recolle | An Unexpected Review [Limited]

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ghost in the shell: togusa

An Unexpected Review [Limited]

WHO: Togusa, with specific prompts for Gentiana and Koutarou and Lucian Trevelyan, a limited-open prompt for Togusa's fellow police officers and Dante Rantanen. (I can add more top-levels for more phone calls if needed.)
WHERE: Togusa's apartment.
WHEN: 4/3, morning.
WHAT: So much for avoiding all of Retrospec's changes. Togusa wakes up with a scar that he knows he's never gotten. Panicking ensues.
WARNINGS: Non-graphic description of gunshot wound scars. Lots of possible medical stuff.

Togusa can feel that something is wrong as soon as he wakes up. He is usually very aware of his physical state, and something is different about it, something that shouldn't be. He opens his eyes, and nothing is wrong. Still in his bed in his apartment, still a miniature schnauzer curled up on the body pillow because the dog refuses to sleep in the nice dog bed Togusa bought for him.

He takes in a deep breath, and there it is, an extra tightness in the skin on the right side of his rib cage. It's not pain, not discomfort, just something that shouldn't be there. His face forms a look of utter confusion, and he half-sits up and peels back the blanket. That breath leaves him in one sudden rush.

There is a scar on his chest, the unique marking that only a gunshot wound leaves behind.

The cold sensation of adrenaline runs down his spine as he bolts to the bathroom, throws on the light to look at himself in the mirror. The color has drained out of his face, but the mark is still there. He puts a hand to it, and his mind seizes up on the impossibility of this. It's there, he can't deny it, or ignore it, but it absolutely can't be there.

He's never been shot. He's never even fired his weapon in the field. How? Is he hurt? Is he injured? Did something happen to him while he was out? How could he not remember getting shot? He needs...he needs to go to the doctor. Now.

A concerned 'woof' from the bathroom door brings him back to himself. He blinks, and looks down at his dog, Daisuke. The pup just seems to know something is wrong, and looks up at him in a doggie version of concern. Togusa runs a shaking hand over his rib cage. Focus, Hitori. Look at what's really there, stop jumping to conclusions that aren't here. Sensitive to the touch, but the mark is old, it shows signs of having healed. There's no pain in his ribs, breathing is...still too fast to judge. But that mark is right over his lung, that has to be a concern.

This all feels even more impossible. He closes his eyes, stop looking at it for a second, and he tries to calm down. Breathe. This isn't an emergency, but there is still something wrong with him.

And as much as he wants to ignore it, he knows this is somehow Retrospec's fault.

So much for keeping his head down.

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Well, to be fair, it's still not Juzo's business, but hearing Togusa swear, that's quite uncommon. Not to mention the whole aura of nervousness surrounding him.

"Yeah, I saw something. Not sure if that's true, I don't know anybody who, uh, changed." Then, you might be in for a surprise, Juzo. But before giving the other man an answer, he scans the room—nobody seems to be sitting by their desks, so it should be safe, whatever Togusa's planning.

"Nobody's around now, they're gone to get coffee. What is this about, though?"

Togusa gives a dry, unhappy laugh, crackling over the line. "Sorry to say it's true. I wouldn't want to scare you, but," Togusa sighs. "What if this starts happening to everybody?"

There is silence, and then a ding as Juzo gets a photo message. The picture is awkward, Togusa's face is barely in it, but there's a clear shot of a scar on the right side of his chest. The kind of mark that could only come from a gunshot wound, but it's something that's healing.

"It's not that easy to scare me, y'know?" Juzo begins, but before he gets to continue, his phone makes a sound and buzzes a few times. He doesn't have to look at the screen to know that means a new message, so he unlocks the phone right away and opens the app.

"What the everloving fuck?" He's not too loud as it's more of a mumble under his nose, but still, it's a good thing that nobody else is in the room. They probably don't want too many people to know about something like this. "You remember anything about it? Holy shit. You okay?"

Maybe it was a little over the top, but Togusa needs somebody to understand what's going on. There's worry, and it's not just for himself. "I've got nothing. I've never been shot, never fired my gun in the field. Recolle's just not the place for it, you know?" Their job has been relatively safe, all things considered.

