Recruitment at Injection Point - Social Hoshi and Madelyn

[Hoshi]

When Hoshi was finally given a new body, he had to admit, he was glad he could stop damaging the base by simply being. His powers were great for just being a weapon of mass destruction. Not so much at being a reusable weapon and in the back of his mind, he knew that the cost for having him around had to be piling up. Something he sincerely didn't want to know the specifics on because if he thought the life debt was hard enough to pay back then he couldn't imagine the amount of Ryo he'd have to fork over. Probably more than he could seriously earn in multiple lifetimes. He groaned out loud as he slowly made his way down through various hallways. "Please . . . whatever being is out there. Never let me see the bill for all the damage I've caused. I think my pill would shut down if I did."

He grabbed his face with a hand and just pulled it down before moving his hand to his hair and playing with it. Silky smooth as always, thank god he never had to spend money on keeping his hair like this. That was another bill he couldn't imagine the money needed to maintain such high-quality hair. Which speaking of bills and issues to be, that psycho bitch. In his infinite wisdom he'd dragged her to the base, while unconscious, broken, and burned across her body, and then basically committed a cardinal sin by giving her to R&D. He shuddered heavily, even going so far as to stop walking for a moment. It made him think about how things were when he was in Soul Society. Specifically, Squad 12. It's why he never came to the nerds if he didn't have to. I.E. Orders from on high. Yet he'd just condemned her to possibly a similar fate. . . if there were any who were similar to Squad 12. The thought didn't settle well on him.

He looked into the lighting panel above him. Just what was he supposed to do? He didn't know what the fuck she was. Sure, he was made by mad scientists and fucking freaks of nature. But that didn't mean he could fucking identify other freaks of nature or worse yet, products of such lunatics. No more than anyone else could. It didn't take a fucking genius to see that the woman was some kind of science experiment gone wrong . . . or worse gone right. Another shudder ran through his gigai and he swore he could feel his pill shifting around. As he continued to look into the light above him his mind went back over the recent fight in the marketplace. And while his blood started boiling again, he managed to keep himself calm as he thought over things.

Seriously though, what ARE you? From one body warper to another, you seem like a science fiction or anime monster. Body warping, changing to neon colors, skimpy ass clothing MADE OF SKIN FOR ALL I KNOW, and fucking hair that loreal couldn't fix. Let alone being a literal walking weapons cabinet. Like this is some fucking dark manga bullshit. Next thing I know, she'll be a fucking teenager to boot! God no. GOD. NO. I refuse to believe that. In fact, I refuse to decide what she is as that's not my fucking job. . . but still. . . I hope for her sake they didn't actually do "live" testing on her. Dunno how I'd be able to handle knowing I put her through that. Guess we'll find out when I get there.

Hoshi kept on walking as he went ever deeper into the subterranean depths of the base. He'd only been this new way a few times given he never liked going to the R&D folk. But he had to interrogate this woman as well as get the information he needs from R&D to actually determine just what she was. Let alone try to figure out just what she was doing. Like she couldn't REALLY just want to kill everything that moves let alone breathes. . . He hoped not. With another deep sigh he continued walking further. Down many hallways, down many stairs, even going through a couple elevators because they just had to be somewhere at the deepest fucking part of the base. He rolled his eyes and took out his new phone. It took him 40 minutes to get a new body. 20 to get adjusted to it. 30 to get to his room and get himself put together, and now another 45 just to get to her specific containment room. Too much damn time and now he couldn't even consider the idea of going to the late-night bakery. He put his phone away and clenched his fist as some tears made their way down his face. I'm going to kill this woman if she doesn't have a good reason. Those fucking sweets will have to wait until tomorrow night!  

By the time the elevator opened, and he found the specific room he was meant to be in, it was well past 3 am. He rolled his eyes and took a moment to look over his email. Just to see if he got any notifications about this woman. Logging into his work email it turned out, he had a couple emails on her. He smiled for a brief moment only to realize there was so much goddamn jargon that he literally couldn't understand half of it. He squinted at his phone and tried to make his pill and by extension his gigai's brain work in tandem to ensure he had enough computational power to read these fucking emails. One immediate detail he got from her was that she was a soul.

