damned_institute | Nightshift 24: Hallway outside entry room

Jack was just as good of a rear guard as he was a front man, and he had Gin covered. He followed Gin silently now, ears peeled for any more of that creepy laughter, but thankfully it seemed to have not followed them. Hopefully they wouldn't run into more fun before they got to the stairs.

And actually, if his sense of direction served him right, this was getting them closer to where they wanted to go anyway, so at least it wasn't wasted effort.

Gin could hear faint noise in on either side of the hallway, but nothing seemed to be heading in their direction. They continued on in near silence now, both of them listening and watching. He could see the stairs in the distance. It wasn't very far, so he hoped whatever was going on upstairs was either still back by the first staircase, or had long since passed them.

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[From here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/118925.html?thread=8019341#t8019341)]

Yohji followed Cliff along the dark corridors towards where the Doctor's offices were. He'd only been along here once, and that was in daylight with nurses leading and that time he hadn't exactly seen the need to memories the route so he'd been less attentive than he should have been.

"What do you make of the lovers spat betweeon those two?" he asked quietly, gesturing towards one of the intercom boxes on the wall. He wouldn't trust either of them as far as he could throw them, but it was more worrying if they'd been dragged into a chest beating match between the two of them.

Cliff was glad he'd gotten the nurse to show him around during the last shift. Insticts aside, his sense of direction was pretty bad without a communicator. The doctors offices were a straight path though, just past the sunroom and around the corner.

"I think if they keep on like that things are gonna get bad pretty fast." That much was obvious. The only question was how bad and how fast. "You know how messy breakups can be."

He glanced around for monsters - there was a lot of noise coming from the sun room but he kept moving past it. Distractions later. "Something happened. To hell if I know what."

Yohji couldn't disagree with that statement. "Yeah, and we get to be the innocent bystanders caught in the middle." Not exactly his favourite place to be. Thing tended to get nasty. "Wonder who the rebound fuck was," he muttered sourly. He'd hate to be in that position for sure.

Yeah, Yohji was glad to not be going into the Sun Room right now. It sounded less than pleasant. "Must've been something pretty messed up to get them to drop the pleasantries altogether." At least they were showing their true colours.

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Kuja kept his flashlight in front of him, ears perked as his eyes scanned through the darkness. From what he could see, he was close to the location called the 'Sun Room'. Even though his sense of direction wasn't what it should be, the genome had a very good memory. He could pick up noises coming from behind the doors, the sounds of battle.

But now was not the time to assume the center stage. After all, he was in no position to gain the spotlight. Quickly passing the double doors, the sorcerer proceeded down the dark hallway.

It took a moment for Sasuke to adjust to dark silence after the people-filled (and periodically flashlight-lit) hallway outside the patient quarters, but there didn't seem to be many others around to take advantage of the pause.

Sunroom on his left, another room on his right -- start exploring here, or go further and work back?

Well, first things first: Sasuke glanced at Sai, waiting to see whether the other nin was planning to follow him or go off to find Naruto.

Sai had paused, glancing down the hall Sasuke had indicated. His face was still set in a light frown. He did want to find Naruto. Then again, he couldn't be sure the boy was even down that hall. Right now, Sasuke was the only link he had to anything.

And... at least Sasuke seemed to remember who he was. Perhaps the issue with Naruto was something best left for a time when they could sit and discuss it.

"I'll come with you," he said shortly. "For now."

Backup meant it would be easier to start further and work back; there was less necessity for an assuredly easy retreat. Good.

"If we come across anyone you're looking for, you can leave," Sasuke said, although Sai had probably already decided this. "I'm going to the far end of the Institute tonight. Scoping out the place first."

With that, he moved down the hall on silent bare feet, holding his sword low in case anyone decided to flash a light that might catch on it and give it away.

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((From here. (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/125055.html?thread=8350591#t8353407)))

When shinigami didn't want to be noticed, they generally weren't. The 5th might not have been as specialized as the 2nd, but there was a certain amount of stealth learned purely as a survival technique as the years of service moved on. Momo was no different, silent and unseen save the faint light hanging from her waist, as she moved down the hall, hugging the left wall.

Alert for creatures, none were seen, though she could still faintly feel that reiatsu she has earlier. Yet, she was no closer to identifying it as before leaving her once again with just a suspicion. It was times like this where she wished she'd been more alert when around both Aizen-sama and Ichimaru-taichou.