Togusa breathes out a long sigh, trying to calm himself back down. "I don't know if I'm okay. Shot like that- should'a got me right through the lung." He doesn't want to think about it.

"But you know the medical examiner, Dr. Sutcliffe? She and Dr. Trevelyan are on the app. I was going to go talk to them, get myself checked out, but keep it all under the table."

Juzo knows what he means—Togusa's words actually jogged his memory and made him remember that he's probably never used a gun here. Punches and kicks were more than enough usually, if at all. Violence wasn't even necessary in most of the cases.

"Through the lung?" He's right, it wouldn't just graze his ribs, and Juzo gets the full picture now, which makes things even worse. "Fuck."

"Yeah, better don't tell anyone for now. You might get into trouble." This is coming from an experienced guy, trouble should be his second name. "You're in good hands, I don't know much about Dr. Sutcliffe but Dr. Trevelyan is the best. By the way, should I tell everyone you've caught a cold or some shit like that?"

"That would be helpful." Togusa sighs again. He's paying a close attention to his own breathing, like he's paranoid with each time he takes a deep breath in. "I cant thank you enough for covering for me. You can even let people know I'm gonna go see the doctor. I'll get Dr. Trevelyan to write me a note if I need it."

Togusa hesitates, but he plows ahead anyway. "I'll keep you in the loop. I just- I don't know what this means. And I don't know if this could start happening to other people. I'm not going to go spreading this around, no matter what the result is."

"...Might tell the rest of the Department that's involved, though. Gabranth and Izunia, Wolf and Lou. You know?" Not sure if it's a good idea, but it feels like this might be more likely to happen to them.

"Just don't lose your shit, right? You're okay, I mean if you weren't, you'd be already..."

Juzo. You're not helping. Even he realizes that a while later and tries to change the subject as smoothly as possible. Too bad that he's generally as smooth as a sandpaper, and now is no different.

"Severe cold it is. With all that stupid shit like muscle pain and fever...I'm not sure what to tell you, but it can't be that bad, I think. But keep us updated."

Juzo's almost-bluntness actually drags a laugh out of Togusa. "Oh, that's reassuring." He leans his head back against the wall behind him. "I'll survive. That's no question. Not losing my shit."

"I'll make it up to you. Just- keep an eye out, all right? I get the feeling I'm not going to be the last person this happens to."

"...Thanks again."

It's hours later when Togusa pings Juzo again, just a text message this time.

Doc says it probably happened 4-5 months ago. There's signs I had surgery, but lung is totally fine, barely a mark on it. I'm okay, all thing considered.

"Reassuring as fuck." It's a good thing that at least he's self-aware of his, well, specific supportiveness. But maybe if Togusa laughed, it wasn't all that bad...? What really matters is that it kind of worked. "It's no big deal, don't talk about making it up to me or all that shit."

He keeps returning to that conversation throughout the day, wondering what's even going on in here. One thing Juzo's sure of is that he doesn't like it one bit. But it's reassuring when his phone screen lights up as he gets the text message.

What the cell. Why would you get a wound like this in the first place, this city is peaceful as duck...
We can think about it later though. Better take some rest, man.

No idea.

One other thing the doc said, though. We've been talking about the link between memories and the other changes that people have gone through. This? Didn't jog my memory. And you'd think that it would. We're back on the thought that 'there is actually something wrong with Togusa's memory.'

Keep an eye out on the network. Next time Retrospec is oh so generously offering a 'chance to remember' let me know. Doesn't matter what it is, I'm going to try for it. Let's see what happens when I try to force one through.

This is not the most well-advised idea, but it's where Togusa's head is at right now. Whatever it is you want to tell us, Retrospec, it's missing him.

Sure, will do. This gonna be a paperwork month so I'll have plenty of time to look around.

Should these two things have such a connection? Probably not...oh well.

Maybe you'll remember sometime soon. Even if not...idk this is too ducked up. I've been wondering about one thing. What if all those memories that are coming back are fake? Not that I have any proof but...nah, don't actually listen to me. You've got your own problem to deal with.

I guess I forgot to ask, have you seen anything yourself? Everyone I've talked to is so sure that these are real. So if you think it's not, I'd say to trust your gut on what you think.

