Traditional Future [Mei X Katsu FTE]

Katsu was hoping there was something that could help him, now that his body was starting to shut down, his medicine no more use to him. The effects were wearing off and Katsu was in a small state of panic, though it wasn't to the level he was outwardly showing. He just had trouble walking and things like that. He just sat down most of the time and stayed in his room, even if it were just yesterday that these things were put on them. It felt like forever since then, as a lot of stuff seemed to happen, like with Tomoe and him last night, or this morning depending on one's point of view as it happened after curfew. However, given the situation, Katsu knew he had to prepare himself for the worst.

Therefore, he headed to the nurse's office in the newly opened portion of the factory, a floor down from their quarters. Using the elevator as stairs were not a good thing to test right now when his body was failing him like it was, Katsu found his way to the nurse's office, the thought plaguing him that perhaps this would go on far enough that he would need help to even move around. That's what the doctor's told him before he joined the experimental drug testing at Hope's Peak when he was about thirteen, and… it stopped the diseases progression almost completely (more like made a day's progression about half a year to take place, so it progressed just really slow), but he hadn't been off his medication since then and it was scaring him.

He had to remain calm, and that's what he told himself as he stepped out of the elevator and walked towards the nurse's office. There was someone there. Great. He didn't want anyone to find out his weakness. Clenching his fist weakly, Katsu walked in and started to look around. Mei. It was Mei. Ah, yes, someone he wanted to talk to anyways. Then again, he hated talking. He just had to get something off his chest.

"I'm sorry for giving you that order… earlier with Abraham."

He wasn't worried about Abraham disliking her for doing it, though it was comforting that she felt they weren't in any trouble between each other. After all, it was his fault. While he didn't know Mei very well, he figured from the way she had been acting by guarding the body due to an order, it wouldn't hurt to try to use her as a weapon to prevent Oppenheimer from killing everyone with his stupid act. While Katsu didn't know the lengths Mei would go to, and while he should be scared of her with that sword for a hand, Katsu found himself oddly calm around her, not worried that she would attack him. Or perhaps he was at peace at someone attacking him. For if they attacked him, Tomoe wouldn't be attacked… probably, unless they were bloodthirsty and wanted to kill two people, but then again, who would hurt someone as sweet and beautiful as Tomoe? Maybe if they were jealous of her amazingness. And then he needed to be alive to stop them. Yes. That was why he had to live.

"It's Katsu. Do not call me Kuno." Katsu hated his last name. It meant that he was part of the family who had outcast him, who had disowned him, who had cast him out to fend off the world on his own, while they took dirty money and forced it upon him in several instances, such as his usual bodyguards. They wouldn't let him fire them, or use other money, or anything like that. He tried to bring them down many times, believing their money to be dirty and they should face justice as many of his victims had faced, scrutiny in the public eye and in the court. Katsu's leaked documents he got from hacking sent many of the top officials who were corrupt to jail. Kuno was a reminder of the family that the public honored and believed to be great, when he knew the truth and just hadn't yet been able to prove it.

"Nothing." Katsu looked to Mei and then sat down on one of the surgery tables so he didn't have to stand any longer. "Exploration, really. Nothing specific." Liar.

Honestly Katsu didn't care that she was uncomfortable calling him Katsu, as long as she didn't call him Kuno. She could call him fuck-face or dude over there who looks like an idiot, or whatever, as long as she didn’t use the name that made him disappointed and made him lose pride in himself. While he knew who he was, and who his parents were, the dirty money they used to treat him and 'guard' him was always on his mind and he didn't need reminding. It was almost like he didn't want others to call him a name that was shameful to him even though others didn't know or they thought it was a famous name of war heroes. It was odd, but it was how he felt. He kept in mind the name he carried and tried to prove to the world he wasn't like his family, at least the bad family in his head. His siblings weren't bad, but his parents were terrible and had fooled the world into loving them.

So, in response Katsu simply nodded at her response to his request, even though hearing his last name caused his mind to run around in circles in hate and self-pity.

"They do stuff," Katsu explained, not really wanting to have to go into detail because he hated talking. "However… I do not need surgery. You may be well-versed in cutting things, but surgery is not about randomly cutting about. I need not anything to do with that right now. I merely wanted to sit somewhere where I did not have to look up at her and hurt my neck." After all, the surgery tables were fairly high since people needed to cut into a person laying down without hurting their back and still getting a close enough view to do the work needed.

"You are versed in killing things. Surgery is a life-giving process about knowing the body and everything in it. Specific procedures where you can cut into the brain take a part our and then sew it back up, without causing any sort of harm to the one you cut into. It's a healing practice that very few can actually achieve." Fuck. He talked way too much and it made him tired. He laid back and put his hands behind his head and looked up. "I just haven't been here yet. I slept much of yesterday… and talked to friends. Therefore, I needed to look in all of the new places. This just was one of them I have yet to visit." What was wrong with him? Perhaps Tomoe had rubbed off on him. He always talked more with her than with others.

