Night 70: M1-M10 Hallway

[repelling]

After exchanging radio numbers, Uryuu picked at the salad in relative silence. Once sure he really couldn't be bothered with another bite, he set about arranging his things for the night. The sound of the intercom stirred his attention, and he looked up, waiting for the static. As ever, a nice addition to the atmosphere. He could still appreciate that, despite himself.

Grateful, indeed. Nook or cranny probably referred to the newly found passage in the library, which stirred Uryuu's curiosity further. Tomorrow, perhaps, unless Kratos-san did the unexpected and really did call. The very thought had his mouth curling with dry amusement, which failed to reach his eyes, narrowing with irritation. The doctor's spiel was the usual, and yet...

"Someday," he groused, "I'm going to put an arrow in that man's throat."

Uryuu said it, but did not swear -- not to his pride as a Quincy, not to anything. Not because he doubted he could, but because it wouldn't be practical in the moment. Much as he would aim to maim, not kill, to make speaking impossible, that would be a problem. They would want him to speak, after all.

As gratifying as imagining that future was, it only wasted time in the moment. The door unlocked, and almost simultaneously, Uryuu felt the pressure of the spirit particles filling the air. He reached, seeking Inoue-san, and felt nothing like. Pressing his teeth together, he nodded to Tsurugi-kun (expecting him off) and stood, to set about changing into the uniform. It was an obnoxious thing to have to choose, but unfortunately, better than the sweater and ill-fitting pants he'd be forced to wear during the day. Placing the toy radio in his pocket alongside the key ring and two pens, he lifted his pillowcase turned bag(with its two sweatshirts, journal, and his room radio) and slid it over his shoulder.

Wasteful as it was, he left the bat in the closet. Vantas-kun seemed to have disappeared as well, and it had never properly gotten to Inoue-san. Tonight it would just get in the way. Ready, he started into and down the hall, clutching his flashlight switched off.

[ to here ]

Comments

[knightspirit]

As night fell, Kyousuke quietly maneuvered to gather his things, pausing briefly to snort at Ishida's comment on Landel. "Not before I get a change to rearrange his face," he muttered to himself.

He shoved the little radio into his pocket, which left his hands free for his flashlight and the net containing his ball. Strictly speaking, he shouldn't have been using the ball quite yet, but he felt a little better having it hang at his side—he'd have a much easier time defending himself like this, with or without his abilities. Especially since at this point, he was confident his raw kick power would do him much better good than exhausting his spiritual aura again. There was something uncomfortable about how he couldn't seem to connect with Lancelot here, not for the lack of power, but for what that power represented. ... Powerful wishes. The things you wanted to protect. But that couldn't be helped for now, so instead, he'd have to rely on physical strength.

... The boy shook his head. He needed to get moving, not waste any time thinking to himself. With a nod to his roommate, he made his way into the hall, and started off on the walk to the second floor.

[skipping to here]

[envy_the_sinners]

Cryptic words as usual. Scar scowled at the intercom as it clicked off. He stood from his desk wearily, pulling open his closet as always to pull on his robes. He still didn't know what he would be doing tonight. The Elrics planned to be holed up in Al's room. He briefly thought of trying to find Lust, but dismissed the thought immediately. Why should he?

Scar sighed at himself, frustrated. He knew exactly why he should seek her out. They hadn't even had a real conversation since he'd been miraculously risen from the dead all over again. Why that was problematic, he wasn't certain. It just felt wrong. He felt wrong. Maybe it was just because she was the only person who could even remotely begin to understand why.

Add it to the list of cruel ironies.

He took his usual supplies, plus the radio. The photograph of his brother was tucked into the folds of his shawl once more as he strode out into the night. He would just try for the third floor again, then. Maybe he would run into someone along the way.

[To here]

[his_legacy]

Dinner was finished quickly, and Link changed into his tunic efficiently. He was more confident for tonight after speaking with Lingormr and Soma. He had failed to see the Once-ler, but he could only assume that Soma had spoken with him.

Taking his usual supplies, along with his new 'radio', he set out for the night. This evening promised to be more productive and less terrifying than the last.

At least he hoped.

