RP Log: Kaidoh & Osamu

[https://users.livejournal.com/-rattlesnake/]

Date: Last Sunday (Feb. 3rd, I think), while Akutsu is saying goodbye to Davide
Rating: G, except for a few curses here or there
Summary: Osamu wants to hear Kaidoh's side of the lab story.



Osamu rubbed the back of his neck, his lips pressing into a line. He couldn't say that he was particularly worried about Akutsu Jin; one, because Akutsu was a pain to work with and two, the guy seemed like he could take care of himself. Well, after what apparently happened over the last few days, that wasn't exactly the case. From what he gathered, the mutt had been kidnapped by the American military (or at least, they were present), he was collared, and drugged by Japanese scientists. He killed some person-- a woman, apparently, though there wasn't much of a reason behind 'why' from what Osamu gathered.

He had yet to prod Akutsu for more information, but he had a feeling that that really was all he had to offer. He would poke that red-head, if it weren't for Akutsu being some sort of overgrown guard dog around the guy, so he'd have to prod him later or get Secretary-man or Squinty-guy to ask the questions. Hey, that wasn't a bad idea....

But apparently, it wasn't just Akutsu or the red-head who was kidnapped; a Kaidou Kaoru, from Shiraishi's report, had been taken several days earlier. He couldn't get too much out of the Hanamura woman, Ryuhana being her turf and all, and he was here earlier to introduce himself, but there was a likely possibility that the whole occurrence wasn't just a coincidence. So he had permission to speak with this Kaidou, which he was going to do right now.

Osamu hovered before the door Kaidou was roomed in, glancing behind him to wave in acknowledgment of his... guards, who were nothing more than kids, really. Well, he couldn't say he blamed Hanamura for tagging them on his ass-- he did honestly say he was from the Brotherhood.

He turned back toward the door and rapped his knuckles against it, awaiting an answer.

Kaidoh glanced up from the remainder of his calculus as there was a knock at the door. It didn't immediately open, so it wasn't Ken or one of the nurses. He frowned, wondering who it could be, but nonetheless slid the book aside on the bed and swung his legs over the edge, getting up to answer it. He wasn't an invalid, after all, and he was just glad he was going to get out of here soon. He had to admit, he had hoped that he might be... well, recovered by the time they let him out of here, but there seemed nothing for it. Those thoughts only infuriated him all over again, though, so he tried to push them down as he opened to door, to be faced with an unfamiliar man.

Kaidoh looked at him for a moment, confused. "... Yeah? You sure you have the right room?" He didn't know why he would be getting any visitors he didn't recognize, unless they'd found someone who could help him. But then again... this guy didn't exactly look like he could.

Osamu raised a brow at the sight before him. He'd seen his fair share of ugly mutants and this kid was pretty much up there, not that he was going to say that out loud.

"Only if yer name's Kaidou Kaoru." Not that he doubted he was pointed in the right direction.

Kaidoh frowned, a little confused as to why this stranger would be looking for him. He also wasn't sure about the way the guy was looking at him, but then... Well. He wasn't the prettiest mutant on the block, that was for freaking sure.

"It is... what do you want?" He stepped aside, figuring he'd let the guy into the room - there wasn't much he could do here, with the nurses just outside anyway, and if he could help then Kaidoh wanted to know. Now. "I don't know you," he pointed out, as soon as the man had stepped the rest of the way into the room, hoping he would get the hint and explain why he was here.

"Let's fix that then," the older man grinned once he hovered inside, hands thrust into his pockets. "Name's Watanabe. Call me Osamu." He tilted his head to regard the other mutant. Bones were literally sticking out of his face, making him an obvious mutant. He was ugly, but that only elicited more sympathy from the man.

"How ya feelin', kid? Heard ya had a rough week," he said, grin softening into a friendly smile.

Kaidoh nodded briefly, acknowledging the introduction. "Guess you already know my name," he said by way of reply, still studying the older man, who appeared to be studying him back.

Kaidoh nearly snorted at the question that followed - how was he feeling? "Rough's a little tame to describe my week," he muttered in response, retreating to sit unhappily on the bed. "You here to poke me too, or is there something you can do about it?" He wondered if this guy was a reporter or something... though Hanamura-sensei wouldn't allow reporters in here like that, right?

"'Do about it?' Do about what?" Osamu asked as he maneuvered a chair beside the bed and plunked himself down.

