Unsightly Apparitions [Private]

After taking sometime to review the results of the medical exams again, Declan found that there was one rather unfortunate note he missed throughout the entire proceedings. Rummaging through Izumi Inaba's case file, a concern about the student's mental health was noted right after having completed his exam. In rather grave terms, the length of which comprised a page longer than any other student's results that day, went over the difficulties he seemed to have completing the vision test. Most of the report were the rudimentary observations taken that day, quantified into legible statistics and helpful remarks for the administration to look through. However, the parts of which were expanded upon were his failings in the vision test and the remarks that came thereafter.

"The weight of having lost even more peripheral vision in both eyes seemed to become most evident right after each test. His countenance was grave before having begun the examinations, yet during these examinations he appeared even more disconsolate once even requesting some time to attempt to gather some will to continue. Disproportional to the amount of health he exhibits elsewhere, there is a increasingly sharp degradation of nerve activity and responsiveness in each of his eyes. As for Izumi personally, instead of being thankful and aware of his health elsewhere, he holds it in only middling regard to his sight. Tests that on average fifteen to twenty minutes to complete took Izumi the time of an entire other student's examination. It took precisely one hour, fifteen minutes and nineteen seconds to complete his vision test due to his shutting down right in the middle of one of them. It is with these observations that I deem it imperative that Izumi finds a psychologist to help him cope with this decline so that he may learn to live with his pending blindness. The data above shows quite clearly that he will lose his sight and it would be a great misfortune for him to be hindered simply because of a setback that others have made the best of time after time.

With this rediscovery, he headed out onto the cold hallways in search of the new psychotherapist. The hallways were devoid of life, far from the loud bustling of youthful gaiety and impatience that permeated these halls every break of class. Now there was just Declan, with a dossier falling apart at the seams raging toward an office, hoping that his actions helps save a young man's future. Sometimes he paused just enough to place the papers back in decent order but his gait seemed to betray his intentions every time he took a step, papers shifting defiantly ever quickly toward the ground. He almost dropped the lot right by the time he reached the door.

Knock, knock, knock

"I have an urgent matter that needs discussing, Mr. Schmidt, forgive my tardiness but I've just remembered something. It's about a student."

If there was ever a time he wanted someone to be there, this was the time. Soon, the year will break and the students would be allowed free time to themselves. He shuddered thinking about leaving Izumi that way, if whenever he found himself alone the desolation could take a hold of him.

Knock, knock

"It's late, I know... please."

"Come on in," Julius called from within.

He stood leaning against his desk, phone to his face. "Yes, dear. I'll be just a bit, then I'll be home. Mm-hmm. Love you. Bye bye."

He turned and placed his phone in his pocket. "Implying that Ph.D.'s aren't real doctors, Dr. Carrick?" he asked with a smirk. "I told you before, Julius will suffice."

He took one of the two chairs in front of his desk and motioned to the other. "So what's this urgent matter?" he asked, his tone more serious.

The psychotherapist's room was as well organized as the nurse's office, with nary a paper out of place. The evening remnants of sun that glared through cracks in the window seemed to give way to better defining the gloss of the floor beneath. Sterile and well kept for a room having just been reoccupied after months of abandonment. Oddly sterile for a place where matters of mind are discussed. Which was all well enough for Declan, everywhere was better when it was clean. Rows of books seemed to shower the shelves with hardly a crease in their spines. If Declan hadn't a need to be more tactful, he'd retort with a joke or two about their hardly being read. One in particular stood out, "The 6th Edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders" having just recently been released seemed to put a stop to all his meandering about. Our psyche here seemed to be well caught up on the subject and Declan was in no further position to crack the jape he so wanted to.

After taking the time to look around, he went right on to the matter at hand, still seeking some sort of return fire to save face.


"You'd know better than me that when a mind is under some stress, not all details are going to always be followed through, Doctor." Declan took a seat to the farthest right of the chaise. With action alone reminding Julius that he still didn't appreciate his earlier jesting a while back online. Before beginning his diatribe, he passed across the table Izumi's dossier, which if opened correctly without a needless searching of the contents would lead right to the matter at hand. "During the medical examinations, I made some observations of a particular student who had more difficulties completing his. I believe we have a case that would be better left in your hands now that you're here."

After a short pause, to collect his once harried thoughts back in running order, he began in a tone matching his counterpart's:

"It would appear that Izumi here is having quite a difficult time coming to grips with his loss of vision, his grades have remarkably slipped from where they were before the examinations and has spent an increasingly large amount of time outside, which has cut into his class time. If I recall what I wrote correctly, it took him the time it took to get an entire examination through just to get through his vision test. For a period of five minutes he stared at the ground in a strange sort of introspective catatonia until he got himself together after I found some way to snap him out of it. With the break period that divides the grade year coming up, I would have you have a few chats with him before he spends even more time alone. I wouldn't want him to hold himself back this upcoming year."

