damned_institute | Nightshift 26: M1

[From here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/184902.html).]

M1. This was where Colonel Mustang had told Rukia to meet him. She just hoped he would accept her offer to bring more metal later tonight or tomorrow night. She certainly wasn't going to be a free-loader.

Shining the flashlight at the floor by her feet, she raised her free hand and knocked on the door. "Colonel Mustang?" she called quietly. "It's Kuchiki Rukia."

As soon as Rukia spoke, the words died in her mouth as her eyes went wide. She felt this crawling sensation, like someone was watching her with laughing eyes, or like snakes were slithering on her skin. Whipping around, she expected to see Ichimaru standing in the hallway, but the hallway was practically deserted.

Cold sweat prickling on her skin, Rukia knew that reiatsu. Ichimaru had his powers back, somehow. And then she knew the horrible truth - that he had been one of the patients selected to attack his fellows tonight. She took a deep, steadying breath, but it didn't help calm the rising panic in her chest. Pulling out her notebook, she tore out the page with Renji's sketch of Sode no Shirayuki. She could hand it over to the Colonel as soon as he answered the door so that no one would be held up.

Though Rukia figured it was more of a "Hurry up and wait" scenario, since she wasn't sure how long Renji would take to... get..... there......

Through the already oppressive weight of Ichimaru's reiatsu, Rukia suddenly felt the familiar warmth of Renji's flare, hot and strong. And then it was gone, or too weak for her to detect. Choking panic rose up over Rukia as she moved without thinking. Dropping the sketch, as well as her notebook, she sprinted back down the hallway as fast as the pathetic gigai would allow her.

Coming to the corner, she turned left without looking and bolted for the hallway just outside, near the sun room.

[Going here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/187539.html?thread=12766099#t12766099) like a bat out of Hell.]

Roy had stood up once he heard the knock and Kuchiki's voice, but halfway from his bed to the door, something heavy and stifling bore down on him. It wasn't something tangible, but more a feeling that something was wrong. He closed his eyes for a moment as he tried to find his bearings. He almost wanted to attribute it to something physically wrong with him, but it felt more like an outside force.

Once he had some of his composure back, the man got to the door and opened it, but all that was waiting for him was a sheet of paper and a journal - Kuchiki's, he imagined. He heard fading footsteps and frowned. She had run away? Did it have anything to do with what he had just felt?

He was uneasy, but there was no way to make the heavy sensation go away. He bent down to pick up the discarded items and then headed back into his room. Apparently she still intended for him to make the sword for her, seeing how she had left the sketch behind. That was fine - he could deliver it to her later, and if there was something that wasn't to her liking about the final product, he couldn't be blamed since she hadn't been present to make further specifications.

Sketch in hand, he sat at his desk, placed her journal down, and with his own journal started to draw out an array.

[ From here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/187539.html?view=12896147#t12896147). ]

It was at about the time that Greed entered the male cell block that he felt some kind of sudden, inexplicable weight, bearing down on him nearly as bad as the dread he'd felt when Kimbley had betrayed him.

"What the hell..." He grunted, jerking out of the way as someone who seemed to be a young girl ran past. He shook his head and continued to M1, a room that he was sure he'd become pretty damn used to going to, given that Roy refused to find a meeting place that was more convenient for him.

The homunculus wasn't one for knocking, and so he opened the door and stepped in, taking note of how the room was empty save for the colonel. He glanced at Roy, scowling a little.

"Guess I'm the only one on time." He smirked as he rubbed the back of his head and sat down on Roy's bed without much invitation. In truth, this was a very good turn of events; he had the good colonel all to himself, and maybe now was a good time for a little training. The intangible heaviness in the air seemed to douse what anticipation he felt, however, and he growled: "You feel that?"

Roy hardly had any time to himself before someone else showed up. He was still working on the array when Greed walked in, though he didn't need to look up from his work to know who it was. Even with that heaviness, he could still sense the sin.

At least Greed hadn't run away all of a sudden like Kuchiki had. He assumed she'd had good reason, but it still seemed a little ridiculous thinking back on it.

It was surprising that Greed had made it here before Hawkeye, and he had to wonder if something had tied her up. It wasn't even as if she had longer to travel, since he was fairly certain Greed's room was in the other M Block. He finally lifted his head to watch as the homunculus invited himself to his bed, suppressing a sigh.

At the question, he offered a grim nod. "It doesn't bode well. This is the first time I've felt anything like this here." He didn't want to speculate, though, seeing how he had enough to worry about already.

He returned his attention to his journal, putting the last finishing touches on the array.

[from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/183389.html?thread=13084253#t13084253).]