[Halljumping to here]

[ever_loyal_dog]

The day had been less than thrilling for Soushi. It was so difficult to keep his mind on exploring the town and not the mysterious notebook that waited back in his room. What if the nurses found it? What if he never saw what was inside? What if there was a clue there as to her whereabouts?

He'd wandered the streets, but little caught his eye and it was impossible to get far without being under close watch. The staff might be kind enough to allow them a day out, but it didn't mean they weren't careful about it.

It was something of a relief to come back to the little room and wait for the nurse to close the door behind her. When he was certain the door wouldn't open again, he reached for the satchel and was relieved when it was right where he'd left it.

Dinner went completely ignored as he perused the contents. The gray bag was unremarkable, no obvious brand, it was what it contained that held his interest. He laid the contents out in a careful row across his bed. First, the notebook, then a cell phone. Neither were familiar. It wasn't the type he'd had back home. It was, in fact, a much older model. A pair of black gloves, similar in style to the ones he'd use in the SS, but something was just a little off about them. Four pens, two black, one red, one blue, three pencils, an old-looking digital camera that had seen some use, and a pair of binoculars. Seemed more like the sort of items one might find were they spying on someone, even if the means were crude. Just what were they trying to say about him, leaving these as his possessions?

Those thoughts were pushed aside as he opened the notebook. It was about half-filled with various writings, and his heart would skip a beat each time he found something of her as he skimmed the pages. The stats he found were off in places; Ririchiyo wasn't 146 cm tall, she was only 145, and her blood type was A, not O. The notes seemed like his own writing, but he would never get such obvious facts about his beloved master wrong.

In spite of that, there were several things worth keeping. A few more photos, taken when she hadn't been aware(though again, he didn't recognize the clothing she wore. How much time had passed since he'd arrived here?), a napkin that still had a partial imprint of her lips, staining the fabric with what smelled like Earl Grey tea, and last, five long raven-colored hairs, tied together with a bit of ribbon. He held it to his cheek for a moment, a far away look on his face. These mementos, wherever they had come from, were not only precious, but they had to be recent. Recent enough to give him hope that his beloved still lived.

Each item was carefully tucked away in its proper place as he returned them to their hiding place under his mattress. None of the items, unfortunately, would aid him against anything the night threw at him, save the bag that he tossed over one shoulder. And as the intercoms clicked on once again for the evening's announcements, he kissed Ririchiyo's photo and tucked it carefully into the bag's front pocket. None of the clothing they were given was any good for carrying things, so perhaps the bag, at least, would be helpful.

The aluminum bat was still in good shape, though he was still without a light source. Relying on his demonic instincts wasn't usually a bad idea in the night, but there were also creatures that saw through that much easier than he.

Left without much choice, he took the bat in hand and headed out the door.

[to here]

[fullmetalheart]

[from here]

M1

Ed turned down Al's hall when he sees it and headed all the way to the end to knock on his brother's door. While waiting for a response, he bounced on his feet a bit to burn off energy.

[armoredsoul]

Once the lights had gone out, Al had quickly grabbed his things out of the box under his bed--his own lump of metal, the towels with the precious chemical bottles bundled inside, and the radio and tool belt he'd gotten in Doyleton. The chemicals he set on his desk, but the rest went on his bed until he decided what should be done with them.

When his brother knocked, he was almost immediately answered with the door opening to Al's happy grin. "About time you got here," he teased, stepping back to let Edward in.

[fullmetalheart]

Ed wrinkled his nose at Al as he stepped into the room. "I can only move just so fast. So what do you want to work on first?"

[armoredsoul]

Al shut the door behind his brother and shrugged. "Let's work on the chemicals for now. A girl I met today, Anise, she's gonna drop off some materials she'd had saved for some people from Amestris that disappeared on her. One of them was Colonel Mustang," he added, glancing back over to Ed. "The last time she'd seen him was a little over a month ago."

[fullmetalheart]

"The Colonel was here?" Ed looked over at Al in surprise. That was news he wasn't expecting to get in the least.

[armoredsoul]

Al nodded with a slight frown. "Anise said he'd been here for a while before he vanished, and that the alchemists that were here before had made a sort of club together, making supplies for other people if they brought the materials."

[fullmetalheart]

"Hmm. I take it that you think we should do the same?" Ed sees that look in your eye, baby brother.

