scheduled to meet [Jodie/Open]

[Katsuo Stride]

Katsuo remembered.
He remembered he was supposed to meet with Jodie today, and he had forced his tired, insomniac self out of bed and to his feet that morning so that he wouldn't be late. He had to admit, it was difficult for him to do. He wanted to stay in bed and sleep away all the hours he'd been missing.

But his roommate had gotten up, he had made a promise, and despite feeling lazy and exhausted, he really did want to meet with Jodie again. There were very few people in Michigan State that made him feel comfortable, like he was at home, and Jodie was one of them.
Now they were in the Social Area of the Institution, for the most part just relaxing and trying to stick to their plan of listening to music or watching TV together. For being so determined to keep his promise of meeting with Jodie, Katsuo thought it was somehow ironic how informal the whole event was. Meh. It was better that way anyway.

Katsuo tapped a cd player in the corner of the room and winked at Jodie. "I am kind of dumb, Jodie." He laughed at himself. "I thought there was no place to play music in here. You know, since the rest of the building is like a cave." He shrugged. "If I had known, I would have brought some of my favorite music..."
Thinking of the things he used to enjoy before he came to Michigan State just made Katsuo feel a little depressed. He'd left a huge chunk of himself at home, so much so that he was sure that even though his personality was pretty similar to the one he'd had before being arrested, there was still that black mark on his record. A black mark saying he had attacked an officer.
Katsuo had always considered himself innocent. The graffiti had been wrong, he knew he could be accused of that and he would agree and admit he had done something bad there. He would admit that his devotion to the game of truth or dare probably wasn't his healthiest choice of games. Yet, before he had come to Michigan State, he had believed that he'd attacked the officer in front of him because he'd been acting on instinct, because the officer had attacked him first. But this place was really good at making its patients believe they were one-hundred percent demented, and nothing less. So he'd slowly been beginning to believe everything they told him he was. Including that he was a bad person for hitting an officer.
It seemed like a small rebuke, but Katsuo thought about it all the time. He was still the Katsuo he remembered before Michigan State, but there was also a new part of him too. And he was always questioning that part of himself, wondering if it was something that made him a bad person, whether it was intentional or not. Thinking these things, he would look at Jodie and wonder if he really deserved to be friends with her. Her motives for being here were entirely innocent. She had been thrown in this prison for something that wasn't her fault. At all.
Katsuo could blame his inability to think before acting on his ADHD, but...well...that was just an excuse, wasn't it?

Anyway, he wasn't sure why he was thinking of all this now. They were here to have fun.
Katsuo glanced up at the TV to see what was on and wasn't all too surprised to find the usual cooking show blaring back at him. The cook was on the screen, dressed in all kinds of clashing reds and greens. Evidently, it was an old Christmas episode. The chef was talking about making a Christmas turkey...

Katsuo stuck his tongue out.
He and Jodie weren't going to be much entertained by a cooking show, he was sure. Especially one that just served to remind them that the food they were watching being made was food they wouldn't likely be having any time soon. He looked over to the woman in charge of surveying the Social Area. She was behind her desk, as always, this time typing away on the computer in front of her.
She was the one who kept the Cooking Channel on, yet she wasn't even watching it at the moment. Katsuo figured it couldn't hurt to ask her if he and Jodie could...maybe...watch something else...even for a little bit.

He approached the woman's desk and cleared his throat.
"Can we watch the TV?" Katsuo gestured to Jodie and himself and kept smiling. People generally seemed more accepting if you smiled at them.
But this woman wasn't very accepting. She looked the both of them up and down like they were some sort of criminals, then shook her head. "Sorry, but the TV will have to stay on the station it's currently on. It's important to give the patients a healthy channel to watch." She paused. "And I'm watching this one too, so..."

Katsuo sighed and returned to where Jodie was. "At least she was polite about it." Then he shrugged. "She is always like that, every time someone asks. I didn't expect her to change her mind, really."
He sunk down into one of the old-fashioned chairs in the Social Area and gazed back at the screen, frowning at the all-too-happy cook.

"And now we're going to baste it..." she said, pulling out what looked like an artist's paint brush.
Katsuo laughed and decided to dub the lady's voice, just for the fun of it.

