[center][color=0076a3][h2]Zachary Ackerson[/h2][/color] 
[img]https://i.imgur.com/omGHHwx.png[/img]
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Zachary was made to sit with a simple order and an even simpler push towards the seat that Isaiah had placed behind him. His complete inability right now to resist even if he had desperately wanted to, had reminded him of [s]that anime Broken loves about the yasha of inu[/s] the serious injury he suffered. His knees felt so terribly weak, and his arms felt of spaghetti. Yeah, he really wasn't fit enough to be out and about like he was now, but Zach wasn't a smart man.

[color=0076a3]"Uh?"[/color] Ice apparently knew not of giving someone space, as he invaded Zach's rather quickly. [color=0076a3]"...You want me to see a duck?"[/color] Given the context of the statement, Zachary could only assume the lingo was something weird people used to refer to a medical professional, so his delivery of that line wasn't too serious. Still, he had not heard it before and was completely confident that's what it was, but Ackerson really wanted to believe that Ice had not gone off the deep end and recommended he visit a duck for help. Otherwise... well, it'd probably be best if Zach left right now. Instead, he chose to remain very still while Ice checked him, either due to a fear of upsetting the man or because it really was that hard to move in his weakened state. 

He felt relatively uncomfortable with all of this. Zachary was a man who was never found of physical contact or being too close to strangers. He also didn't exactly have a good childhood so doting parents were never a thing. He was unable to discern if Ice was doing this because he was worried or simply because a dead Zach would be a nuisance. He'd have rubbed the back of his neck if he could before he spoke. [color=0076a3]"Do forgive me for being like this,"[/color] he apologized. In a whisper almost too low for Ice himself to hear, he added, [color=0076a3]"... I really don't want to risk falling asleep right now."[/color] 

As if he hadn't said it, Zachary strained a smile to Alice while he held the ice that Ice had given him on his head. [color=0076a3]"See, that's more normal. But peanut butter?"[/color] he looked to what Alice had set beside the pancakes. [color=0076a3]"I really was only curious about what other people think, but if there's some here maybe I'll..."[/color] he stopped right there. If he thought that way, then the enemy would win. He wouldn't want to fall for some trap THAT guy laid out for him. [color=0076a3]"On second thought, I'd be better off not trying it."[/color]  

It was around this time that Alice had begun speaking to Ice, and that someone new entered the area. Did they introduce a new Infinite while he was unconscious? Who the fuck was this? [color=0076a3]"Oh, hello ne---"[/color] he'd been cut off by her immediate choking upon noticing him. Why did she think he was dead? Did she, wait, that voice sounded vaguely familiar. 

[color=0076a3][i]Wait, that was a mask and not her face!?[/i][/color] 

[color=0076a3]"Mercy has a face? What the shit."[/color] he was visibly stunned at the very idea and accidentally said this aloud. It wasn't his fault though. The world was a scary place. Of course, he didn't get too much time to reel in horror at the revelation. Much like Ice, she took to examining and his injuries. For some reason, all these people inspecting him was starting to make him feel embarrassed. Quite obviously, he hadn't taken a shower and now people were all close and getting much too friendly for his taste. Would they give him cruel nicknames, now? 

[color=0076a3][i]...I'd like to imagine my fellow Infinites are more mature than that.[/i][/color]

A small flashback to the trial he'd participated in immediately dashed those hopes, however. He recalled when Jezebel got excited during the trial, particularly towards Krista. Things were said. Bad things. Things, Zach thought, that weren't necessary. And Zachary felt Jezebel was a more mature person than he. He thought the world of his first friend. So if SHE would call names... then that meant... 

The mental image Zachary had of himself looked exactly like Edvard Munch's famous painting. 

Zachary fabricated a smile and did not move a muscle while Mercy examined him, even more so than Ice. Things would come to pass and he would not be called anything weird. Ideally. When she finished, she suggested he go get some rest, much like Ice. [color=0076a3]"...Ahaha."[/color] Zach laughed nervously in response to Mercy's prodding. [color=0076a3]"A smart person would rest, wouldn't they?"[/color] 

Zachary turned back to the pancakes once people had started giving him some space. He was blown away. Perhaps it was just because he was really friggin hungry, but these pancakes looked like little pieces of heaven. He wasted no time in digging in, forgetting the peanut butter was even there. Hell, he wasn't even sure if there was syrup or not. There was a fork there, of course, but it should be noted that he might not even have noticed if it weren't. "Zachary ate the pancakes" would be a boring, improper term to describe what transpired. It was more like "Zachary genocided the pancakes and their remains, leaving nothing left for future civilizations to even study and realize that they existed. They were truly gone from this world." would fit a lot better. 

Food in the stomach was good. 

[color=0076a3]"...I might be convinced there's more to cooking than instant noodles now."[/color] he smiled towards the chef. [color=0076a3]"Thank you for those. Really. They hit the spot."[/color]

But then it was that Noel Hawthorne, the Infinite Reporter appeared. Zachary felt uncomfortable. There was not the distraction of an impending fight this time. Doubtful that the reporter herself noticed just how different it was, but had anybody else who was speaking to him before been paying attention, Zachary took a softer, more submissive tone as he spoke. [color=0076a3]"Yeah, I'm not done just yet."[/color] he gave a soft laugh as he listened to her story. [color=0076a3]"I don't think you've told me very much at all, honestly. But that sounds... interesting."[/color] 

Zach had a few seconds to think as Noel shifter her attention to Ice. Things had become a lot more stressful than they already were. Zachary pondered the thought of getting up and leaving but realized that he was much too weak to do so without having someone assist him. At least, it would require him to hug walls and take forever. And it wasn't like he had anything against Noel herself, it was just... 

Noel returned to speaking to him, asking him a question he hadn't really thought of the answer for just yet. But that's because it was unnecessary. He knew what was going to happen. Up until now, he'd been attempting to avoid eye contact with her where possible. But after she asked that question, he focused his eye on her, lost any form of body language that would suggest nervousness, and spoke. [color=0076a3]"I'll need to get out of here and recover,"[/color] he explained. He spoke in a strong, willful tone. [color=0076a3]"And then I'll train and it'll simply be as it was. A single eye is just a small hurdle."[/color] he stated this so matter-of-factly that one would be forgiven if they compared it to him reading a weather forecast. It didn't even seem like arrogance. But just as swiftly as that confidence came, it disappeared and was replaced with a streak of crimson across his face. 

[i][color=0076a3]How embarrassing![/color] [/i]

After many situations where he normally would've, Zachary finally rubbed the back of his neck. His tone softened, just like before. Speaking about his archery really was weird with him. [color=0076a3]"Err, at the very least, I don't intend on letting these damned robots rob me of something like that."[/color]