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[shiromadoushi]

Who: Bakura & Mort
What: A certain shrink spots a certain former patient of his wandering in a daze.
When: 7/20, evening
Where: Somewhere near the city library



There was a blank, lost look on the teen's face as he walked, eyes not really focused on much of anything for more than was needed to avoid walking into someone. There were no signs of anything wrong with him, past that empty, almost haunted look, but the look itself was enough to make some passer's by step to the side and look at him strangely.

Not that he noticed. He just kept walking.

Comments

[talktothedoll]

Mort had always liked to spend a bit of time in the library after closing down the office for the day, especially given the way the strange memories and things had been treating him as of late. He still hadn't figured out what was causing those mysterious chest pains, and, frankly, spending a bit of time in the library with books he wouldn't ordinarily read was a welcome distraction.

He was a bit more relaxed now than he had felt in a while, and so he felt it was time to head home. He was walking there, of course, he did like to keep in shape. He was surprised to see Bakura as he walked by, and he started to call out a greeting. Even though he knew Bakura didn't really care for him, that was no excuse for him to be rude. The intended greeting left his mind once he drew close enough to get a better look at the boy. Something definitely wasn't right here. Bakura seemed dazed somehow, which wasn't at all like him. "Bakura?"

[shiromadoushi]

The teen paused, turning to look toward the unfamiliar voice. "...who are you?" he asked, voice sounding oddly softer and higher in Japanese than it normally did.

[talktothedoll]

Well.

That wasn't right. That wasn't good. He wouldn't put it past Bakura to try to play some prank on him, given the teen's outright dislike of him, but this did not feel like a prank. Mort was good at reading people, especially old patients. This didn't seem like some kind of joke.

"I'm Dr. Yokugawa. You don't remember me?" He kept his tone polite and friendly. There was nothing in it to tip off Bakura to his level of concern, although he was very concerned. So concerned that he wasn't quite able to keep it out of his expression.

[shiromadoushi]

The teen shook his head. "Should I...?"

There was utterly no recognition. If it hadn't been for the fact that no one else looked like Bakura and the scar made him even more unmistakable, it would almost have been like Mort had the wrong person entirely.

[talktothedoll]

"We've met a few times before." Mort knew he needed to handle the situation delicately. He was starting to get an idea of what might be wrong, but he needed to confirm his suspicions. This wasn't the sort of thing he was expecting to be thrown into suddenly; later on, he'd probably go through the entire scenario in his mind, dissecting and critiquing his approach. "I must say, I wasn't expecting to run into you out here like this. What were you doing here?" The question was possibly a little more blunt than Mort would have liked, but it couldn't be helped.

[shiromadoushi]

There was a long pause as the teen blinked. And blinked again. "...Can't remember... there was something..." He trailed off, looking behind him, a faint frown tugging at his lips before turning back. "I don't remember...."

[talktothedoll]

Yes, it was certainly time to step in. "Why don't you come with me?" Mort offered. "I'm sure I can help. I can contact your family, let them know where to pick you up." Given their mutual connection to the network, he wasn't certain that the hospital would be the best place for Bakura. They weren't too far from his own office; he could carry out more of an examination there, and it would be safer than chatting out on the street.

And he really would contact Bakura's family, if this was not related to something with the network. Even if Bakura had never liked him much, he still had a responsibility to make sure Bakura was taken care of.

[shiromadoushi]

The teen seemed to freeze in place, eyes widening before his whole body began to tremble and he shook his head. "No... no I--"

His shoulders hunched in, hands clutching at the side of his head as his breath became erratic. "Amane... Amane was... and Mother.. I couldn't..." He shook his head rapidly. "Don't want to see that don't want to remember that can't--"

[talktothedoll]

Amane? Who was Amane? It wasn't a name Mort ever remembered Bakura mentioning, certainly, and he didn't think it was the name of anyone in his file. "No, no, that's all right..." He moved to support Bakura, to guide the boy in the direction of his office. Bakura needed medical attention, that much was clear, and Mort felt his office would be the safest place for the moment. It was certainly closest. "It's all right...nothing else can happen now..."