"And now I will paint the dead bird," said Katsuo, adopting his best feminine voice. "I prefer bright pinks and neon oranges, but today I'm going for mildew brown. See I dip it in the mildew brown paint and then brush it over the turkey and..." Katsuo laughed and continued. "OH NO! I made a mistake, I made a mistake! The turkey was already brown! I am wasting the basting--"

All of a sudden, the TV volume about doubled.
Katsuo turned just in time to see the woman behind the desk lowering the TV remote, her brow furrowed.

Katsuo offered the woman another smile, a smile she was quick to shoot down with a look of daggers, then turned back to Jodie. He pulled absentmindedly at the torn fabric of the chair he was on, trying to figure out what other options they had. He and Jodie had promised to meet, listen to some music, maybe watch some TV.
"All right...maybe we should go to Nurse Evans' office?"


Muse: Pretty good! Let me know if I godplayed too much?
Tag: Jodie/Open
Word Count: 1183

[Jodie Tanaka]

As Jodie walked through the hallways of Michigan State, she smiled. It hadn't exactly been a blast, but she at least had one thing to look forward to: she was supposed to meet Katsuo in the social area today. As much as she wanted to curl up and die, because she was physically exhausted, and her moodiness was off the charts, she couldn't help but be excited to meet up with him again. Ever since she had met him for the first time, he seemed to be the only person on her mind. She was a bit foolish, really, for liking him so much, but she stood by what she had told him in the music room: that she couldn't manage to be sad around him. It was unreal, really, how comfortable she seemed to be when she was around him, and how just plain content with life she felt the last time they had seen each other. All week, she had been hoping to run into him in the hallways, just to say hi, or remind him of their plans on Friday. The week seemed to pass by so slowly, just dragging on until friday. She still hadn't slept, so large dark circles had appeared under her eyes, but she at least could manage a weak smile when she walked into the social area, looking around, finally her eyes settling on the familiar Japanese boy.

Jodie smiled, as they set up the cd player and what-not, and giggled when Katsuo winked at her. "You're not dumb," she laughed, smiling fondly at him. She had brought her portable cd player anyway, because she didn't think there would be one around. It wasn't a big deal; she liked sharing her music with people anyway. She wasn't sure how much of it Katsuo would like, but she could at least give it a shot. He seemed open-minded anyway, so it couldn't hurt to try. Jodie looked over at Katsuo, blinking her large blue eyes slightly. She'd felt like she'd known him for so much longer than she actually had. From the moment he introduced himself, Jodie felt them click, and she couldn't have imagined meeting a more wonderful person in her life, especially when she was essentially in a nut-house, or a prison, or whatever you wanted to call it. In some ways, she was glad that she had come to Michigan State. There were better alternatives than a mental asylum, sure, but she was glad to have met Katsuo in this way nonetheless.

Jodie stood by Katsuo, rocking back and forth in her shoes, her head tilted slightly as she looked at him. If she was starring, then it was okay. Even if he happened to look over and see her looking at him, she didn't think she would really mind. She might get momentarily embarrassed and blush like she always seemed to do, but other than that, she'd probably just smile on. Jodie let out a small sigh, rubbing her eyes as Katsuo walked away for a moment, to ask the lady supervising them if they could change the channel. Not sleeping since she'd arrived hadn't exactly done wonders for her body. So much of her experience so far was a complete blur, clear memories interrupted by her nearly falling over with exhaustion, blanking out occasionally, or trying to block the not so pleasant memories from her mind. Jodie turned, watching Katsuo walking back over. Apparently they weren't allowed to change the channel, but at least she was nice about it. Jodie followed suit, sitting in one of the chairs next to the one that Katsuo sat in, sitting up straight on the edge of her seat, her hands neatly folded on her lap. If she relaxed into the chair like Katsuo had done, she was sure that she'd pass out, and she didn't want to ruin hanging out with him because she was tired.

So the cooking channel droned on, and then Katsuo started speaking, making fun of the show, causing Jodie to erupt into giggles, and the supervisor lady to turn up the volume to drown them out. Jodie blushed slightly, trying to look innocent as possible when the lady glanced over at the two of them. She looked over at Katsuo, as he suggested going to Nurse Evan's office. Jodie hadn't met the nurse before, but she heard good things about her from most people that she'd spoken to. She shrugged, and gave Katsuo a small smile. She didn't really care where they went, as long as they were hanging out. If he wanted to go to the nurse's office and watch TV there, she'd be fine with that. "Sure," Jodie said, shrugging again. They at least might have a little more freedom there. From what she had heard, Nurse Evans wouldn't have a problem with them watching whatever they felt like, as long as they didn't get her into trouble, or take advantage of her.

