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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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 Posted: Sat Dec 26, 2009 8:55 pm
The whole events after... after the dark sky, whatever it was, were a whirlwind at best. There were police, and ambulences, and his mother was there, bawling her eyes out like she had never bawled before. His little sister, who he had hardly known... his little sister was there, clinging hard to his leg and saying, "Hermano, hermano, hermano!" in the language of their father, and his father was sitting there shaking his head cursing off the terrible system as per usual.
In some ways, nothing had changed. In other ways, everything had changed. He went on the warpath and he must have won, because he was safe from the darkness and Neasaw. At the same time, something in him felt scared. There were things lurking at every corner. Youma. It was a weird sensation and nothing he really could talk to anyone about.
Nothing he really cared to talk to anyone about.
All Ignacio cared about was getting out of this bed. He had been missing for over a year. Missed a year of actual schooling. Missed a year of friends and family. Missed a year of holidays and celebrations and a true birthday. Missed a year of life that had been taken from him. There was so much he had missed, so much new to explore, so much new to catch up on!
But no, he was stuck. In a bed. With an IV in his arm because the last time he had tried eating anything he had gagged it back up. Whatever he had done had taken a lot out of him, and Nacio couldn't help wondering why he couldn't remember what had happened between the sky graying and meeting that adorable young girl to being choke-squeezed by his mother.
There were other faces he had recognized. Grayson, for example. But he was being bothered by his fathers; Ignacio would let him be for now. Not that the doctors were letting him up anyway. A nurse came by and told him to lay back down.
But he felt fine. Stupid doctors. Throwing up once didn't mean that he needed an IV. And needed bedrest for a while. And needed to wear this stupid gown. Stupid doctors.
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Posted: Sun Dec 27, 2009 2:22 pm
 Dark, dull-grey rain clouds loomed over Ji-Yeon. Fat, greedy rain-drops clung to her skin and hair. There were few people outside, though all were sheltered by umbrellas, and the traffic was a mess. Normally, the shallow weather would've easily affected the female, but not today, for, finally, it was her first day of Winter Break! Finally, for two weeks, she was freed from loads of homework, senile teachers, and angsty classmates. What were her plans? Simply, nursing. Well, an attempt to be as useful as possible, to be precise. As she was thinking, a crack in the pavement, almost tripped Ji-Yeon, but she caught her balance just in time, protecting the several gift-baskets she held. The world was on her side today.
Taking advantage of her wellies the color of sunshine, she splashed in every puddle along her way towards the local hospital. As the automatic glass doors welcomed her, her favorite nurse, Trinity, greeted her warmly.
"First day of Winter Break, Ji-Yeon? Glad to have you here. We just got a load of new patients today, all around your age. Supposedly, they were all missing for an year. Isn't that strange? But they need your help, so go cheer them up!" Trinity grinned. "Let's see...A lot of the patients are seeing their family currently. So, here, why don't you go visit a boy named Ignacio Araya? Quite the interesting name, don't you think so?" She giggled as she scanned her clipboard. "Ignacio Araya? Sounds good! I'll see you later, Trinity!" Ji-Yeon returned the smile, and skipped away into the hallway.
Grayson Graves, Esen Saylor, Yahya Grant, Calintha Johnson, Elle Hammel, Ignacio Araya! It was the last room of the second floor, and Ji-Yeon was glad she found it. Before entering, she looked at the several baskets of sweets, flowers, and crackers she held. Selecting the most flamboyant one, Ji-Yeon softly knocked on the door twice, before entering, and introducing herself as she walked in. "Hi, Ignacio! I'm Ji-Yeon, and I'm here to cheer you up!" Ji-Yeon chimed, excitement visible in her tone.
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Posted: Sun Dec 27, 2009 2:43 pm
Knock on the door. Cheerful voice. This had to be good. Ignacio jolted up at someone else entering the room, nearly ripping the IV nourishment drip out of his arm in the process. "You can start by letting me out," remarked Ignacio, before dizzily flopping back onto the bed. That hadn't worked so well. No matter. He just needed to get back up slower and prove to this new Ji-Yeon nurse lady that they could discharge him.