Through and through. He chucked to himself seeing that he was right on that front. She was however similar to a shinigami but evidently not a part of them which made him wonder if she had gone to the Rukongai and then Squad 12 had abducted her. It wasn't impossible but it wasn't their forte either. Not usually. Or at least, not his section. Still, it was a bit concerning to say the least. There was a note regarding he fusion with something called a "bakoto" whatever the fuck that was. It seemed important and he could understand it did something to her body, but she had no idea what. Maybe it was the flesh weapons she made or perhaps it was her hair. But one way or the other it did something to her. And all Hoshi could think of was "mad scientist shit". He shuddered. The rest was lost on him. Jargon about her spiritual energy. Talk about her physicality. A report on the wounds he'd given her, most of which was not insignificant. And some other mumbo jumbo along with papers to try and transfer her over to them for further testing.

He growled at the email that sent over the paperwork for that. He'd deal with the person who thought that was a bright idea later. For now, he had enough of the science departments shit. He put his phone away and let his ID be scanned so he could enter the room. And there she was. Strapped by metal links onto an operating table, though it wasn't flat on its back. She was upright for the time being. She also had a medical gown and a couple IVs in her. They looked to be in her neck, arms, and even a pair in her legs. Hoshi shuddered heavily as he just . . . he was more uncomfortable with the sight before him than he was with her actions previously. This was . . . torture in a way he wasn't fond of. Still hopefully this meant she was much calmer now and wouldn't be fucking crazy when she spoke.

Assuming she was awake. Speaking of, he'd need to bring her back to consciousness if she wasn't already. There was a bottle of some kind near him, and it had a note next to it. "Spiritual stimulant, it'll ensure she can speak if the drugs haven't worn off. Use only a little bit, preferably waft the vapors over her face. DO NOT INJECT INTO HER BODY UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE." The fact that had to be specified was just that much more concerning. Still, he grabbed the bottle and walked over to Madelynn. He patted her cheek and shook her a little. "Hey, wake up. I'd much rather you brought yourself back than use whatever. . . this is. I'll give you a minute but if you don't show a sign. . . well I'm sorry if this shit stinks then." Hoshi would then wait for a moment and if Madelynn didn't respond then he'd open the cap and place the bottle under her nose and wait until she did. He didn't know what the liquid smelled like but couldn't imagine it wasn't awful in some capacity.

[Madelyn Fūrinji]

Over the last several hours Madelyn had been in a pure state of unconsciousness. Her body had suffered wounds that typically would have led to death. A young soul like hers wouldn’t have been able to handle the brutal wounds inflicted on her by that Mod Soul. Open wounds that needed to be treated weren’t even the horrible part although they were severe enough that a normal human could have bled to death. Madelyn at the moment was practically a mummy. The only exception happened to be her eyes as every other part of her body was wrapped in bandages.

Bandages that across almost every portion of her body had been changed multiple times already in just a couple hours. The status of her skin and organs when she’d been brought to Xcution was serious enough that at the moment she had only just now been cleared from the danger zone. At any moment she could have died due to the wounds that she’d suffered. Through the darkness her eyes opened at the command of that familiar voice. The man who’d beaten her was by her now. It’d take her a few moments to look around the room before releasing a sigh. She couldn’t move her body, her eyes were what was within her range of motion right now as everything else was damaged.

She could hear what he was saying, but didn’t really care. By the time he finished with his aggressive manner of speech she’d managed to move her lips and feel the interior of her throat by swallowing. Everything felt swollen, but talking was possible although how easy it’d be she couldn’t tell. She could see she was in a hospital room now with several bags of water attached to her body. It didn’t make sense and if she had the energy she’d probably freak out. How was she in a hospital when almost no one could see her? Better question though, if this guy beat her why did he save her?

That's when it would click for Madelyn, she couldn’t feel the influence of the parasite despite this guy being in the same room as her now. Whenever she came across anyone spiritual it always flooded her mind. Why wasn’t it trying to make her fight him again right now? Did she get hurt too much or was this some sort of weakness or escape from its commands? If she got beat by someone while it’s influence was going on did that mean she could be around them from that point onward? Madelyn had no clue, but couldn’t help herself from the hope that she wouldn’t have to rely on the corrupt happiness that came with the parasite in her arm.

“Where am I?”