If I ever suddenly wake up and remember getting shot? I think I'd believe that one.

Seriously, I don't know what to think about all this shit. I suppose this memory may be real, but on the other hand, it's so unbelievable. I mean, would you believe me if I told you that I took part in boxing championships? It sounds more like a nice dream to me.

You kinda have a proof that it happened so no wonder.

I'd buy it.

I mean, we'd probably have to throw down for me to REALLY buy it, but it fits.

[He has to make a joke to take away from the tone of his next question.]

What if what you remember starts to seriously not fit with what you know about yourself, though? What if the memory comes back, and I didn't get this injury on our side of the law?

[God damn you, Tim Drake, for getting so deep in his head. He resents the kid as much as he appreciates the lack of punch-pulling. So he'll ask the other person who will be blunt with him about the possibility.]

I don't know if I should be flattered or not right now. But let's leave it at that.

What? Bullshit. You wouldn't do anything against the law. I bet no one in your family 5 generations back broke the law. Or maybe even more than 5.

[Okay, so Togusa isn't staring really guiltily at a certain spot in his apartment that is hiding an unregistered Japanese handgun. Not at all.]

But what if it comes up? Which side do you take? What you know about yourself, or what these memories are saying about you?

[Oops. That's why Juzo hasn't been promoted yet.]

Duck, I don't know. Can ducking ducks just duck off, I want to swear properly, dam it. Seriously man, I don't know. If the memories we're getting back are true...what about the memories that were always there? How I'm supposed to know what's fake and what's not?

It's too dam complicated, duck.

[Congratulations for unintentionally cheering Togusa up, though, because the wave of 'ducks' makes him burst out laughing despite himself.]

I'm leaning towards the idea that what we do is more important than what we remember. Or what Retrospec tells us. But maybe I get to say that because of my perspective on it.

What do you say, place your bets now! What is Togusa repressing? You're a pro boxer, the guy who runs the animal shelter is a samurai. The sky's the limit here.

[Will ducks ever become boring? Nah, they too good 👌👀]

Maybe you're right. Or maybe no one is right here. Seriously, I'm not your man when it comes to difficult questions. I'm not good with generalizations, too. Some of us may have shirty memories, but maybe some would rather change their lives. Honestly, I don't know.

Wait, what? A samurai? Wow, I thought Japan doesn't have those anymore. The more you know.

I know, right? And it you've met the guy, it totally fits. Can I be a samurai? Would that work? Enh, my family's too low-class.

It's hard to really picture me doing anything else. But, I don't know. This whole situation puts just enough doubt in your mind.

[Or maybe Tim Drake does. Tiiiim.]

But, the people who are getting weapons. From Retrospec. Actually a problem? Retrospec throwing up false flags? What are they trying to say with that? Should we be looking into those people, specifically?

I can get you a katana and samurai fancy clothes for your birthday or Christmas or whatever and we'll see. Something is telling me that role would suit you.

Wouldn't hurt to keep an eye on them, to be honest. If they're stupid enough to post about getting a weapon where everyone can see it...well. They just shouldn't be surprised if the cops are going to knock at their door.

[Somehow, talking to Juzo just puts things in perspective. And makes Togusa laugh, a lot.]

All right, so speaking of people dumb enough to post about a weapon, do we draw straws for who has to tell Detective Wolf that he needs to get his buddy Dawes under control? I don't want to, but this is ridiculous.

I suggest rock paper scissors.

[He's probably going to lose anyway, but Juzo always had better luck in rock paper scissors than drawing straws.]

Maybe he's keeping an eye on his friend already. If I were him, I would. I already have a numb flatmate to babysit.

Numb flatmate?

...I am not even close to the only person getting very strange physical changes, am I?

[Let's...just...table the idea of talking to Wolf. Yeah.]

Not numb...numb. Duck, we're not getting anywhere with this parental control shirt.

[For a good moment there, Juzo considers calling Togusa to tell him that what he meant was dumb. Is it really a good idea to disturb him with this now, though. Probably not.]

You're fine, but he's been weird lately but no physical changes, so idk. I'm gonna laugh so hard if he's going to wake up with white hair or something.

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standalonehuman - 2017-04-20 21:02 (UTC) - Expand

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