The heaviness in the air didn't get any better as she went. In fact, it got much worse by the time she'd ducked into the male block, though thankfully it receded again somewhat by the time she arrived at the hallway furthest in. Her body was adapting to it, but it was still a hindrance she knew she couldn't afford. What good could she possibly be at this rate? Was there any point in showing up?

Riza frowned. She knew such thoughts rarely entered her head. Once she was suspicious of them, however, they retreated, and she closed the final distance to the door. Once or twice she thought something sinister lurked in the shadows, but it was only the building itself, though she supposed she shouldn't underestimate it.

Lifting her hand, she knocked. The sound didn't echo as terribly as she feared it would. It would still have been safer just to enter, but lately, she felt the colonel's privacy demanded a wider berth.

"Weird shit," Greed grumbled eloquently, though any contemplations of what might have been the cause of the weird feeling were interrupted by a knock at Roy's door.

"I'll get it," the homunculus said immediately, eager to see the chick that Roy had spoken of on the bulletin board. He swung off the bed and sauntered to the door, opening it before the colonel could protest.

"Yo!" Greed grinned his sharp teeth at the woman, appraising her for both combat capability and good looks. "You must be Hawkeye."

Roy had been getting out of his seat once he heard the knock, but Greed beat him to it. He was half standing as he watched the homunculus open the door and he was overcome with dread. Did he want to make a bad first impression with Hawkeye as well? He wished the sin had learned from his first meeting with Hughes.

Still, he hadn't done anything that horrible (as far as Roy could tell), so if Greed just stayed smart about how he acted toward Hawkeye, all would be well. Or so he hoped, at least. He could think of a multitude of ways that the sin might annoy his subordinate.

Not that he could really worry about that at the moment. Things would happen the way they did, and all he could really do was try to reel Greed in a bit, though he doubted the sin would take well to that. "Let her in," he said, trying his best to make it not sound like an order. He ripped the piece of paper with the newly drawn array from his notebook, grabbed Kuchiki's sketch, and then walked over to where he had arranged the metal on the floor.

The light in the room behind the figure was brighter than in the hallway, forcing him mostly into silhouette. Still, his teeth caught enough of the light behind her that she could see them plainly, as well as the strangeness of his eyes.

Whatever her inner reaction, however, she didn't back down, nor flinch. After all, beyond the unexpected nature of his visage, he didn't seem to threaten more than her sense of politesse--so far.

"Greed," she answered steadily, nodding her head with due respect before she stepped inside on the colonel's indirect invitation. She watched him as he prepared, and thought it better to interrupt him before he began, though she directed the question to them both. "Do you also feel the heaviness in the air?"

She disliked having to state the insubstantial, but if it would impact them in any way tonight, she needed to know, and she couldn't let her pride keep her ignorant.

"That's my name!" The homunculus nodded with a grin, and though he felt a pang of resentment at Roy's military-like order, he moved out of the doorway so that Hawkeye would have some room to walk in. She reminded him of Martel, except with more of a stick up her ass, like her colonel. At the question, however, his smirk fully faltered and he glanced out the door into the dark hallway.

"Sure do," he growled. "Dunno what the hell it is, though."

"Neither do I," Roy quickly added as he settled himself down on the floor next to the metal with the sketch in one hand the array in the other. Perhaps he would post about it to the bulletin in the morning and see if anyone happened to know.

For now, though, he needed to make this sword for Kuchiki. Once he had arranged all of the metal onto the array, he took one more glance at the sketch, taking in the details, before setting it aside and getting to work.

When his hands hit the floor, a bright light surged up from the pile of material, engulfing it as the alchemical reaction ran its course.

Now that he had begun, Riza wouldn't risk distracting him. Though she warily kept a part of her attention on him, she turned to Greed, her voice low so that it would not carry over the peculiar noise of the reaction.

"I came from the furthest female rooms, along the wall of the facility, I believe, and it was weaker there. It grew stronger along the way here until I entered the male block, when it receded again. It has a locatable source."

As she spoke, she met his eyes with her usual confidence, and could not help wondering at them. They resembled the eyes of a predator rather than a human. She had seen the same in Lust. And she would admit nothing further.

Greed heard Hawkeye's descriptions and nodded at the conclusion, but he missed her staring at his eyes for the fact that he was too busy observing the colonel transmute the shape of a sword from the metal. It was a damn shame homunculi couldn't use alchemy, as it'd be a very useful thing to--

And then Greed realized something that made his head snap towards Roy.

"How are you able to do that?" He asked, voice giddy at the prospect of having found an exception to a very troublesome rule. He'd all but forgotten about the subordinate in the room, and about having to be discreet. "We homunculi can't use alchemy, so how can you...?"