[Hoshi]

Hoshi watched her near silently for admittedly longer than a minute. The bottle in his hand didn't rest well there as it just kept making him think of Squad 12 and the fucked-up shit that happened there. Eventually he caught the quiet near whisper of Madelynn. He visibly sighed in relief and recapped the bottle before placing it down on a table. Then he grabbed a nearby chair and sat down on it. One leg over the other as he leaned onto his right arm, that was currently using the arm rest. He sighed again though this time was more because of her question. You know they always ask that. As if I'm going to bend over and just tell them "Oh yes, I've taken you to a secret base and now I'll spill all the beans just because you asked so nicely." . . Though in her case it may be a bit more than just that. . .

Hoshi looked Madelynn dead in the eye and waited a moment longer in case she had something else to say. When he heard nothing and saw she was looking back at him he'd speak up. "For obvious reasons I can't tell you that. What I can say is that for the time being your alive and sort of being taken care of. This isn't a hospital but its close enough given the folk who work here. That said, I'm going to level with you. . . You attacked me at random in a highly populated area. You're lucky I didn't kill you for that reason alone. However, something tells me you're not normally of your right mind. Reason being you've got "science experiement" practically written all over you considering you can body horror yourself on command."

He shuddered some as he thought back on their fight and what all she could do. Again, just fucking weird. And from one science experiment to another, what the actual fuck man. He looked back up at her and spoke again. "So, with that said, what's your deal? Who or what made you like this because I KNOW a soul from the Rukongai doesn't just wake up one day and find they can suddenly just be a monster. . . Unfortunately, I've seen what makes those, so I know something happened. On top of that, I want to know simply put, are you an enemy of the human world or are you just uncontrolled? Both can be dealt with but one is far more pleasant for you than the other, I assure you. Take as long as you need to think and speak. The wounds you have would have killed most." With his piece said for the moment Hoshi just continued to look at Madelynn. Waiting about as patiently as a man who was confused, annoyed, and frankly kind of stupid could be. If nothing else though, it wasn't completely her fault, just mostly. More than anything he really, truly, wanted to know what the cause of her state of being was. And if it related to the shinigami.

[Madelyn Fūrinji]

Opening her eyes and seeing the guy she’d attacked sitting there was surprising enough. It didn’t help that Madelyn couldn’t remember everything that happened, it was like that all the time when she was taken over by the monster inside her arm. Most of the time it was flashes and some pieces of events, but never everything. Madelyn at the moment knew she had attacked first and that she’d been beaten down and burned worse than everything else put together.

“Should have just let me die. I can’t do anything about the thing inside me. I am sorry. I don’t want to hurt people, but whenever a spirit gets near me this thing wants me to fight. It makes the sadness go away. I’m sorry. I let it hurt to many people.” Madelyn, although in immense pain, started to feel like even her eyes were on fire, not putting together that her beginning to cry was placing too much stress on the eyelids which had only just been treated. At the moment she was like one big wound so no matter what she did it was going to hurt.

What Hoshi said had Madelyn stop and think for a moment about everything that had happened since she died. She already knew one simple fact, she was certain someone was behind what happened to her, but she knew nothing about that person or why they’d chosen her. “I’ll tell you everything since you stopped me. Thank you for stopping me. I don’t want to hurt anyone. I was normal a few months ago. I think it’s been a few months at least. I was killed and sent to Soul Society. I was only there for a couple hours though. Once I got to sleep I found myself here on Earth again. No one can see me though except those that are special.”

Madelyn paused for a couple moments trying to move her jaw from one side to another as it was already getting painful for her to speak. “Once I got here I tried to find someone that could help me, but this thing takes over most of the time. Sometimes there are Shinigami that aren’t very strong who I can speak with, but that’s only happened twice. I did find a nice woman who tried to help and taught me some things, but I didn’t want to hurt her. Since then I’ve been living on the street alone. I don’t know what I can do, but there’s normally a Hollow that finds me. I don’t remember everything that happens when I fight, but after I win sometimes I’ll wake up and find a piece of paper or a scroll with information on it. Like moves or things about what I can do when I transform.”

Coughing a few times Madelyn begins panting as she struggles to keep speaking. This was the most she’d spoken to someone in months and now whether she was hurt or not her throat would hurt. It’d been too long since she’d spoken without the influence of the parasite. The natural sound of her voice, her real voice, was foreign to her now. It wasn’t weighed down by depression or fueled by a sexual love for combat. “I’ve tried to stop it, but it makes me feel good. It takes all the pain away and then it just throws me away. You need to kill me. If you don’t I’ll just end up attacking you or someone else again.”