Always business, never pleasure.
I wonder, what is it that makes a successful young man – not even a year older than myself, in fact – always so uptight?

"I see," he replied in a neutral tone.

"He probably should have seen someone before now, but I suppose better late than never.
Tell me more about this Izumi Inaba. What's his story? What's he like?"

"Remarkably well spoken for his age, Izumi appears to be the sort of outlier you'd find almost by chance during one's career. Before the slide, he was close to the top in every class examination table, besting his prior marks each and every time as if he was mechanical. A twist of the dial here, a notch there and he'd improve his academic standing on rails. There was a noticeable dip in this as soon as he came out of my office when I was revisiting most of the students files having replaced our former long-tenured nurse. If I was to give you just one word to define him, it would be "inconsistent". At times personable, other times reserved, there's not a graph I could conceive that would prove what I said about his intelligence if we didn't have even limited access to these exams. I hear he spends most of his time outside, mostly out in the wilderness through the forest, the one adjacent to the school just a tick away from the rear gates."

Declan shifted in his chair no longer quite liking being extreme right. With proper positioning established, Declan reached out to give one more detail, the guest list from the recent graduation ceremony. "Once again, his parents have been absent from any sort of contact with the child since he's been here, not even making their way to seeing their child rise a grade. Not once have I even heard a mention of an attempted visit."

Julius took in the meaning behind the delicate words.

Intelligent. Well-mannered.
But moody, brooding, distant. Emotionally cut off.

Old-fashioned parents, probably salaryman, well to do.
Disappointed – ashamed – to have a disabled child? Or broken communication for some other reason?

"Hm.

"Any siblings? Or an only child?"

"Only child. He wasn't left entirely alone, as soon as he was of age, his father put him in a sort of boy scout organization. He remained part of that organization rising in the ranks until an incident occurred, which led him here." Declan realized he was entering a tangent but decided that some trigonometric conversation was well within the needs of the student he was speaking for, since he was sure that it would assist Julius' understanding.

"A rafting competition took place a few days right before middle school graduation for what have you, and Izumi was the leader of one of the crews. His job was to assist the others in spotting hazards, which worked out for them just fine until a mistimed row sent them teetering between a few rocks. Izumi was unable to judge exactly where they were due to his blind spots being more enclosed than his more clairvoyant peers. Unable to steer well himself at this point, they wrecked. Most suffered minor injuries with perhaps one nasty laceration being the lone more critical one. During an internal investigation, it was found that Izumi had begun losing some of his peripheral vision not too long before the event. He was known to be much more competitive and fiery then, almost to a fault. When he first arrived, it was noted that some of this had waned but was still quite evident, being found to annoy students with challenges and contentions from time to time."

After perhaps a extensive pause, Declan once again opened up to speak appearing rather flushed from all he spoke before. "I do rightly understand that wasn't bound to the question asked of me. Simply making sure you don't consider him devoid of meaningful contact entirely."

To put it bluntly, cocky.
Rather to be expected of an only child, especially at that age, and in that sort of organization.

Calmer now. Just maturing, or disillusioned with his father's intentions for him?

"No, that information should be very helpful.

"Anything else I should know about him right now?"

"Just the last I know any of. He seems more than fond with the outdoors and could rattle off a comprehensive amount of detail about Earth Science. Not close enough to the undergraduate level but much more than usual. In a response to the question "What are your plans after highschool" he proceeded to detail how he had some interest in becoming an ecologist or botany, with much more interest in becoming a forester. He's spent most of his childhood outdoors and it is known that his father was quite enthused about the wilderness himself, but not quite as enthusiastic as this, not quite. The importance is this is simply that he's been spending even more time out in the courtyard now, having even once being brought back inside apparently without sleep."

"Not necessarily a bad thing. But he needs to maintain focus on his studies, of course."

Julius stood and yawned, checking the increasingly late hour on his watch.

"Well, if that's all, I'd best be on my way. I've no wish to incur the wrath of Yumiko," he said with a grin.
"By the way, the offer still stands if you're ever available for dinner. Or just a drink, if you prefer."

Must you be so nonchalant? I suppose I must have been thinking too hard on this...

"Aye, that'll be all." Declan started gathering up his items right before realizing how awkward the walk back to the office is going to be now that it's seven. He cocked his head back for a moment to address the psychotherapist.

"I might as well if you keep insisting, I know this pub right at the wee edge of the town, I hear they carry ales from Europe there. Maybe they have some Guinness or Strongbow for me. Not sure what you down."

"More an ale man myself, though I do enjoy a good stout or cider now and then."

He followed Declan out of the office and locked the door behind him.

"Another night though. See you."

With that, he turned and went down the other hallway, out to the staff parking lot.