It occurred to Greed that he wasn't sure how much this 'Hawkeye' knew, but the proverbial cat was already out of the bag, and the more people he had to brag to, the better.

Roy hadn't been able to hear what Hawkeye was saying to Greed, but he was just about done by the time the homunculus turned to him with that unfortunate question.

He probably hadn't realized what he had just done, but this was the second time Greed had revealed his secret to someone who he would rather didn't know about it. He got the feeling Hawkeye would accept what was going on no matter what, but it was just going to make things difficult.

"I'm something of a hybrid," he explained as he caught his breath, rubbing sweat from his forehead while he glanced back down at the newly-made sword. It look fine to him, but he had no idea if Kuchiki would approve of it. It wasn't really his problem at this point, though.

He would store the sword somewhere safe once he had recovered somewhat... and also gauged Hawkeye's reaction.

Riza's thoughts didn't seem to be moving as quickly as usual. She knew what their brief but telling exchange implied, and there was no room to doubt it, but it was her acceptance of it that stalled her.

She didn't know exactly what it meant, but she knew there were fundamental differences between humans and . . . homunculi, and that those differences had somehow compromised him . . .

But the colonel had imparted none of this to her, for reasons she would not speculate, and there was little, if anything, to say of it. She instead turned her gaze to the product of his alchemy, briefly appreciating it before she lifted her eyes to his. "Will you need to rest, sir?" She appraised his condition, ready to help if he required it.

"I knew that," Greed growled, feeling cheated at the lack of explanation. He ran a hand through his hair as his shoulders slumped. "Just never been able to do it myself."

He didn't even know why the old hag had taught them what she had, though he figured her lessons had somehow fit into her grandiose plans in some way that was only meant to benefit her. His memory of those times caused him to clench a fist, glaring at the completed sword as Hawkeye showed concern for her underpowered superior.

Alchemists... the last two he'd worked with had both traded him in for their own goals, and as he glanced at Roy and then back at the sword, he hoped he wasn't making the same stupid mistake twice.

Then again, that kind of power was hard to deny...

"You're also a lot more powerful than I am," Roy retorted. He grabbed the sword by its hilt, stuck the point into the ground, and then used its weight to pull himself to his feet.

He didn't move for a moment, leaning forward as he breathed heavily. This was making the answer to Hawkeye's question painfully obvious, and yet he didn't want to make his two companions for the night wait too long.

"Just for a short while," he said eventually, grabbing hold of the sword and then slowly making his way over to his closet. Once he stashed it away, he moved to his bed and fell onto it, letting his eyes close for a moment. It was good thing he had eaten his dinner or he would have felt light-headed. As things stood now, that heavy feeling wasn't helping matters.

At least she hadn't said anything regarding his eyes, and what they meant. He was going to have to talk to her about it now, but that was something that should be done in private at some point.

Riza didn't like this talk of power. She had a feeling he didn't mean influence, or power like alchemy. What he did mean, however, she was of no mind to understand.

She stayed close as the colonel negotiated the distance to the bed, just in case he needed her assistance, but she didn't expect that he would. She knew his dignity often outweighed his reason. When he finally dropped safely to the thin mattress and closed his eyes, she stepped back, but didn't look away.

What had happened to him? And when? Where? Was it here? Could they do such things? How could he return to Amestris looking as he did?

She could feel her anger stirring. Humility reminded her that even if she'd been around, she couldn't have done anything. Yet even so, she couldn't stifle her protectiveness.

But Greed was still in the room, and she looked away. It had only been a second or two of staring, but it wasn't a subordinate's proper behavior. In more ways than one she was glad Greed would be accompanying them. Aside from the additional strength and intelligence, it would be easier, ironically, to avoid acknowledging what the colonel hadn't told her.

"Well, sure I am," Greed scoffed, crossing his arms with an arrogant cock of the head. He smirked. "It'd just be nice to do that other stuff."

He glanced at Roy's subordinate and narrowed his eyes as he noticed her thoughtful, nearly conflicted expression. He wondered if the colonel was going to take this long to divulge his new state of being to everyone he knew.

The homunculus shook his head, leaning against the wall and sighing.

"So, what the hell is the plan for tonight anyway?"

Roy remained where he was, still breathing heavier than usual. His eyes remained closed as he responded to Greed's question - they did need to be briefed, after all.

"Once I stop by M22 to see someone by the name of Adelheid who wishes to speak to me, we'll be heading to the second floor to search for locked doors." That wouldn't make much sense to either of his companions if he didn't reveal the keys he'd found, but Hawkeye already knew about them and Greed could wait for him to continue his explanation.