[Hoshi]

Hoshi listened and tried to think at the same time. Rubbing his two brain cells together in an effort to ensure that he could not only keep up with the conversation but also consider how to handle things. He'd already brought her here on a whim more or less. And he'd found out from the report that something was inside her. The commentary he got from her only further proved that though it wasn't as useful as he may have hoped. Or was it? I mean sure skim away the takeover aspect of it because he could guess at that and what was left? It attacks spiritual beings on sight, specifically strong ones. Or what it considers strong. It makes pain go away, physical and mental it seems? Evidently it takes her untrained self and makes her combat worthy.

It's evident something happened to her. She's a human soul that died, went to the Rukongai, and then got experimented on before coming back. She has no idea what's going on with her body nor the world around her. And frankly it sounds like she's just . . . a random person from the streets that got caught up in something. God this is complicated. Ughhh I'm not the guy who should be making these kinds of decisions but here I fucking am. Fucking stupid of me to even consider dragging her here because maybe she's a squad 12 victim ugh. It's still not off the table but it's not on the table either. It's just an option. Fuck man! Hoshi had gotten up from his chair at this point and was walking around, pacing really as his frustrations were painted on his face for Madelynn to see.

As he paced, he looked over at Madelynn with a seriousness in his eyes that seemed uncharacteristic even for him. Anger was likely fair game but this level of intense thought going on would no doubt be strange. And with the intensity of his frown and the fact he was trying to scratch his head as he thought only further showed that thinking was not necessarily his strong suit. Eventually he just took a deep breath and then yelled for a moment. His back was turned to Madelynn as he did this and when he was done, he turned around and sat back down in his chair. He thought for another moment before speaking. "Alright so let me get this straight. Normal human soul, died, became a Rukongai spirit, and then near immediately transformed in your sleep to this, and got sent back? Is that correct?"

"And to make matters worse, this thing inside you, this "Bakkoto" as the nerds here call it, takes control of you. Makes you a combat menace despite no formal training and is also a fucking aggressive monster for anything noteworthy? If this is true fuck me sideways." He growled to himself already knowing the answer to several of these questions. He'd seen her in combat. He'd felt and seen what she could do. And worse yet he saw how she reacted. So, the only question then was why is she calm now? Why is the real person being brought out now? Was it because she'd finally lost to something strong? Or was there more to it? Maybe that'd give him some leeway to show him a path to travel down. He turned back to Madelynn and started her in her eyes while he spoke next.

"Never mind the previous questions, I already know the answers. Mostly from having seen you fight and react while "not in control". So, the million-dollar question then is why are you in control now? Sure, I beat you damn near to death and regardless of if I should have or not, you should be losing it now, right? So why not? I don't know what a Bakkoto is, but it sounds like it's got a mind of its own so if you're awake, then isn't IT awake also? Because if it is then it should be reacting to me like it did previously." It'd be at this point that Hoshi's reiatsu started to flare, mostly on accident. It's oppressive and fiery nature starting to make the air around him shift as he got closer to Madelynn, eye contact never breaking as he tried to find where the beast was inside them. He knew it wasn't destroyed, he saw the weapons and armor recede, not be burnt away.

Try as he might to calm himself down and not freak out Madelynn, Hoshi needed to know where this thing was. He needed to get a response out of it so he could learn more. And if he had to scare the bitch out, he'd do it. He'd find it this thing if it killed him and quite possibly if it killed Madelynn. This anger mixed with a determination to force out the beast had Hoshi accidentally use Willpower: Cog again and similar to the first experience in their fight the world shifted a bit. Gradually becoming darker until it was black with only Hoshi and Madelynn present. Yet it would be Hoshi who'd still shift further as his form grew nebulous and started to actually light itself on fire again. A return to the form he had used to fight Madelynn despite having not activated his powers. But now with more intense flames that colored dark blue-black and with smaller skeletons crawling across his body, his eye sockets, mouth, and worst of all slowly but surely crawling up Madelynn's body. When he spoke it was ominous, heavy, and it sounded like multiple spirits in anguish were speaking at the same time.