It wasn't that he was an unfit person, though he wasn't strong like Mei, but he could run if his body was fully functional and he was back on his medication, or well, never stopping taking his medication was the better way to describe it. However, simply standing, talking, breathing, every action he took cost more energy than it had before because his body was started to disobey as his brain began to slowly die and lose control over his body. His nerves weren't responding correctly and thus to force the nerves to do what he wanted cost at least double the energy right now. If things went on for too long, he would need a wheelchair and he would be a burden on everyone here… and Tomoe would find out about how terrible of a person he was and probably reject him, or at least he would think she would reject him because he would be so much work in the future, such a burden increasing her stress more than he ever wanted to hurt her. Of course, keeping things from her might hurt her more in the end, but he didn't want to waste the time he had with a body that would do things with her worrying over him all the time.

Katsu shrugged at Mei's questions. "Dunno." It wasn't like he was a surgeon himself. While he knew what most of the words meant, he really didn't feel like talking more than he had to after that outburst that was almost like a speech. He didn't like talking to people because he hated how he phrased things and he was deathly afraid of making someone mad or making an enemy of a sort. He didn't want people to not like him. He wanted to make every smile, especially Tomoe, but last night he had made her cry and he would regret that for the rest of his life, no matter how short it was going to be because of this game. No, he would make it up to her later. He preferred her safe so she could smile more and more later than in danger with a small amount of smiles left.

Katsu slid off the surgery table and his foot didn't land right, hitting the side of his foot and stumbling, catching himself, luckily. "Why are you here?" He tilted his head in curiosity as he watched the kenjutsu master, not even realizing there was any sort of 'I'll kill you' in her expression before when she asked him about those words.

Katsu wasn't really in the mood to talk, and honestly he never really was in the mood to talk. There was just some instances that made him get off his lazy ass and talk and communicate with others, either because he had fun with talking which was rare or he felt it was just that important to say something because otherwise everyone would be in danger like in the trial they had. If he didn't say what was on his mind he could've lost his chance seeing as he couldn't trust anyone else to make the same observations that he did. But this conversation wasn't really that all important to him, nor did he find enjoyment in enlightening someone who seemed to know pretty much nothing about the world. Though, he did feel bad for ordering her to do something that ended up making Abraham lose his hand. However, they had already discussed that, though he wasn't happy with the whole discussion and how she took everything so lightly it seemed. Katsu was still feeling highly guilty and the regret was seeping farther and farther into his psyche he wasn't sure how to recover from such trauma as causing someone so much pain.

So. That was her code. She couldn't let go of that sword. He didn't know what boundaries exactly there were, but it seemed blatantly clear that she could not let that sword go else she wouldn't tape it onto her hand. It wasn't like he was going to tell her his, and his wasn't as blatant as hers, at least for now when he could still function mostly normally, though he knew that as time went on, and very soon, he would lose the little control he had, which he could feel slowly waning away from him.

"Okay." Katsu walked over to one of the cabinets and looked inside. He wondered if Abe had been here yet, as his hand probably needed better care than the quick treatment they were forced to put on him. After all, losing a limb was not something to take lightly. "Why do you care about talking to me?" He was curious. Why did anyone want to talk to him? He didn't like talking to others in most circumstances. But he was a kind person when he did talk, at least in general, though sometimes things came out the wrong way. He just wanted to know why anyone other than Tomoe actually seemed to talk to him, and some people seemed to care, even if just a little bit, or they were just pretending. He didn't understand why anyone could care about him especially since he didn't really talk that much to the others.

Katsu stared at Mei wondering why she would want to get to know him. He was a good person he liked to believe as he tried hard to be one, but in a situation like this, why would they want to get to know someone they probably will end up losing? Someone who will either kill or be killed? Perhaps it was the hope or the need to cling to others, while he had always pushed people away when he was in situations like this, though nothing quite like this he'd been involved with. His mind wandered to Kira and wondered how she was doing, causing great reserves of bottled up sadness and regret to bubble up and start plaguing his mind. He looked away from Mei for a moment and closed his eyes for a moment, the image of his heartbroken sister sitting in his mind, crying and wondering why he said the things he said. Regret. Of course, he felt it. But he also felt like he did the right thing. That suffering was nowhere near having to go through the suffering of watching someone you loved die. He didn't want his sister to cry over his shitty body giving out on him.

"Knowing me will only cause you pain." Katsu looked back up at her and stared her in the eye. "I am a poison to all those around me. I used to try to make people like me. I used to have friends. I used to have a family I cared about and whom cared about me. I found out the truth about my family and I pushed them away. I found out the truth about me and I am protecting those around me from myself. This is a warning, Mei Meiyo, knowing me will only cause you pain for when I end up dying in this game. Spend your time with someone else. I am merely a waste of everyone's time, I am a poison. I deserve to be alone. It is the fate that I was given when I was born. I want to be your friend, but I cannot. I do not want to cause you pain."

Katsu walked over to the door and didn't look back towards Mei. He just opened the door and stared out of the door. "Goodbye." And with that he walked out.