Jodie placed a hand on each of the armrests, using them for support as she stood up slowly, her limbs shaking slightly as she stood. She did her best to look presentable today. She had even given in and put some coverup under her eyes, to make her look less zombie-like. It had worked to some extent, but she still had some pretty visible dark circles under her eyes. She was doing her best to hide her exhaustion, but her mind was still a bit foggy. She felt a bit more awake since she'd walked around a bit and woken herself up, but it was no substitute for a good night's rest. Unfortunately, that was something that Jodie hadn't had in quite some time. She blinked, rubbing her eyes once more as she looked over at Katsuo, slinging her bag full of cd's and other stuff over her shoulder, as she waited for him to either lead her to Nurse Evan's or suggest whatever they were going to do next.

word count;; 1046
tag;; katsuo :]
other;; naah, you didn't godmod. it's perfectly fine, as always

[Katsuo Stride]

Katsuo glanced Jodie's way to see her reaction to his request and felt a little bad. She looked so tired. But he understood that. He hadn't been getting all that much sleep himself. He wondered if he looked as haggard as some of his other friends here in Michigan State claimed he did.

"Sure," Jodie said, shrugging again.

Katsuo hoped it wasn't too out of the question, or that something else problematic would crop up, like Nurse Evans not being in her office at all. He didn't think it was necessary that the Social Area needed to be monitored, especially by a woman who was busy with work other than the TV and yet still would not allow the patients intended usage of the television to use it at all! It seemed as unjust as just about everything else in Michigan State. Katsuo knew Nurse Evans would be fair to him and Jodie, assuming she was in her office. Yet he also didn't want to take Jodie to a place like that in the event there was other entertainment provided. Entertainment like kids running to get to the bathroom in time or something...well, something equally unpleasant.

Katsuo waited for Jodie to gather all her belongings before he left the Social Area. The girl was definitely tired, and it seemed she was having a hard time moving around. Katsuo felt bad. Here he was wandering around with nothing in his arms, and he was just going to let her do all the work? Nope.

As they moved down the hall, Katsuo turned Jodie's way, grinning impishly. "Okay, Jodie-chan, we have two options. You can let me help carry your stuff, or I will just carry everything, including you!"
He didn't know if she was going to allow for it or not, but he was very serious. She seemed extremely tired and needed the help, he was sure. Besides, she surely knew him well enough by now to know that he would do what he said. Most likely, anyway.

Not five minutes later, and the two of them were in front of the Nurse's Office. Katsuo peered into the room first, trying to see if the place was busy and if any patients were around. He'd just got around to thinking that life at Michigan State without any type of illness was bad enough, when someone emerged from an adjoining room.
Katsuo waved a hand to get their attention. He normally didn't mind just waltzing into places, especially if he had the choice to. But he had a lot of respect for Nurse Evans and didn't want to compromise that for something as small as this.

He was going to turn around and tell Jodie why he was hesitating, when he realized the person who had appeared in the room was moving around hastily, from one hospital bed to another, looking very much as though he or she were searching for something specific. Now that Katsuo recognized what the person was doing, he realized he couldn't tell if it was a girl or a guy. They were wearing dark clothes and had on a hood. At least Katsuo was now sure he wasn't looking at Nurse Evans. But why would she allow some random person to start scanning the entire room for something? It seemed uncharacteristic.
Katsuo waited a moment more, just watching, and that was when he noticed the weapons.

The strange, dark-clothed person was carrying an array of what looked like doctors' surgical instruments. The figure bent down at a table very close to where Katsuo and Jodie were watching and lifted up what appeared to be a needle before hurriedly pocketing it.
Katsuo was suddenly very curious. Concerned, but curious. He withdrew from the doorframe of the room and pressed his back against the wall outside, trying to make sense of what he was seeing.

"Jodie," he said softly, not wanting to be audible enough for the strange figure to hear. "You saw that too, right? Why do you think someone would need all those...sharp things?"