There was so much beyond the world of Barren Pines that he had missed stuck within its domes and tortures. And he was eager to go explore it. "I'm completely fine," he was lying through his teeth, "so you can let me off the drip already. I promise I won't throw up the next meal. And I swear I won't be dizzy this time." Up he went again, slower this time...
And down his body flopped. Again. Yellow eyes narrowed in frustration, but he was too tired to bother again. For now, he would just try to verbally convince her. "See, that time I was just playing you. I can get up just fine and I definitely don't need to be fed liquids. You're a nurse, you can let me up now, right?" What Ignacio wasn't aware of was the fact that Ji-Yeon was just a visitor, there with a basket in an attempt to make him feel better about his position. In a panic to get out of the hospital already, he assumed she had to be a nurse, especially with a voice like that.
Not that he was really looking too carefully at her. Of course, his vision was also a little blurred at the moment. But he was fine. All that took was a bit of ibuprofen and he'd be ready to go again. If only these damned nurses understood that, between their mumblings of being held for a year in a organ trafficking ring and the fact that Ignacio seemed to be dehydrated.
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Posted: Sun Dec 27, 2009 9:26 pm
Ji-Yeon frowned. Hadn't her positive energy been contagious? No worries! Today, her number one goal, was to make this boy smile. As he ripped out the IV, the Korean girl gasped when he immediately flopped back onto the bed. Cautiously, she moved closer towards Ignacio, as he blindly explained his situation. Drip? Throw up? Dizzy? What? Ah, she understood. He didn't want to be here, obviously. That was why he was trying to prove his point, by reassurance, but it was the blatant truth that he was far from being stable. Time to act like a nurse.
"Listen Ignacio! I'm not a nurse!" she stupidly introduced, snapping her fingers, as if a sudden epiphany had hit her. "I'm your age. Probably younger really..." Ji-Yeon continued, spacing out momentarily. "Ah! But that's not what I'm here for, really." she explained, with a sincere grin. "My unofficial job," she practically shouted, as she pointed a finger towards her clavicle, "is to cheer you up!" Ji-Yeon concluded, striking a flashy pose. Normal, she wouldn't have acted so...bold, but, her good mood was getting to her. Also, she had hoped by acting this weird she could make the older boy laugh.
"I may not know much, but that IV, you shouldn't touch." she softly clicked her tongue as she plugged it back to its' original position in his arm, slightly cringing as needle met flesh. "Don't get me wrong...I do know how you feel. To be trapped within these four walls. It's suffocating, ain't it, oppa? Oops! Ah, that means older brother in Korean. Not literally of course, but. Eh! I'm getting side-tracked again." Ji-Yeon chimed. "Aha! That reminds me..." she began, as she leaned down to grab the gift-basket, pulling it up towards her lap.
"THIS," she introduced, pointing towards the colorful basket, "is the basket that contains the most fun in the world." Grinning, she fumbled with the red beads in her hair before continuing. "Let's see, there's chocolate. Lots of it, really...Salt water taffy, coffee blends, cup noodles, bingo, sudoku, jump-ropes, though I suppose that would be hard for you to do. Umm...Books. Do you like vampires? Several plushies, and some more candy. What do you want to do first, Oppa?" she inquired, glancing down at an unruly head of orange and golden pupils, Ji-Yeon finally gave the boy a chance to speak.
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Posted: Sun Dec 27, 2009 9:39 pm
So she wasn't a nurse. Ignacio frowned, disappointed. He had been hoping for a nurse. At the same time, it was probably a good thing that the nurses hadn't seen him flop over like that. Then they definitely wouldn't discharge him, and as it was, they insisted on keeping him a few extra days because he was dehydrated and couldn't keep all of his nourishment down. Blah, those were just minor issues, really.
She couldn't possibly cheer him up as long as he was stuck in this cramped room. This cramped room, so reminiscent of the cramped box... he shuddered, but that was something he would never speak of to anyone but his Grayson and his Melody, they were the only ones who would really understand. He hoped they'd understand. Ignacio seemed a little distracted on his own mental tangent before he tuned back in when she called him oppa.