"Where are you?! I can see you squirming inside this girl filth. Keep hiding and I'll cauterize you and your host until I have you in my grasp. Then you'll scream and beg for mercy as I incinerate you until not even ashes remain. NOW STOP FUCKING HIDING!" While this whole moment and scene would feel like it was a small eternity, commentary on Hoshi's end included. It was functionally only a few moments at best. And with a few blinks on Madelynn's end, she'd realize that Hoshi while clearly furious, though distinctly not at her, was normal. No transformation. No changing the space around her. And while close wasn't touching her. He was very clearly trying to not actually lay a hand on her despite his body shaking and a clear desire to find the monster within that was hiding inside her. It still didn't stop the oppressive atmosphere that Hoshi was outputting however as his reiatsu wasn't wild, but it wasn't being well controlled at the moment. All in an accidental attempt to intimidate the bakkoto into doing something just to prove he was right and that it was watching.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Willpower: Cog}
Willpower has three stages that are associated with it, as listed below:
[Stage One: Cog]: By giving up 100 Reiatsu, the user pumps an explosive amount of intimidating power out. Anyone of inferior class will immediately be intimidated. This does not mean they won't fight. Those who are weak enough in comparison will feel a huge, exaggerated surge of power that will probably make them surrender. This can also be used on Hollows to actually scare them away instead of having to kill them. This does NOT work on animals! It only works on "intelligent beings." This means unless it has a similar to human intelligence, this wont' work on an animal.

[Madelyn Fūrinji]

Madelyn couldn’t do much more than lay in the bed strapped down as she was listening to Hoshi try and rationalize something that had been plaguing her own mind for months now. Perhaps he knew something about the world that she didn’t and it would be the missing piece to figuring everything out. Madelyn doubted it though. Keira had been the best hope she had of figuring things out, but she’d left her in fear that she would just cause more problems for the kind pink woman. All Madelyn could feel right now beyond the pain was exhaustion.

Just staying awake right now to listen was enough that she felt like her mind was starting to drift off. That's when Hoshi asked the really important question. Why wasn’t the parasite in her trying to influence her right now? The only times Madelyn could recall this thing not taking her over when she was near someone spiritual was when they were too weak. So weak in fact they hadn’t developed their powers beyond just being able to see spirits. She’d been able to speak and talk with Keira though after she’d beaten her down just like Hoshi.

Perhaps it really was as simple as beating her while influenced, Madelyn had a theory though. Perhaps the parasite this Bakkoto could tell it didn’t have a chance of beating Keira or Hoshi right now. It’s already tried once and couldn’t do it with Madelyn’s body. Maybe it was biding its time? Madelyn didn’t really have a clue, but it stuck with her now. Maybe it wouldn’t make her attack others that are too much stronger than herself. If that were true then all she’d have to do was stay around others stronger than her all the time and never get stronger herself.

Madelyn didn’t have any sort of proof though and Hoshi wasn’t the sort to be patient as his reiatsu flared while the room got hot. Madelyn only had a moment to recognize and then it got harder to breathe. She was already in a critical state, but Hoshi unleashing his reiatsu while utilizing Cog. It caused Madelyn’s body to go into a state of shock and her consciousness to slip away. By the time he was standing closer and demanding the Bakkoto to show itself, well Madelyn’s body would begin to shake. A seizure that he’d forced on her body through the extreme heat, pain and fear.

The members of Xcution responsible for keeping her alive would rush into the room forcing Hoshi to step backwards as they try their best to restrain Madelyn. Something, anything had to happen to show the location of the Bakkoto, but nothing appeared. It could have easily transformed her arm and attacked the medics attending to Madelyn and yet it never made an appearance. After several minutes Madelyn would wake up although now in much more pain with sedatives administered to her as well. Would Hoshi continue his tactic of trying to force the Bakkoto to the surface?

[Hoshi]

Hoshi was furious and steadily growing angrier at the situation as time went on. Though he didn't want to hurt Madelynn at this point the thought did cross through his mind if he should just see if he could find that reaction he was looking for. Yet what he got given he had used Cog and didn't realize it was Madelynn going through a series of medical issues. His eyes widened and he stepped back of his own volition before hearing the door slam open and having his body dragged back outside the room for a moment. He was shocked as he didn't think she'd get into a worse state by simply having him yell at, or technically around, her. Yet here was the proof in the pudding. She was just that weak at the moment and in a state of serious medical disarray.