Muse: Not too bad! (I think I just made it a lot darker than we intended, though )
Tag: Jodie/Open
Word Count: 749

[Jodie Tanaka]

Katsuo had waited patiently for Jodie to gather her things, watching her with what seemed like curiosity. She looked up at him, and smiled slightly. She followed him down the hallway, her legs shaking slightly as she walked. If the food here was halfway decent, she would have been in better shape, but the combination of no protein in her system and no sleep wasn't good for her health. Jodie looked up from the floor that her eyes had settled on, when she heard Katsuo speak. He looked over at her, smiling sweetly. "Okay, Jodie-chan, we have two options. You can let me help carry your stuff, or I will just carry everything, including you!" Jodie smiled back, her cheeks reddening slightly. It was sweet, though she couldn't really tell if he was serious or not. Whether or not she took him seriously, he probably was. She definitely wouldn't let him carry her. Jodie looked over at him, smiled, and leaned her head on his shoulder for a moment before looking at him. "I'm okay, thanks," she said quietly, smiling at Katsuo.

Jodie followed Katsuo into the nurses's office, as he looked like he knew where he was going a lot more than she did. She paused when Katsuo did, watching as he waved at someone who entered from one of the ajoining rooms. She noticed Katsuo hesitate for a moment, before quickly turning his attention back to the person who was in the room as well. Jodie jumped, a bit confused by the other person. The figure was dressed in dark clothes, and had their face covered by a hood. Jodie gulped, watching as the dark figure bustled about quickly, grabbing what seemed like everything they could and shoving it into a bag. Instinctively, Jodie reached up a hand, grabbing Katsuo's sleeve and pulling him towards her, away from the door. It was partly because she was a bit afraid, and felt the need to grab onto something, and also because she didn't want Katsuo in the way if the man grabbing pointy objects decided to test out his new toys.

Katsuo and Jodie continued to watch for a moment, and Jodie only clung to Katsuo's sleeve more tightly, inching closer to him, hiding her face behind his shoulder. "Jodie...You saw that too, right? Why do you think someone would need all those...sharp things?" Jodie nodded, but the only noise that came out of her mouth was a small squeak, barely audible. Situations like these were the reason why she hated this place so much. It was okay sometimes, when she was just hanging out in her cell, or outside with people that she knew and liked, but then they wandered into a dark room, with a dark figure, stealing surgical equipment. That was just plain strange, and Jodie was a little more than freaked out at this point. She didn't want to stick around to see what the figure was planning on doing with the tools that it had stolen, and if Katsuo was okay with it, she didn't mind leaving and finding somewhere else to hang out. Jodie shook her head nervously, gently tugging on Katsuo's sleeve, gesturing that they should probably leave and get a staff member, and tell them what happened. She doubted that he would pick up on exactly what she had tried to get across, but he would at least notice that she was trying to tell him something at the very least.

word count;; 601
tag;; katsuo :]
other;; Not sure if Jodie pulling him away from the door was godmodding or not. Not my best post, but eh.

[Katsuo Stride]

It didn't seem all that good a thing that Katsuo was so prone to finding trouble, even when he wasn't looking for it. Because today had actually been planned to be a much more relaxed one. He was just supposed to chill with Jodie and enjoy life as best they could in this kind of place.
But no.
He had to have the dumb luck of suggesting a visit to Nurse Evans' office, where he and Jodie would of course come across another patient from Michigan State, though one--Katsuo got the feeling--really belonged here.

Jodie grabbed him by the sleeve somewhat suddenly, but Katsuo knew he was grateful. He'd been so lost watching the odd figure that he hadn't considered that he was probably just as visible to the sharp-object collector, as the latter was to him. When he turned to ask Jodie if she had seen the same thing, the look on her face was a good enough answer. And she was moving closer too, clinging tightly to his arm.
The girl nodded, but didn't say anything.

Katsuo knew she was right about that. Not saying anything.
He'd already spoken enough, even if it hadn't been all that loud. His first instinct was that the pair of them get the heck out of there and to somewhere safe. Even watching a boring, old cooking show seemed a lot safer a bet than this.
But there was that other part of Katsuo that was too curious. Just too curious for him to just forgo finding out what was going on, or stopping whatever was happening from happening. It was that same side of him that craved the thrills he got from games like Truth or Dare.
It was that side of himself his counselor had been working hard to repress.