[armoredsoul]

"It's only fair! I don't mean for us to exhaust ourselves every night making weapons, but you saw what Scar was using to protect himself. With all the monsters that prowl around at night, make-do weapons aren't going to cut it." Al frowned, glancing over at the materials they'd gathered the night before. "Even if we make just one weapon a night, it's going to make people that much safer."

[fullmetalheart]

He thought for a moment, torn. On the one hand, Al had some good points. On the other, they had their own shit to try to do.

He finally sighed. "One weapon a night. Are you going to organize things since you're the one having this idea?"

[armoredsoul]

Al nodded, grinning with relief that Ed wasn't going to fight him on it. "Yeah. I'll probably put up a note on the bulletin board tomorrow, once I figure out how to word it."

[fullmetalheart]

Ed scratched at the side of his head. "All right. I guess we should sort the stuff we got and then figure out what we're making first."

[armoredsoul]

Al nodded, turning to the assorted bottles. "I'd started sorting those out before you got here."

[fullmetalheart]

"All right. Show me what you've done so far, so I won't screw anything up while helping with this," Ed said as he moved in the direction of the desk, dropping his own lump of metal on Al's bed as he passed.

[gald_digger]

[from here]

M1... Boy, was this a blast from the past. Several weeks back, Anise was at this very room, delivering metal to alchemists. She really had to wonder if this was a coincidence, or if Landel had arranged things this way for some reason. Probably just to toy with them, if anything.

With her hands full between the delivery and her own equipment, Anise set the metal-filled pillowcase down, and moved up to the door to knock. She paused for a moment; she could hear voices inside. Maybe Alphonse's brother was there, like he mentioned. After a moment, she went ahead and knocked.

"Hello, it's Anise! Special delivery for Alphonse!" she sang at the door.

[armoredsoul]

Al looked up from where he was explaining how he'd organized things to his brother, then grinned and opened the door. "Anise, hi! This is my brother, Edward; Brother, this is the girl I was telling you I'd met today, that knew the Colonel before."

He turned back to Anise. "Thanks again for giving me the stuff you'd saved."

[fullmetalheart]

Ed turned to look at her and waved a bit. "Hi. He also told me about what the alchemists that were here before had been doing."

[gald_digger]

Anise picked up the pillowcase again and lugged it inside, giving both the brothers a bright smile, her gaze lingering a bit on the brother she hadn't met until now.

So this boy's name was Edward... Wait, hadn't she seen him somewhere before? Like, in this very room, about half a month ago? But from her conversation with Alphonse, it sounded like they'd both just arrived recently. Anise knew what that probably meant.

Maybe it was best not to say anything. Those two had enough to worry about at the moment, especially with Edward already filled in about the Colonel. Besides, it wouldn't really change anything.

"No problem! I knew I was right to keep it around." She set the pillowcase down on the floor in the center of the room. It sank with a heavy clang of pots, pans, and cooking utensils settling against each other. That was all the business she really had here, but there was something else Anise was curious about. "Say, did either of you get one of those radios at the toy store?"

[armoredsoul]

Al couldn't help a grin at the clamor the pans made in the pillowcase. They should be able to make good use of all of that!

He nodded to Anise, going to fetch his. "Yeah, we both did! We were gonna try and test them tonight, see if they work at any decent distance."

[fullmetalheart]

This is when Ed looks torn between sheepish and like crawling into a hole.

"I, uh, forgot to bring mine with me from my room," he confessed. "We're going to both be staying in here and not going anywhere tonight, anyway."

[gald_digger]

So they had them. Good!

"Ooh, perfect! Then... would you mind telling me the number on yours?" Anise asked Alphonse, since he seemed to have one nearby. "Mine is 646 - the same as my birthday! Neat coincidence, huh?" It was definitely a coincidence, right? It wasn't like the lady at the toy store could have known.

In any case, getting a radio number from another patient would let Anise test the device herself. And not just to see if it worked... but to see if where she was going tonight would be too far to contact anyone back in the institute. If they could keep a line of communication going, that would be perfect!

[armoredsoul]

Al stared at his brother and was about to gripe at him when Anise interrupted. "How does 646 turn into a date? Unless you're leaving the day out or something? And mine is 047." Same as the periodic number for silver, now that he thought about it--that would make it easier to remember.