Hoshi sighed to himself and only half listened to the nerds speak to him about being more careful. Not damaging the possible research project. About why he was trying to goad the bakkoto into reacting and far more things that Hoshi just couldn't be asked to give a fuck about. In all honesty she wasn't without fault here, or maybe she was but still, "she" had already admitted to attacking others. Maybe even killing normal folk. She had blood on her hands same as Hoshi did. Though granted he erred on the side of Shinigami blood and hers was a bit less specific it seemed like. Still despite all this they had a point, and they were doing him a favor by keeping her alive and making sure they looked into her. He groaned and punched the wall nearby, causing the nearby scientists to take a few steps back. Giving Hoshi some space and frankly, some well-deserved breathing room.

With a twinge of pain in his hand and a few deep breathes he found himself calming. His reiatsu doing the same and allowing the temperature to return back to the normal cool temperatures the subterranean base offered. Then he'd sit outside and wait, watching the scientists restabilize Madelynn and get her back to a solid enough spot again. Once they were done, he was explained to about her specific condition now that he'd aggravated it. With her being closer to unstable than previously, they urged him with great patience that he needed to stay as calm as possible if he insisted on her being alive. "I get it, I get it. Don't yell at her again. Keep myself under control. Listen, it's fucking hard enough already to do that, let alone with a weird as fuck situation as she's got already. Give me a break. I'll make sure she doesn't die on the table. Now leave us be, I need to talk to her more."

Hoshi then more or less muscled his way back into the room, waited until the scientists left, and then closed the door. The temptation to slam it very strong in him but he needed to keep the room and by extension Madelynn calm. Though in the back of his mind he swore that little parasitic shitstain was laughing at him. He swore that if given the chance, he'd burn the fucker right out of Madelynn and be done with it. He then walked over and sat back down in his chair while he waited for her to more or less return to consciousness. Once he noticed movement on her end he'd speak. "So . . . you may notice or feel a bit more uhh. . . . tubes in you. Apparently yelling towards your bakkoto and you by extension sent you into . . . shock, I think? So, I'm not going to do that anymore. With that said, I'm sorry for doing that. Your current situation is very . . . frustrating to deal with. And I've got to figure out what to do about it."

"That said though I've taken the time to think over things a bit more. Both what you've said and what the nerds have said. I'm going to be honest with you, you may have a point that killing you would be the easiest solution. However, I'm a spiteful person and especially to those that err on the side of live experimentation. It's happened to me as well. If I were you, I'd want every chance I could to remove that thing and give back a heavy dose of karma to whoever did that mad scientist shit to me. So, here's the deal. Maybe we can fix you, and maybe we can't. The nerds are capable and multiple, so there's a very real chance that they can do several things. Namely, figure out how to remove that thing from you and get you back to normal. Or at least level the playing field and make it so you can keep it from completely taking over your mind. How though, I couldn't tell you, they're the "smart" ones not me. I clean up messes and do my best to help support everyone here."

Hoshi sighed and rubbed his face with his free hand. He couldn't believe that he was going to offer this to Madelynn, especially after nearly killing her twice. She'd likely be crazy just to humor the notion, but he was likely even more crazy for offering it. However, even he had to admit, if she joined Xcution then she and others would be significantly safer than her wandering without any idea of what's going on with her. She could get some regularly scheduled checkups, learn about her abilities, and even be around those that could in theory stop her from causing more problems. Maybe give her a real livable situation as opposed to the craziness that she had to deal with currently. But that was going to ultimately be up to her. And she'd have to want to change the direction of her life with this thing as opposed to ending it all.

Hoshi then stood up to look her in the eye. "I want to offer you a new home with Xcution. You're already in our facilities and you're already surrounded by other strong individuals, several more so than myself, who could very easily keep you or rather your parasite in check. From one botched up science experiment to another, this is likely the best chance you've got to fix whatever is going on with you and not need to die. I'm not really "human" either and they've helped give me a place to be at and a life to live. The only thing is, they want you to help out with their agenda. It's missions that occasionally end up in dirty work. Something your current. . . problem child is good at. So long as someone is around you that can help keep you in check you actually stand to gain more control over your situation."

"It's a lot to take in, and you've really no reason to trust me but if you recall, I also have abilities that hurt others and damage the world around me. I'm a literal star made sentient. Yet I help others, live a pretty happy life on the whole, and am working on getting myself fixed as we speak. I've still got problems that shinigami gave me. So, I'm speaking from personal experience when I say I think the folk here can help you. You've just got to be willing to give it a chance. And for what it's worth, I'll be trying to have you join my slice of Xcution since we both know I can help stop you if things go south. All that said, take your time to think and feel free to ask any questions you have. Neither of us are going anywhere any time soon."