Kaidoh rolled his eyes. "About that 'rough week' I had to go through." He blew out a breath, feeling annoyed all over again, and sat down on the bed, feeling like he was going to start pacing if he didn't. "What, you wanted an interview without any idea of what happened?" Who was this guy? "Or are you just playing dumb? It's pretty obvious I'm in here because of what they did to me. And the fact that the doctors here have no clue how to fix it."

Again. Typical. Kaidoh was wondering if maybe swearing off doctors for the rest of his life wasn't a good start.

Osamu stroked his imaginary beard, playing with the stubble on his chin in thought. Yeah, definitely no coincidence. "If you were with Akutsu an' that red-head, then I've got an idea. But I only got one point of view an' 'm guessing a good part of it's missin'." He smiled further at the other mutant. "Which is why 'm here."

Kaidoh watched his visitor with a steady gaze for a moment before answering. "So you want my side of the story?' He paused again, thinking. He didn't have much to gain by telling this guy what had happened, but then, he didn't have much to lose either, right? Hanamura-sensei wouldn't have allowed him in if he didn't have reason to know, though why she couldn't have just told him herself was unclear. Unless she thought Kaidoh could explain it better (maybe he could, maybe he couldn't), or because she thought talking about it would do him good, or something.

He pointed to the chart on the wall beside the door. "They kept me for a week, they tried some drug out on me, and now I'm mad." That was the short of it, at least. He supposed he could elaborate, but he wanted to see what this Osamu thought of that, first.

Directed at the clipboard, he rose to his feet and retrieved it, flipping through the pages. He half expected to see some doctor mumbojumbo but it was all spelled out pretty clearly: elevated blood pressure, increased aggression, agitation.

"So you an' the chart are sayin' that this drug made ya all disgruntled?" He tilted his head, giving Kaidou a doubtful look. "If I were kidnapped fer a week, I'd be pretty pissed m'self."

Kaidoh made a face. He guessed he would have to explain it a little better than he had. "That's just it," he said lowly. "I don't get mad - well, didn't, I guess. Ask anyone who knows me. And not like this. It won't go away." It had been another week, and he still wasn't feeling better. He didn't know how he could've functioned, before, letting go of anger at the drop of a hat when it was all he could think about now.

He studied Osamu for another moment before adding, "They changed something. I'm not myself anymore. I don't feel the same." He sighed, glancing away. "Guess that's not something someone can fix, after all."

"So, y'mean that the drug they used changed you." It sounded pretty logical to him if he believed the mutant's claim that he 'didn't get mad' before. But if the increased aggression was noted on the chart, it had to be true. Osamu frowned, taking off his hat to scratch at his head.

"Well, I ain't no doctor so I dunno what t'tell ya. But I wouldn't give up on yerself yet," he said helpfully. "But it sounds like they did that t'Akutsu, too. An' he went apeshit on some lady. Y'know anythin' 'bout that?"

Great. So there wasn't anything this guy could do. Kaidoh scowled down at the bedsheets, but he supposed he was getting used to hearing that by now. No one could do a damned thing. Fine.

He glanced up as the other mentioned Akutsu, and the woman. Kaidoh thought back, something cold settling into the pit of his stomach. "She's probably dead. I don't think she could've lived through that." He had only been paying half attention - Davide had tossed him a key, partway though, and he'd had other things to worry about. But... "She had the same family name. I don't know if she was his mom or his sister or what. She didn't look that old. I don't know." Kaidoh frowned. Did Akutsu not remember what had happened? Davide had been there, hadn't he said something? He supposed that maybe it was better not to tell the white-haired mutant - there was no love lost between them, knowing on each other's names, but Kaidoh supposed no one deserved to find out they'd mauled a family member to death.

... This whole thing fucking sucked.

...Now things were getting more interesting.

"The same family name?" At first, Osamu had no idea what to make of that. So the one who died was a family member, and not a scientist who just happened to be in the way of Akutsu's wrath. Now the question was, why the hell was she there?

"Was she workin' with them?" he had to ask, suddenly realizing that he didn't know much about Akutsu's situation; there really wasn't much information on his file back in the office. And Osamu had only skimmed through it the first time.

Kaidoh shrugged. "That's what they called her by, anyway." He didn't see much reason for them to have lied - but then again, he didn't see much reason for them to have turned himself and his fellow mutants into guinea pigs, either.

He shook his head at the second question, though. He'd been paying enough attention to know that, "No, she wasn't. She didn't like them at all." Smart lady, whoever it had been. "Looked like they'd had her a while, too." He bit his lip, thinking that she shouldn't have had to die, just to prove their stupid drugs could work. Whoever she was, he hoped she was better off, now. Not that it was much consolation.