[shiromadoushi]

The teen made a visible effort to pull himself together, allowing himself to led. "Sorry, I---" he shook his head before taking in a deep, shuddery breath. "All I can remember is being there... I..."

[talktothedoll]

"It's okay, it's okay." Mort kept his voice soothing as he guided Bakura towards his office. "I'm sure it was very upsetting. There's nothing to be sorry about." Whatever "it" was. Whoever "Amane" was.

[shiromadoushi]

As they walked, the strange blankness seeped back into Bakura's expression. "None of this is familiar..." he observed, looking utterly lost and increasingly more bewildered. "Where are we? Not Japan... somewhere in America...?"

[talktothedoll]

"Yes, yes, it's America. Locke City." Whatever was going on here, Mort was quite glad they weren't far at all from his office. Nothing was right about this, and he was just glad he'd found Bakura before the boy got hurt or wandered off somewhere never to be seen again. He knew fugue states usually didn't last for a relatively long time, but if this were something influenced by the network...that would be a whole different problem.

[shiromadoushi]

"Lock city...?" The word was repeated with a hint of an accent, as if it were utterly foreign. "Strange name... Do they make locks here? Or was it a prison colony?"

[talktothedoll]

Mort took note of the accent, trying to run it against everything he could remember about fugue states. He’d seen news of very rare cases like this before, and that Bakura had seemingly lost his fluency in English was not unheard of, though troubling. Global transient amnesia, possibly...

“You know, I don’t really know. I always thought it was named for a man called Locke, myself...” He was relieved that they were drawing closer to his office, and even more relieved that his assistant was taking the day off. Fewer explanations. He wanted to take care of Bakura, and that meant keeping things quiet if this were related to the network.

...I swear I hit post ont his an hour ago ><

[shiromadoushi]

"Aaa-- that would make more sense, wouldn't it?" Bakura laughed with soft embarrassment, rubbing the back of his neck. The farther they got the more at ease he seemed. "Naming it after someone who settled it... A lot American cities got named that way, didn't they? The ones that weren't named new something or other..."

Aaah, I've done that before...no worries!

[talktothedoll]

"Yes, that's right. And really, how they named places also depends on where you're traveling in the country...I once went to a book signing in Texas. There were a lot of strange names there. Even a town named Cut'N'Shoot, can you believe that?" Mort was just fine with the relatively mundane turn the conversation had taken. It was putting Bakura at ease, which was important.

They were within view of his office now, which was a relief. "Ah, here we are!"

[shiromadoushi]

The teen blinked a few times, looking at the building. "This place... is yours?"

[talktothedoll]

"That's right, my office is right in here." Mort opened the door and gestured for Bakura to follow him. "It's much more peaceful inside."

[shiromadoushi]

There was a moment of hesitation before the teen followed, glancing back behind him as the door closed.

[talktothedoll]

The office was pretty much divided into two rooms. The outer office and waiting area, and Mort's main office, the place where he did most of his work. It was this second office he was heading for. "Won't you follow me? It's much more comfortable in here."

[shiromadoushi]

"What sort of doctor are you? That this is your office..." Bakura asked, looking around with muted curiosity as he docily followed.

[talktothedoll]

"I'm a psychiatrist, actually." And at the moment, Mort was quite glad of that. Bringing Bakura here instead of straight to the hospital wasn't entirely irresponsible...

[shiromadoushi]

The teen blinked again, turning to look at Mort curiously. "...and I know you, you said...?"

[talktothedoll]

"That's right...though we haven't seen each other in quite some time." Mort was watching carefully now; it was entirely possible the sight of his office, which would have been a familiar place, might have some sort of effect...

Hm. Perhaps it wasn't the best place to have brought him, after all.