Hoshi would then sit back down on his chair and watch Madelynn. He was far more "relaxed" though he was somewhat tense all the while. He felt like he was dancing on eggshells and wasn't certain if he'd freak her out again. He certainly hoped that he wouldn't, but he didn't know anymore. If yelling caused bodily shock, then perhaps him being around was simply going to cause more issues. But the problem here really was that if she didn't agree that meant Hoshi would have to kill her. Or do something else. Like give her to the scientists. He shuddered mentally at that thought. He'd much prefer to kill her than send her to a bunch of crazy nutjobs. It wasn't something he was keen on sending anyone through if he could help it. Still, it was Madelynn's decision, and the offer was out on the table now. So the real question was, if she'd bite. And if not, then why?

[Madelyn Fūrinji]

Passing out was one thing that happened no different than falling asleep. Madelyn knew that Hoshi had suddenly gotten more serious and then just scary. Things had gotten hot again, but that was all. Now she opened her eyes, realizing right away that she’d been asleep, but not quite putting it together that she’d passed out because of what Hoshi had done. Despite waking up Madelyn could tell she didn’t feel right, even worse than last time. She couldn’t explain it, she just felt like there wasn’t any way for her to move any part of her body now.

That's when she’d hear Hoshi speak again, doing her best she’d look over at him but she couldn’t move her head instead just looking to the side with her eyes which almost right away started to hurt. Madelyn just felt like breaking down now more than ever, sure before she was hurt and depressed, this pain though was beyond anything she ever felt. She was like one of the sad people in a comedy that gets a full body cast only to be dropped or pushed over by someone else while everyone else laughs.

Madelyn continued to listen while swallowed up in despair and yet just like that Hoshi didn’t give her a hit of hope, no he might as well have smacked her in the head with a lamp. She didn’t have a moment of hesitation, not a single moment that she had to ponder over what was being said to her. Madelyn for several months had been living on the street homeless, starving and scared of herself and so many others. “I’ll do whatever anyone here needs if you can get me control. I don’t think this thing will come out of me. I believe it’d rather kill me than get taken off, but if you can get them to give me control. I’ll do anything and everything.”

[Hoshi]

Finally, something went right. Something that while absolutely ludicrous wasn't ending in a negative outcome. Hoshi smiled, genuinely glad that Madelyn had decided to take his frankly batshit crazy offer. "Oh god am I going to have a lot of paperwork to do to make sure she's set up but at least it's not death. Maybe they'll actually get her under control and let her operate on her own. At least to a degree. Hoshi then got up and nodded. Putting the chair, he was using to the side while speaking to her. "Sounds good to me. For what it's worth, you're going to be around me for the foreseeable future as that's going to be a security measure that I'm implementing. Especially since I'll be the one in charge of you and making sure all the paperwork is dealt with to get you into Xcution's roster."

"For now, we can't start anything to give you control until your body is healed up. Least that's my guess anyhow. So as things stand, you'll be doing a lot of resting and regaining your health. We've got some stuff to speed up the process, but you'll be on bedrest for a while. With all that said, I'm going to leave you for a bit to get all the shit I'll need to fill out. After that I'll come back and start getting you transferred someone a bit more comfortable and see if I can get you some doctors who can help you at least feel better. Oh, and before I forget, my names Hoshi. I look forward to working with you and seeing more of you, as opposed to that thing inside you." Hoshi sent another much more relaxed and much more genuine smile her way. His arm twitched as if he was about to raise it to shake her hand but held himself back. Very clearly a habit on his end.

He'd stick around for a couple minutes to make sure he moved the room back to its normal state and wait to see if Madelynn had any questions or comments. If she had none then he'd nod towards her and walk out the room once he was done fixing it up. Things are going to get a LOT more interesting here. If only because we'll need to figure out how to handle her in a way that isn't beating her half to death. I'll figure out that mess later once I've got her all set up and my reports are written. From that point I can start talking around to others and see what advice I could get. I can't imagine that I'll be getting anywhere with her on my own merit. Let's just hope I don't need to talk to R&D about anything else. AND get her moved out from here asap, cause this place gives me the fucking creeps. I can't imagine what she must be thinking about being locked up in this place.

[Shizuka Sanamizu ✮]

Hoshi: 31 paragraphs = 30% social bonus to a thread with Madelyn

Madelyn: 17 paragraphs = 10% social bonus to a thread with Hoshi