Not one of them, then. Osamu continued to scratch at his head-- god, he wasn't any good at these mystery things. He made a mental note to have Inui do research on this crap. But really, Osamu wasn't sure what he should be concerned over: the fact that 'they' had taken a family member and basically fed her to the wolves, or that he was getting giddy over so much dirt he'd been digging up. This was perfect material to bring to the media, but he couldn't just focus on Akutsu.

"All right. That definitely filled in some holes. 'M just gonna have t'prod 'im 'bout his family later." He paused, glancing down at the charts in his hand. "But enough 'bout 'im." He glanced back up, focusing on Kaidou. "Did they do anythin' else t'ya? Other than give ya a drug."

Kaidoh shrugged. "Sure." He wasn't sure what exactly this guy was looking for, but he seemed pretty interested in Akutsu. He had to wonder why he wasn't asking Akutsu or Davide any of this, but he didn't have time to think about that too much more before the conversation was turned back to himself. Glancing at his questioner, Kaidoh raised an eyebrow. "This time? No. Just the drugs, and the cage." He made a face, grumbling to himself. "At least the last time they decided to kidnap me, I got a whole room to myself. They must be downsizing." He kicked at the floor a little with one foot. How many more times would it take, before they finally killed him? It felt like they already had, in a way.

It took him a moment to process what Kaidou had just said. "Wait, y'mean you were taken before?"

Kaidoh sighed - it was beginning to feel like he did that a lot, lately, but the world was just so... exasperating. "Yeah, think I'm popular with them. Lucky me." He thought back to before - when he and Rin had been captive, and Oishi-san too. And before that, when they'd neglected to give him the cure...

"They use me like some kind of prototype," he spat. "They put adamantium in my bones so they could do it to someone else, later on." He ran his fingers through his hair - this man hadn't been responsible for that, it was no use getting mad at him over it. Though that didn't do much to quell the angry fire in the pit of his stomach. "They don't seem to understand that they're fucking over people, here." Not that Osamu could do anything. But he was asking questions, so he was going to get answers. And then some.

What the hell was Adamantium? Whatever it was, he was adding it to the list of things the secretary would have to research.

Osamu remained silent for a moment, Kaidou's last remark ringing true. "Yer right 'bout that. They have no clue who they're fuckin' with," he frowned further, pulling his hat down on his head. "Sometimes I wonder what runs through people's head like that," he sympathized. "But right now we can't just sit on our asses and wonder aloud." He placed the chart back in its slot and hovered closer to Kaidou.

"Sorry fer all the questions-- didn't sound like both experiences were very pleasant an' it must be hard t'bring up memories again. But it helped a lot an' I 'preciate it."


Huh. Well, that sounded different than the usual Ryuhana fare. Kaidoh eyed the man as he pulled his hat down on his head, thinking maybe this guy was worth a little more thought. "I don't know, but they need to stop getting away with it," he agreed. And as soon as he could think of a way...

He shrugged and nodded. "Getting sick of reiterating it every person that comes in here, but you seem more likely to do something about it than most," he said carefully, glancing up. "You're not from here - or, I mean, any of the places Hanamura-sensei usually calls people from, are you?"

At that, Osamu tried not to grin too wickedly. "Heh, nah. Nothin' like that; I just met her yesterday." He paused, tapping his chin in thought. "If y'wanna know, well, you'd find out eventually." He extended his hand toward Kaidou. "'M from the Brotherhood."

Kaidoh eyed the hand a moment, thinking rapidly. The Brotherhood? He didn't know much about them, other than the few times he'd been over there, years ago, to visit Ohtori-kun when he'd defected to be with Shishido-san. Then again, even that hadn't exactly been permanent.

He knew they were behind some of the recent demonstrations, but they hadn't been the ones inciting any of the violence that had occurred at said rallies. And the most important part of it, he thought, was that they were doing something at all - sure, Ryuhana had sponsored a ball here, a festival there, but... that wasn't quite the same.

He reached out, taking the proffered hand and shaking it, only a little hesitantly. "I guess that explains a couple things," he said, but he didn't mean it in a bad way. "I never really paid too much attention, before. But you guys do a lot of stuff for mutants, right?"

But if Ryuhana was going to feel this... foreign to him, maybe it was good to keep his options open…

At that, Osamu chuckled as he shook the younger mutant's hand. "We do what we can. 'M really surprised Tokyo's Brotherhood's still around, really." He smiled in a friendly manner despite his words. "Between you an' me, there ain't many of us here. Seems like a lot of people like t'blend in, not that I blame them."