He pulled a hand to his forehead. Even though his eyes were closed, he could tell that someone's eyes had been on him, even if he didn't know whose. There were any number reasons that they could be watching him, but it just reminded him that Hawkeye deserved to know. Tomorrow - he would tell her tomorrow.

Simple items on the agenda. Riza felt restless having to wait. The building was too dangerous to traverse alone, and they needed to stay together, even for those simple goals, and though she might usually have offered to go on ahead and begin, she knew better than to suggest that now. She wasn't a coward, but she wasn't stupid, either. She just hoped they'd be sufficiently able together. She knew what the colonel could provide, and what little she could offer.

But she knew nothing about Greed. If they would be called upon to work together, she would need to know his strengths and weaknesses, and he hers, if he hadn't been told already.

She turned from the colonel to Greed. Her question wouldn't be a tactful one, but she trusted he'd know what she meant. She didn't know much about his kind, but she knew each were unique.

"What can you do?"

"That Adelheid guy again?" Greed muttered, not looking forward to having to go meet someone they'd reserved time for last night and missed. However, his irritated thoughts were interrupted with Hawkeye's question, and he smirked as he brought up his hands and shielded them into menacing claws, albeit slowly.

"The real question is what can't I do, but I guess this shows enough." He chuckled, flexing his hands as soon as the transformation completed itself. "They call me The Ultimate Shield."

Greed really did like showing off, didn't he? Then again, Roy wasn't much better. If his alchemy was at the level it was supposed to be, he would have been snapping all over the place. Well, not exactly, but...

His powers had attracted enough attention, weakened though they were, and while it was something of an ego stroke, it also got tiring - obviously, since he was currently collapsed on his bed.

It had been long enough, though, and so the alchemist used both arms to push himself up into a sitting position and then slid his legs over to start standing.

"We should get going."

Riza had tried not to react to the showy display, but she couldn't help a slight widening of her eyes. Although she hadn't touched the black substance, its texture under the meager light and the revelation of his title told her enough about what it was for. Regrettably, it was an ability that would certainly be useful tonight.

As the colonel stirred, she took a step closer to him again, a show of support if not the act of it. "Is there anything we should do, sir, while you are with Adelheid?" If he was a trusted man, perhaps it would be beneficial for them to make use of that time, but standing guard was a likely requirement as well.

[From here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/184780.html?thread=13438924#t13438924).]

While the short walk had actually managed to tire Rukia out somewhat, she had pulled herself together enough not to show it too badly. Only Renji might have noticed the slight drag in her step, or how she had to stop herself from taking deep breaths; the broken ribs were healing, but still painful.

Reaching the end of the hallway, Rukia paused outside of M1. Her notebook and the loose piece of paper with the drawing of Sode no Shirayuki on it were not on the floor, so she could only hope that it had been Colonel Mustang who had taken them. She heard voices inside, and felt terribly silly for having simply run off earlier, but she needed to at least apologize to the Colonel. Even if he hadn't made the katana, Rukia had to check and make sure he had her notebook.

Raising the hand that wasn't lopped into Renji's, she knocked softly on the door.

"The bathrooms are all really... dirty," Renji said quietly, finally answering Rukia's question. He was concerned that she seemed to be in pain - not that he was feeling that great himself. It was probably worse because she'd wasted so much on healing him, no doubt more than he needed. He didn't have the energy for it now, but he decided that he'd take care of her the next day if she still seemed to be having problems.

He was also rather surprised that she hadn't let go of his hand when she knocked on the door. She normally was far more concerned about etiquette and the like than he was. He tugged lightly against her grip, to remind her.

Sticking together was one thing. Holding hands like a couple of kids in front of Mustang was another entirely.

"I got it," Greed said immediately, seeing an opportunity to start getting them out of this room. He pushed himself off of the wall and turned to open the door, his claws grating against the knob as he pulled it in, wondering who could be coming to see the popular Roy Mustang at this hour. His answer came in the form of a red-haired man and a short, black-haired girl, the latter of which he recognized as the patient who'd run past him earlier on his way there.

"Come to pick something up?" Greed smirked, putting two and two together as he glanced back at the sword. He moved a bit out of the way, though he gave the guy an appraising stare, as his tattoos and general demeanor would have been nicely intimidating had it not been for the fact that he was holding hands with the kid.

The knock was something of a surprise, as he didn't remember making any other plans. There was a good chance he had simply forgotten, seeing how so many people were eager to meet up with him for one reason or another. He needed to start keeping a record of who he was supposed to see and when.

