thwarted their thing n' they thwarted mine more offn' then normal. Also there wus th' thing with their enemy n' onna my close friends n' then he died n' I ended up havin a funeral n' they showed up n' it was awkward but kinda cathartic too n' yeh I guess I knew em back in th' day. Not sure how much a a current thing it is wif them in the meantime tho."
Kari Wolf	Kari comes back in with a remote-controlled cart that has a spare arm for Taro on it. "I'm back! Master built some practice arms after she put your other one back together, Taro!"
Taro	Taro listens to Nine's rambling explanation, and somewhere along the way, his eyebrow lowers to meet the other. When he speaks again, his tone is closer to a gentle reminder. "I officiated Haytham's funeral, remember? You and his son planted Everlast near his grave." It's not an accusation of Nine's having forgotten so much as an attempt to prod at those memories that may or may not still be in there. His head turns again, this time towards the door as Kari returns. His brows arch again as the shinki guides in a cart that's far larger than she is. Ah, remote control. Of course she'd be an expert with that. "Did she. Please tell Zarenna thank you for me...or has she followed you?"
No. 9	His voice is hoarse. "I yeh, I uh, umhm." A blink. "I... don', remember most things Taro. I didn' even remember ol Cap n' that we fought. It's all holes n' swiss cheese up here man, n' it's terrifyin. This is who I am. I lose this, I lose me, dun matter whut th' body does." An uncomfortable shift, then, blinking, suddenly misty eyed, "Ahhhh sheeeit Taro, I aint even been by t' visit Everlast. Whut if he thinks his dad fuckin forgot bout him? Whut if he's all alone n' worried n' shit, n' I aint even been by t' give 'im a hug n' reassure him n' shit? Whut kinda a father AM I?" This to a tree. A plain boring ass nonsentient fucking tree. Oy. A glance down to Kari. "Well aint that sweet. That is so sweet..."
Kari Wolf	Kari looks at Nine and Taro. "I'll tell her when I get back, Taro!" She hops down and opens a side panel on the cart. "I got a nurse to put a big pitcher of cold water down here for you, Mister Nine. It's kind of heavy though!" She doesn't seem to have heard Taro and Nine's exchange.
Taro	Taro is very well aware of Nine's memory problems, but much of the time it is an abstract awareness. The concrete and stark reminders (such as now) of them leave him uncomfortable. As someone who can remember things in perfect clarity, the thought of being unable to recover a memory is distressing. The only reflection of his inner discomfort is his shifting his gaze away. "When we're both released, let's go and visit him....and I will share the memories that you've forgotten." He doesn't smile, but he tries to muster one in his voice when he speaks to Kari. "That was very thoughtful of you. Thank you. Though I'm not sure either of us are in any condition to lift it, either..."
No. 9	Nine knows things happen. He knows his friend died, that a bunch of his friends were there, that he had a son. He knows that. He loses WHO was there, whether he met people before or not, whether he's fought people before or not, what day of the week it was, what week it was, what year it was, where he was, what he was doing, phone numbers, the meaning of life and the konami code. A grunt and a glance over at Kari, nodding faintly and grumphing softly. "I hate laying here. Maybe when they weild my leg back t'gether they can gimme a wheelchair r' sumthin." Which would hurt your back to no fucking end Nine.
Kari Wolf	Kari flashes with light as her heavy duty Dire Wolf armor materializes around her. Then she carefully lifts the water pitcher, teetering more than a little bit. The shinki then hops up onto Nine's bed, splashing water everywhere from the overfull pitcher. "... Sorry..." She listens to Nine. "Oh, should I call a nurse for a wheelchair?" She's trying to be helpful!
No. 9	"AH AH AH AH!" He wasn't expecting COLD FUCKING WATER and being on his stomach he can't move much and then there's water and he's twitching at the cold and that hurts his leg which makes him twitch more and if it wasn't bolted into a straight position to let the bone heal there'd be no end to shifting and badness. A grunt, a blink, and a bit of a hiss. "I think I'd need Miss Medusa's approval for that, since she handles the healin of my squishy bits." A grunt, wincing and shivering faintly. "Ahhhhh fff."
Taro	"It would be better if you lie there rather than --" Taro cuts that thought short as water sloshes over the rim of the pitcher, splashing over Nine's bed and Nine himself. A closed-eye wince is given to the the Golem's getting wet. So much for good intentions... He gracelessly pushes himself up, using his one good hand on the bedrail as leverage, probably ill-advised but he'd better do something before the pitcher upends entirely. He then leans over to try and reach out and steady it, though this may only make things worse.
Kari Wolf	Kari wobbles as she tries to put the pitcher on the bedside stand. The water has splashed enough that the pitcher is in no danger of futher spillage. Drips of cold water still fall off the bottom of it and from Kari though. "Thanks Taro." She says as Taro helps steady the pitcher. She feels really bad about getting water all over Number Nine though. "Should I call a nurse?"
No. 9	Cold cold cold ah ah ah fuck fuck fuck cold fuck cold- He shakes his head, closing his eyes and shivering, which doesn't help his leg. "I'd say maybe but if it's Miss Medusa she'd be real irritated if I'm complainin bout a lil bit a water.
Taro	A glance to Nine, coupled with a frown, then a glance at Kari. "You should call for towels at least," Taro agrees. "Nurse Gorgon will likely be in soon enough." He makes another quick glance around. "Perhaps cups as well."
No. 9	A grunt. Nine's first instinct was to flop off the bed, but then he wasn't used to having broken limbs either. Holy fuck. This is majorly inconvenient. His arms didn't have enough to break but his legs did, and it aint much fun. He didn't wanna make Kari feel bad though, since she'd been trying to be nice to him, and it really did matter to him.