Oppa. He liked the sound of it. "Feel free to call me that," offered Ignacio, with a friendly smile. Well, he was always known for rolling with things, and if this was what the hospital staff was going to give him instead of a ticket out of this damned ward, he might as well try and work with it. Right? She talked a lot, though. It wasn't making the dull head pain any better.
But she didn't need to know that. If there were nurses around they would just add days to his hospital stay. A couple days was enough. He rubbed vaguely at the skin where Ji-Yeon pushed the IV back in--dammit--before turning his attention back to her. "You've got a lot of stuff in there." Good. He'd need a lot of entertainment to get through these next few days.
"Jumping rope sounds like fun. Here, let me get up." And yet he still didn't seem to process that attempting to get up would only worsen things. Ji-Yeon got to watch as, once again, the man who was desperate to get up and go found himself flopping onto the uncomfortable hospital bed once again. It was almost pitiful.
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Posted: Tue Dec 29, 2009 5:40 pm
Before he could do anything reckless, Ji-Yeon stopped him, not raising her voice, but quite the contrary; taking on a more stoic tone. "Oppa, don't do that. Think about your family. They wouldn't want your condition to get worsen, would they?" Her sentences were of genuine worry. She put herself in the place of a mother, and she wouldn't want her son to be doing this to himself. Perhaps she could try faith healing on him. No, that wouldn't work. He didn't exactly seem like the religious type. He was a growing teenage boy, he wanted excitement. Sudoku? No, that was too bland, something he'd easily tire of. Hmm. How about just, a regular conversation?
It'd be an excellent way to get to properly know him. Ah, that was right! Hadn't Trinity said he'd been missing for, a really long time? Did he remember anything? What had it been like? Where had he been? The first thing she did was tuck him back into bed, wrapping him with the blanket the hospital had provided. "Story time. About you. W-w-why are you here?" offering a casual smile. It would be a bad decision if it was a touchy subject; the last thing she wanted him to feel was anger.
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Posted: Tue Dec 29, 2009 6:11 pm
Ignacio wanted to protest again.
Oh, how he wanted to. In fact, he opened his mouth to do so. But when no words came, he shut his mouth simply. No, the last thing he wanted to do was worry his mother. Worry his sister. Worry his father, which had been an incredibly strange sight in its own right. That was the last thing he needed to do right now. He'd just have to stay there even longer.
So he relaxed back and let the young woman tuck him in instead. Ignacio had to admit, he didn't mind being pampered sometimes. But what prevented him from becoming distracted and dazed was the question she asked, and suddenly his expression became very focused. "Don't believe that organ ring bullshit they keep telling you," remarked Ignacio, who was Very Pissed about these foggy lies he kept hearing. "It's all a lie.
"It was a school. They told us it was a school, anyway. It was a fullout killing machine, that place. They wanted us for what we were so they could manipulate us, make slaves out of us," admittedly, Ignacio sounded like he was exaggerated. Or had a little too much codiene in that IV drip of his, anyway. At the same time, he had been missing for a year. "It was like a harvest."
Okay, that made it sound like it was actually an organ ring. Why was Ignacio saying it wasn't?
"A people harvest. They gathered us under these false pretenses of going to a school for the brilliant..." Ignacio wasn't going to play this fibbing game that most survivors were. This may have just made him seem like he got hit a little hard on the head. "It was all such a lie... And I lost so many in the web of lies..."
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Posted: Tue Dec 29, 2009 7:04 pm
At first, Ji-Yeon had simply been confused. Organ Ring? In the few minutes that they had known each other, the female would have never been able to guess that he could get so serious. However, she continued to listen intently to his story; she'd always been a marvelous listener. By the time his voice had drifted into his memories once more, Ji-Yeon was traumatized.
Whomever did it; was inhumane. She believed Ignacio, she really did. To capture teenagers, fool them into thinking...that they were special, then use them as puppets to their benefit? What was wrong with the world? What was worse; they had gotten away with it. These corrupt, conniving criminals, they were always getting away with their crimes! What about the people they killed, hurt, were they simply to be forgotten? Ji-Yeon was going to do something about it; even if the least she could do was spread the news by word of mouth.