Stopping at the first door on the right, Momo looked back to check on Integra's pogress and wait to see if this door held the knight's fancy. She watched Alucard for a moment before returning ehr attention to the hall. The shinigami was starting to feel bad for the vampire and the way he was being treated.

She wasn’t going to let Alucard’s spoiled house pet syndrome distract her any longer. They’d stalled enough as was and who knew how much time they really had to try and get anything accomplished before trouble found them.

As they exited the cellblock there were two choices as to where to proceed next. A hall went off to their left, while another continued straight ahead with a nearby door. Seeing the girl already ahead and waiting respectfully -like a proper soldier should- for her command, the knight only nodded towards the door on the right. “See if it’s unlocked then."

He lingered behind the two women, head still hung even as his eyes watched as they deliberated their choices. So the vampire watched with a baleful eye, as Integra finally decided to try passing the door. He gave a disinterested glance down the hall they came from, before simply idling around.

This time, he wouldn't speak to her. At all.

Only -she had to come to him first- at her behest.

Momo nodded and placed a hand flat on the door's surface. She didn't feel any vibrations or anything that might have indicated danger, so she tried the knob.

Unlocked.

She gave the knight a small smile at that and pushed the door open. She was going to suggest that Alucard head first through the door, but he looked like a kicked puppy at the moment. The shinigami decided she'd go first.

((here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/132893.html)))

[[from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/122217.html?thread=8369513#t8369513).]]

Once out of the Sun Room, Hokuto got Nel propped up against a wall to look at her--there was no way they were going far without Amaterasu at least. "Let me see your legs," she said, not wanting to waste time when Nel was actively bleeding. She really wished she knew healing spells, but her knowledge of first aid would have to do. Of course, without any bandages...

Not sure what else to do, she knelt down and tried to rip at the leg of her own pants; the entire outfit was hideously ugly anyway. It was a temporary measure at best, but it would have to do until... she didn't know when. Hopefully they'd get somewhere safe and then they could explain a few things to her!

Nel leaned against the wall right outside the door. The runes on her thigh were bleeding, though not as bad as they had been originally. The blood had soaked through her pants, though, and any light shown on it would show a rather drenched spot that only ran as far as her knee before the rivulets ran down her calves, where the leg of the pants flared out in what was normally a surprisingly comfortable fit.

"...I don't know if I should use Healing. I'm going to save it for the goddess.. she needs it more than I do, I bet.." she whispered as she slid her pants down around her knees. Thankfully she wasn't afraid to show a little leg - her military uniform showed enough leg to where Nel simply didn't care.

The injured runes glistened dark red in the light of the flashlight. It looked as if they'd just been freshly tattooed, even though they'd been there for years. The skin looked slightly raised, adding to the effect.

Hokuto managed to rip a few strips off her pants, making them into ragged shorts above the knee, and tied them onto Nel's legs as well as she could. "Is that too tight?" Even in the light of the flashlight, she thought the wounds looked bad.

Which was the main reason she was managing not to think about how bandaging the woman's upper thighs had been very slightly awkward--she'd tried not to touch anything she didn't need to, but, uh... well, accidents happened...

When she'd run out of bandages, she just sat back a little and tried to think. Knowing nothing about their location hindered her getting any real ideas, so she asked, "Is there anywhere we can go that's safe?" It was good to know in general.

"It's.. ah.. fine. Thank you. " Nel watched Hokuto as she worked, absently noticing that her face had warmed a little bit when the black-haired girl's hand brushed her panty, cheeks blooming very slightly in the darkness. The feeling was foreign, though - she hadn't blushed in months, though such a thought was far from her mind at the time. It didn't even occur to her that she had never been touched there before, not even accidentally. No, all that was on her mind was the pain, and hoping for Okami Amaterasu to make it out safely.

She looked down each dark hallway. They were alone, as far as she could see. There was some commotion coming from somewhere that was different from what was going on in the Sun Room, but she couldn't really tell its origin unless she really concentrated on it. "As of right now, I don't know if there are any safe places besides our rooms. I'm surprised monsters haven't jumped out at us already. Right now, our main goal is to wait for the goddess and those reckless young men." She pulled her pants back up when all was said and done.

Hokuto stood, shaking her head a little. "While we've got time... what is this place? I woke up in a bed somewhere, but I don't know where the room was--or anything else." She looked down at her outfit and made a face; it was so plain and yet so ugly. It also gave her no clues at all about their location; she'd never seen what people wore in mental hospitals, and in the medical hospitals she'd seen, patients wore kimono-like gowns. So, she was a little lost.