Kaidoh had to laugh at that - though it was a quiet, derisive laugh more than anything. "Well... some of us have a hard time blending in," he said quietly. He understood - he really did - because he really had wanted nothing more than to be normal. But that seemed a woefully unattainable goal - he'd tried to get the cure, and ended up with adamantium lacing his bones instead. He'd tried to use the image inducer, but had frightened a restaurant full of people when it had failed. He already knew that luck did not favor him, but right now, like this, it seemed like fate was flashing a sign in his face. And maybe he'd be stupid not to at least be a little curious.

"... Can I come visit, sometime?" he asked, almost so quietly that he wasn't sure if Osamu would hear. Visiting did not equal moving, and even moving did not equal switching sides. Right? He wasn't ready to jump ship this moment, but... maybe jumping ship might get him farther than anything else had.

Maybe.

Heh, this was unexpected. He was just here to talk about the kidnapping and Akutsu's situation, and here he had an interested party. Not that he was going to complain; he needed everyone he could get. So, he smiled when he barely heard the request.

"Yer more than welcome to. The guys still think the place's kinda shabby an' like I said, there ain't many of us, but it'd be nice t'see a new face. Whether it's normal lookin' or not." Osamu thought about it for a moment, then retrieved the chart to rip off some paper. There, he wrote down the mansion's address and his own phone number and email before presenting it to Kaidou. "If y'wanna talk 'bout anythin', feel free t'call."

Another pause as he regarded Kaidou. No, he wasn't pretty at all, as that Ryoga guy had said, but the fact that he wasn't normal looking could speak volumes. "Actually, we're workin' on somethin' right now. Maybe y'could help us, if yer willin' to."

Kaidoh nodded, studying the piece of paper in his hand for a moment before putting it into his pocket, where it couldn't be found and thrown away, and he couldn't be questioned about it. He'd expected that to be it, but then Osamu went on... "Help?" He paused, wondering just what they would be working on, and what they could possibly need someone like him for. That might be a big move... but he didn't have to say yes now. He might as well hear the man out.

"What could I do for you?"

Good, he had his attention.

"With all this kidnappin' stuff, well, I think we've had enough with this bullshit. An' we wanna bring these labs down, but we can't just blow them up as much as we would like to. Because if we blow 'em up, they'd just have an excuse to build an even bigger lab an' more reasons t'treat us like shit." He glanced at Kaidou to make sure he wasn't lost.

"So, we're gonna plant public attention on these labs. The world's mostly made of assholes but there are some people who're decent enough t'realize that these guys are doin' some serious wrong. An' maybe when these guys speak up, mutants who are blendin' into society would have the courage t'say somethin', too. That's the way to take these guys down. An' you can help us. We're gonna have mutants who were kidnapped talk with interviewers from TV an' the newspapers, an' I think yer story definitely has some merit. So, if y'can find the courage t'speak up, we'd be glad to bring you aboard."

Hm. Talk to interviewers? On TV? Well - obvious fact that he didn't exactly have the face for PR aside...

Well, shit. Somehow he knew that before all of this, he wouldn't have had the courage to speak up. But he was angry. Very angry, and specifically at people like this. As much as he would like to hit these labs - and hard - Osamu had a point. They'd just rebuild.

But even still... "I don't know," he said, watching the floor, thinking. "That's... that's kind of asking a lot. But... let me think about it." This probably wasn't something he should do without asking Ken, at least. He thought for a moment about asking Hanamura-sensei, but decided against it almost as quickly. No. He had to make this decision without her help.

"I'll think about it," he repeated, looking up again.

Osamu didn't actually think Kaidou would agree immediately, but he still felt disappointed by the indecision. But even so...

"Yeh, mebbe I am asking a bit much but, someone's gotta ask and actually do somethin' 'bout all this. I ain't gonna let them trample all over us. But yeh, think about it and when y'make yer decision, lemme know." He held out his hand, feeling that a handshake would have more of an impact rather than a distant bow. "Was nice meetin' ya, Kaidou."

Kaidoh nodded. He'd definitely think about it. Maybe he wasn't the best choice, but... well, Osamu wouldn't be asking unless he actually wanted Kaidoh to say yes, right? That was something to think about. As was possibly getting those horrible places shut down once and for all.

"I'll let you know in a couple of days," he replied - maybe when he got out of here, had some time to think to himself, and talk to Ken about it in a private setting. He blinked, then took Osamu's hand, shaking it only a little stiffly. "... Yeah. Was nice to meet you, too."