And yet Katsuo knew there was at least one good thing about him being this way. He wasn't playing it all that safe, loitering not many yards away from someone having a sharp-object-collecting fest. But Katsuo knew, if the person got away with all those objects...well, what were they planning to do with them? If he and Jodie didn't at least try to do something, it was very possible someone else was going to get hurt. And judging by the sheer number of knives alone, this person was capable of hurting a good number of other people.
As if trying to remind him that his thoughts were somewhere in the realm of absurd, Katsuo felt Jodie tugging on his sleeve. He looked her way and understood her gestures to mean something clearly along the lines of, We need to get out of here or get help.

Katsuo looked at Jodie for a moment, trying to decide what was better, what was safer for them to do. Okay, well, he knew what the safer option was. He just didn't know if it was better.
"I do not-ah know if we can just leave that guy," Katsuo whispered to the girl next to him, looking concerned. "What will he do with all that dangerous stuff? I do not like it..."

He leaned over to look through the doorway again, and his eyes widened.

The figure had disappeared.
Somewhere into the room?
Katsuo wasn't entirely sure, but he knew there could hardly be any other option. They would have seen the figure leave the room if he had left.

So he had to still be inside.

Katsuo wondered....what if Nurse Evans had been inside all along? What if that figure was holding her hostage? Or had hurt her?
Swallowing a lump in his throat, Katsuo turned to Jodie again, putting one hand on her arm.

"So...this will not sound very....nice, uh, but...he is not there any more. I can't see him." Katsuo hesitated. "Maybe we better go in..."


Muse: Not my best work, but...
Tag: Jodie/Open
Word Count: 714

[Jodie Tanaka]

Jodie let out a small squeak as she hid behind Katsuo, still holding on tightly to his shirt. He still seemed pretty interested in watching to see what would happen next, but Jodie rather wouldn't stick around to find out. He glanced back at Jodie, detecting what she was trying to say with her eyes. "I do not-ah know if we can just leave that guy, What will he do with all that dangerous stuff? I do not like it..." Jodie frowned. She didn't like the thought of what the figure would be doing with all the tools he had found either, but she'd much rather leave and find a staff member to take care of it. Both of them were pretty small, and not exactly strong and mighty looking. She couldn't really tell how big the figure was, but if she had to guess, she didn't think too fairly small Asian kids could handle themselves facing someone like that. She shuddered, not wanting to think about it. Katsuo glanced back into the room, and then looked back at Jodie with wide eyes.

"So...this will not sound very....nice, uh, but...he is not there any more. I can't see him. Maybe we should go in..."

Jodie let out another squeak, and quickly shook her head, though she felt slightly comforted by the warm hand on her arm. She was maybe a little naive or innocent, but going into the dark room did not seem like the best idea. At Katsuo's words, Jodie only clung more tightly to his sleeve, hunching her shoulders and sort of hiding behind him. She shook her head again. "That's a bad idea," she said, very quietly, her voice shaking slightly. She didn't want Katsuo going in by himself either, so she held on tightly to his arm, as tightly as her exhausted self could manage. All she wanted was to hang out with Katsuo, because she enjoyed his company, and it would help to take her mind off things. She was still hanging out with Katsuo, but this wasn't quite what she had in mind. Jodie looked up at Katsuo, furrowing her brow slightly. He wasn't going in there, not if she could help it. If he really wanted to explore, she'd follow him, naturally, but she'd prefer if they didn't venture into the dark room where the dark figure had just been, and completely disappeared.

"We should go find a counselor," Jodie said quietly, her voice still sounding very tired and shaky. The small girl looked up at Katsuo, frowning slightly. She had been looking forward to this day all week, since she had first met Katsuo. She had to admit, she had her hopes up for having a nice day together, but it had quickly turned into a very serious situation, that she didn't think she and Katsuo should try to handle on their own. Just standing there was making her more and more nervous. Where had the figure disappeared to? She'd never been in the nurse's office before, so she didn't know how far back it went or what else in there the dark figure could've found and gotten his hands on. It wasn't a pleasant thought, to say the least. This certainly hadn't been what Jodie was expecting for this day. "Katsuo?" Jodie said, very quietly, tugging on the Japanese boy's sleeve slightly.

word count;; 600
muse;; meh, not my best, but i haven't written for jodie in a while
tag;; katsuo
other;; i love these two.