Everyone knew that, well, everyone that knew Ji-Yeon enough; knew once she started a rant, there was no end. "How could they do that to you? Oppa isn't just something that can be used like tissue! How did you survive?" she inquired, furrowing her eyebrows. She wanted to hear more about Ignacio's story.
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Posted: Tue Dec 29, 2009 7:22 pm
Ignacio liked that people were listening to him. When he had tried to talk about this to his mother, she told him to go back to sleep and put something else in his IV drip. Stupid nurses and their stupid organ rings. It wasn't an organ ring. It was a people ring. A people transformation ring. He had died. And lived again. And then lived again, apparently, as he was here like he was originally.
His mouth kept moving despite all of the thoughts moving in his head. A busybody like Ignacio was good at multitasking. "People with no souls and no hearts can do anything to you because they don't care, Ji-Yeon. They didn't care about us. They just wanted people to do their dirty work, and saying it was a special school for gifted people was a perfect ploy to make sure they got the best of the best."
Ignacio sneered.
But as for getting out? Ignacio didn't know, and his angered expression fell into a more disturbed expression. However, trying to think on it brought nothing but a dull headache and an absolutely blank mind. This bothered the solver of Whodunnits; he was an expert at putting things together (or so he told himself), and he couldn't put this one together? It was shameful. "I don't know how I survived," admitted Ignacio. "I remember meeting someone, and then everything's blank from there. I don't even know who got out with me. It's like... it's completely gone.
"But we got out, and that's the important part. But there's plenty of others that fell victim to the web of lies. Plenty of others who will never see the light of day again..."
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Posted: Wed Dec 30, 2009 1:12 pm
Ignacio was right; it had been a flawless scheme. How conspiratorial. The majority, and most significant part of his memory, gone, like that. It had all been planned from the start. However, though Ignacio did get out, what about the others that had died? For the first time, Ji-Yeon was glad she was new to Destiny City. Otherwise, someone she was close to might have attended the horror of a school, and after Ignacio told her the truth, who knows what she might have done. But, stories like this always depressed her, scarred her. Ji-Yeon didn't like facing the cold truth. The fact that there were truly corrupt humans, that they didn't care for anyone else but themselves, and in the future, and that she was surrounded by them, regardless of the dozens of facades they put up. At times like this, she felt angry at the world; deceived. If she felt like this, how did Ignacio feel?
Ji-Yeon desperately needed the conversation to develop into a more mellow tone. Forcing a smile and feigning excitement, she asked again, "What were you in there for? I bet Oppa had some super-special skills, right?" Perhaps it had been for the best that the truth had been covered. Fumbling with the beads in her hair, she looked away. She had wanted to cheer Ignacio up, not bring up horrible ghosts of his past.
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Posted: Wed Dec 30, 2009 1:30 pm
"They call me a Jack of All Trades. I was never particularly gifted in one thing," he offered a small shrug. "It was more like I was gifted in the sense that I could pick up all sorts of things with little difficulty. Guess that makes me the perfect man, eh?" He turned towards her and offered a vague charming grin; even now he seemed to have it in him to make a bit of a flirtacious joke.
Still, he didn't seem to be seriously flirting, and his expression fell back into something more contemplative very quickly. He pursed his lips, before turning back towards the television, which was off. Ignacio had turned it off. He flipped through all the channels a hundred times and determined that nothing was on, so he had turned it back off.
And grumbled about stupid nurses until Ji-Yeon had arrived. He wanted to go do something. This was depressing. Maybe Ji-Yeon could tell him some of what had happened this year he had supposedly missed. Ignacio had never paid attention to the news anyway; that probably just made it worse.
"Ji-Yeon? Has anything interesting happened in the past year? With all that was going on I really didn't pay much attention to current events." It was moreso that he didn't care about current events. They hadn't affected him. They didn't matter to him. Ignacio was more concerned about everything else that had interested him temporarily, like taking apart clocks or getting several understudy parts in a play.
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Posted: Thu Dec 31, 2009 2:40 pm
Ji-Yeon let out a small peal of laughter and managed to say, "That's the best talent there is!" However, though she smiled; on the inside, she was a bit upset. What was she good at? She could pray, but anybody could do that. When she tried to help others, it had a reversed effect. Even ice-skating, was merely a hobby, nothing she could brag to others about. Letting out a small sigh and a shrug, "You're lucky, Ignacio. I wish I could be like you."