Once again, Greed went ahead and opened the door without really getting any permission, but Roy didn't really mind, as it meant less moving around for him. As he got to his feet, he glanced over once the door was open and caught sight of Renji. He had to move to the side to see Kuchiki (Greed had been blocking her before), but once he caught sight of her, it was easy to imagine what they were here for.

He wondered what had made them think that he would still be in his room, considering how busy he was, but they had been lucky. Taking a deep breath, he moved over to the closet where he had stashed the weapon. "I have your sword, Kuchiki," he raised his voice to say as he opened the closet door. "Hopefully it fits your requirements. Oh, and your journal is on my desk over there."

Riza stood aside with the knock at the door, remaining passive as the two entered, though only one seemed to have business here. Involuntarily she stood more formally, resisting the urge to let her eyes follow the colonel out of concern. Old habits--especially those learned in the military--were hard to break, and she would do nothing to suggest his weakness. That was up to him.

Though she kept her eyes mostly downcast, she could tell these two were a little worse for the wear tonight, reminding her of the dangers without. She hadn't been physically injured yet, but any time spent among the other patients told her it was imminent.

So the bathrooms were dirty. Well, they could always use the small basins in each bedroom to clean up a bit, then change clothes. Rukia just hoped Renji didn't want to go out and do anything else. While she had healed him, he still looked pale; and she certainly wasn't up to any serious exertion.

Rukia jumped slightly at the grating noise on the other side of the door; it sounded like someone was opening it with gardening implements. It swung open to reveal a tall, dark-haired man with disturbingly sharp teeth. Rukia glanced up at him, then at Colonel Mustang, who moved into view a moment later. There was a blonde woman in the room as well, but she was as silent as Rukia often was in the presence of her brother.

Letting go of Renji's hand, Rukia bowed to the Colonel. "I apologize for leaving so quickly before, sir," she said, stepping quietly into the room to retrieve the katana and journal. The blade so resembled Sode no Shirayuki that she half expected to feel the its presence when she touched it. Hands shaking slightly, she grasped the hilt... But of course, there was nothing. It was just a weapon. A very well-crafted weapon, but it was not Sode no Shirayuki.

Hiding her disappointment, Rukia glanced at Renji, adding, "I was, I had to leave right away. Again, I'm sorry to have inconvenienced you, and I am sincerely grateful for your efforts." Tucking the journal into the back of her pants, and the katana into the makeshift belt, she stepped back to the doorway. "I will bring materials to replace those you used tonight as soon as I may. Tomorrow night, if possible."

Nodding to the Colonel and the other two occupants of the room, Rukia retreated into the hallway. Hand resting possessively on the blade at her hip, she looked up at Renji, then began to make her way slowly down the hallway again.

[Going here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/184780.html?thread=13438924#t13438924).]

Renji nodded, at Rukia's promise to bring materials. Though he intended far sooner than tomorrow night. He only needed a few moments, or so he thought, to rest and recover. He turned to follow Rukia, then looked back for a moment. "Don't go to the Sun Room," he said to Roy. "There is a Shinigami there. You can already feel his spirit." Of the three people, Roy would have the best chance of knowing what that meant, and take the warning seriously.

There wasn't much else to say. He wasn't in the mood to have another discussion of how powerless they were, like he'd just had with Ran and Tatsumi. He turned and followed Rukia.

Greed watched the two newcomers leave as quickly as they had entered and then turned to Roy, whistling.

"So, you've even got total strangers calling you 'sir'? Not too shabby." Greed smirked, scratching his chin with the dull side of his claws. "Guess that's to be expected when you're making them free shit, but..."

He trailed off, glancing to the door and remembering the warning that the tattooed guy had given. The homunculus looked back to the colonel, losing his smirk as he spoke.

"She-knee-gah-me? What the hell's that, some kind of dance?"

Whatever it was, it was potent enough to cause that oppressive weight all around, though Greed had a hard time buying that it was all because of some "spirit."

They were in and out in a moment of seconds, and yet they had both managed to say whatever they had needed to. Once again, even some appreciation for his work was welcome, and he was glad to hear that Kuchiki was willing to return the favor somehow. As for what Renji had to say, he certainly had a better idea of what that meant than Hawkeye or Greed would, but the concept of 'shinigami' was still rather vague.

Still, he saw their efficiency as a good example to go by, which made him all the more eager for them to get on their way.

"Don't worry about it," he said in response to Greed's question. His tone was somewhat clipped, but that was only because he was starting to feel rushed, which always made him a little tense.

First, Adelheid's room. He was irritated that they were going to have to delay the real task at hand simply because the boy wanted to talk, but he might as well get it out of the way. So, with that, Roy closed the closet door and moved to exit the room.

Nightshift 26: M1

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