She did notice Nel's blush, but was planning on pretending she hadn't touched somewhere she honestly hadn't meant to unless confronted... at least between girls, there weren't likely to be any accusations. Even Sumeragi Hokuto got too embarrassed to say anything, sometimes!

"You don't.. know anything?" Nel seemed honestly surprised at that, but this girl looked like she had no reason to lie.

She sighed slowly, sliding down the wall. If she had to run later, she still could and would - she was no stranger to quick sprints, given her identity.

"Well, tomorrow, I imagine that a nurse will come talk to you. She'll call you by a name you've never heard - mine's Jeanne Dupont. And she'll tell you you're in Landel's Institute to get better." She looked up at the other woman, face cold as stone. "Dayshift - it's completely different. Smiling nurses everywhere, a talking box that cheerfully ushers us on. You'll see soon enough. Nightshift is.. well, it's how you see it." She motioned to the walls around her. "This is my first night, too. I'm your senior here by only a few hours, it would seem."

She thought briefly back to what Rufus Shinra had said. She remembered his face perfectly, his smile twisted with bitterness. How dark this place was, how untouched by Apris! She would have to push through. "I've been told a good place to go get weapons... I want to go there next if we can. I'll be fine... we just need to be able to equal things out some."

Hokuto just shook her head, a little incredulously. "What are we supposed to be getting better from?" She touched her chest, but it was as smooth as she remembered it, and her heart still beat without a problem. She didn't feel sick at all--using magic had drained her more than it should, but not enough to make her actually feel weak. She'd used all her power on Seishirou, though... was there a connection?

She, personally, didn't dare sit down; Nel was hurt and needed to be protected. Hokuto hadn't seriously used her fighting skills in nearly a year, but she wasn't remotely out of shape or rusty. She was increasingly nervous, but at least it would keep her alert; instincts were not to be ignored when danger was lurking. It went against her nature to just hide nearby and wait when she could be doing something, but--if she felt Nel was safe enough alone she'd give the others a few more minutes, and then go after them.

"I'm... not sure. I think they're telling us we're all delusional, that our lives we had before we came here weren't really ours." Her words were cold as she remembered the nurse from today. "It's funny - I might even have been tempted to believe them and try to 'get better,' after all."

She closed her eyes for a moment, pausing and listening to the sounds around her, hearing everything perfectly just this once, before speaking again. "All that stopped when I saw a man from my own world. There's no way we could both have hallucinated the same past." Albel had laughed in her face and called her Aquarian scum. It had been so expected from him.. yes, he was the same Nox she knew, no doubt about it.

"There's a chance you'll get to see someone you know soon, too. Who knows. I'm the fourth person I know who's shown up here, though I haven't made contact with the other two."

The bandage seemed to be working, in other news - the steady trickle was slowing.

Hokuto was silent for a while. "So they'll try to tell me I only dreamed what I did to my brother?" she asked finally, voice soft. "And what I did to save him?" She very much blamed herself for what had happened, and nobody was going to convince her otherwise. She wasn't going to go into a catatonic state over it (even if he had); as before, she was trying simply to pick up the pieces. For now, it seemed she had a life to move on with; she would mourn, but she would find the strength to go on. Just like she hoped Subaru was doing.

And, despite it all, she hoped Seishirou was taking her advice, too. She'd made sure Subaru was protected; now, Sei-chan was one of few who could make him remember that he was loved.

Hokuto wasn't trying to be mysterious; it was just so recent for her that she found it hard to talk about. If Nel wanted to coax her into doing so, she could; it was just going to be a little while before she spoke of it freely. She would give anything for the dream explanation to be true... but not even for a second could she delude herself into thinking it was.

"Precisely. Just like they told me my memories of serving the Holy Mother were false." If Hokuto had expected Nel to ask her what she was talking about, she'd be sorely disappointed. Nel wasn't the type to pry unless she was on a reconnaissance mission, or performing an interrogation. As far as she was concerned, Hokuto's business was her business, and she should reveal only as much as she wanted to.

"Do you want to go back?" the soldier carefully asked. The other woman was experiencing some sort of strong emotion, Nel could tell that much, and she didn't want to press any of the wrong buttons.

Nightshift 24: Hallway outside entry room

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