It was good that Ignacio had moved on to another topic, or her mood might have revealed itself. Scanning her memory, Ji-Yeon couldn't think of anything. "Well, I just moved here-..." No way! She couldn't disappoint him again. Pursing her lips, her memory landed on one of the biggest stories of that year. The Sailor Senshi. "There was one thing..." she grinned mischievously. "The sailor-suited boys and girls of justice! The media accuses them of being bad; but I know from first-hand experience, they've saved my friends! They're far from the being the true criminals. You and I both know who they are." Being a Sailor Senshi herself, Ji-Yeon was going to try her best, step by step to get rid of their horrid reputation. "Have you heard of them yet?"
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Posted: Thu Dec 31, 2009 10:17 pm
Honestly, Ignacio had never paid much attention to the sailor-suited soliders of justice in the same way that he ignored most things that were in the news. Still, something told him that he should care. Something told him that the senshi were important. He wasn't sure why, and it was a weird thought that he never really had before; at least, it wasn't one he could remember having...
But Ignacio decided it wasn't worth questioning. At least, it wasn't worth questioning for the moment. His mind would probably go back to it later and he would try to figure out why. "Vaguely? I'm not sure what they do, though. Or what their purpose is." Something told him he did know what their purpose was, and he knew it very well.
At the same time, Ignacio would never unlock that particular memory. At least, not for a long time to come. "What do you know about them? How have they saved your friends? What were they fighting against?" At least if Ignacio kept Ji-Yeon talking, he could get his mission of finding out about news that he had missed accomplished. Plus, he couldn't help being curious...
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Posted: Fri Jan 01, 2010 10:17 am
Ji-Yeon giggled at Ignacio's numerous questions. If it kept him interested; that was all that mattered. "Hmm. No worries, I'll tell you all about them." She was unsure if he was allowed to know or not, but there was only one thing she was positive she couldn't do. That being, revealing the fact that she was Senshi of Healing herself. "Well, from what I hear," she started, slightly grinning, "They're definitely good people. Their purpose, I'm unsure of, I think they're trying to look for someone. A Queen? I forget." Ji-Yeon tilted her head thoughtfully. It was the truth, she had only heard rumors; not the full story.
"They're up another force, that too, I don't have much information on. But, they come in different shapes and forms, basically, monsters." She was really only giving Ignacio what she knew. As she was a novice to all Sailor Senshi business, she'd only battled youma, but apparently, there were people controlling them, called the Negaverse, if she remembered correctly. But, for now, Ignacio didn't need to know facts she was uncertain of. "Well, they've saved them from those monsters basically. If it weren't for them, they would've died. People can be so ungrateful these days!" she slightly pouted for a moment.
"I think the coolest part to them is there array of powers. Apparently, they each get their own...sphere, if you will." the way she phrased it seemed like a question. "Basically, one senshi could hold powers and attacks that are based off rain, and another one might have the ability to heal." she slightly giggled at the hint of her own sphere.
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Posted: Fri Jan 01, 2010 11:44 am
They were trying to find a queen? This wasn't the medieval-times, nor was this the Renaissance. What was she the queen of? Did they think her the queen of the world, the queen of them, the queen of the universe? It was all very curious, but it was clear that Ji-Yeon didn't know more to say about it because she kept moving on.
Another force? That sounded familiar too, but Ignacio couldn't place why, couldn't place how, and couldn't explain why he felt such an aversion. ...Jigsaw? No, that wasn't right, this wasn't a Saw movie. How odd. "Monsters." That word struck him, but he kept moving. Ji-Yeon didn't need to know that. "Looks like Destiny City has become a superhero city in the time I was gone."
Powers. Why couldn't Ignacio get those? Maybe then he could get out of this bloody bed without his mother freaking out. He looked at his hands curiously as if they would tell him why he had none of these 'senshi sphere powers,' before turning his attention back to Ji-Yeon. "So they're both offensive and defensive?"
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