damned_institute | Nightshift 26: Cafeteria

One moment, Rangiku had been sitting in the hallway next to River, half collapsed and bleeding, and the next, she was in much the same state, but in the cafeteria of all places! She looked around wildly for a moment, her mind taking a little longer to process the information after the healing, but then her gaze fixed on Xigbar and she managed a small smile.

"I think we do. But how... That was a long way to bring us." He'd transported them last night as well, but that had only been a matter of a few metres, not several corridors. And he seemed none the worse for wear.

Xigbar had been closer to receiving that slap than he possibly realized. Tatsumi had been on the verge of summoning his shadow when the darkness seemed to shift around him, and he found himself along with Rangiku in the cafeteria.

Xigbar was there as well. Floating upside down.

"A bit of warning would have been appreciated." Tatsumi smiled sharply, his eyes narrowed in annoyance. "I'm curious as to how you were able to do that as well."

Then he remembered Rangiku, and looked down to the woman. "Are you okay, Rangiku-san? Your efforts seem to have taken quite a toll."

Before he could respond, Xigbar's Dork Alert started screaming warnings, and he rolled his eye. Without even needing to turn around, he called out, "Love you too, VIII~!" Psh, the Flurry of Dancing Flames was just jealous. He didn't have a total babe smiling at him.

Just a shame Xigbar didn't have the heart to appreciate the moment.

The Nobody then shrugged his shoulders at the other two, completely at home in his inverted and weightless condition, and grinned at them. "Warning's over-rated; we'd have gotten bogged down and then we'd still be over there," said with a dismissive gesture in the general direction of where they had been, "instead of right here."

As for the questions about how he did it? Eh, he'd leave the two of them in the dark about that for the moment. For now, it was enough that he could.

Rangiku smiled reassuringly at Tatsumi, managing to push herself to her feet with the help of a nearby table. She was a little unsteady still, and her vision twisted unpleasantly for a moment, but she remained upright and mostly feeling like she wouldn't die yet. "The healing spell just too a lot of energy," she replied. "Her wounds were rather bad and it's easy to give more than you should with the spell." Not to mention her distraction. Speaking of which...

She walked carefully over to the door of the Sun Room, feeling the reiatsu increasing with every step, pushing down on her since she had no way to force it off with her own. Fear clenched in her heart for a moment. Hitsugaya... he'd gone in there and she didn't even know if he was alright and she got the awful impression that she'd be utterly useless if she spent time searching for his reiatsu. Her senses were all clouded from the proximity to Gin anyway.

She turned back to her companions. She'd promised Renji so she felt a little guilty, but she wouldn't be able to rest until she knew. "I need to check that my captain made it out of the Sun Room. I'll just step inside for a moment and then come back out." She didn't think it would be quite that easy, but she had to do it.

Tatsumi didn't miss that Xigbar refused to tell his method. He had been about to press again when Rangiku stood, and started to head to the Sun Room. The secretary frowned, having a pretty good sense of how foolish it was...but somehow suspecting that if the danger Gin presented wasn't enough to sway her, nothing he said could be.

Then there was the matter of what feelings Rangiku might have for Gin, the feelings that had been hinted at in the hall.

"Rangiku-san." Tatsumi moved after the woman, feeling the growing weight of Gin's power with each step. "I understand your resolve, but please let us accompany you. If something happens, we'll stand a better chance of escape. I can use my shadow, and Xigbar-san can teleport us all back to safety."

Tatsumi shot the other man a firm look, one that made it clear that Xigbar was coming, like it or not. The secretary may not have had his full power, but he could find ways to make a man miserable should he need.

He'd always been the enterprising sort.

...hey now! Xigbar didn't like being volunteered for anything, and neither did he like not having even a little bit of acknowledgment. A little more than just idle curiosity! Psh, it wasn't every day that people got to see a Nobody in peak condition, especially not in this dump, and Tatsumi had the nerve to just take it for granted?

He snorted and crossed his arms, turning his head so his blind eye was turned to them- even in mid-air, such things were second nature to him. "In your condition, you're both gonna get splattered in a coupla seconds. An' maybe I don't wanna teleport you two again. Why should I? Might only be a temporary boost, so maybe I should conserve some of my energy. Which I can do a lot better if you two don't take me for granted."

It was just like being in the Organization all over again. Only worse, because those two had hearts and should freakin' know better!

"You don't have a conscience, Eight! Not even with that darn thing, so stop pretending. And why don't you get in my bed while you're at it? I'll be there in a sec!" Seriously, if Luxord had gotten lucky, then it was Xigbar's sworn duty to hook up with someone hotter and better than Captain Jack. In the absence of such a person, Axel would have worked.

Rangiku frowned slightly at Tatsumi's insistence. She didn't like the idea of dragging anyone else into her own reckless plan. Still, Xigbar's reaction brought an amused smile to her lips. "I'm only going to step inside for a moment and then return," she replied, already taking a few steps towards the door. "There's no sense in three of us risking injury although I appreciate the offer, Tatsumi-san."

She smiled at Xigbar. "You should conserve your energy, Xigbar-san. And I greatly appreciate your bringing us here. You have my gratitude."

"There's equally little sense in letting our team leader get hurt." Tatsumi shook his head slightly at both Rangiku's refusal, and at Xigbar's indignant response. "You're already weakened, Rangiku-san, so I'm afraid I will have to insist."

Turning to Xigbar, he frowned at the man. "There's nothing being taken for granted. You volunteered to be part of this team, didn't you?" He did doubt that someone like Xigbar would do anything he ultimately didn't want to. "So thank you for teleporting us this far. But why make such a commitment if you don't have the intention of living up to it?"

Ultimately, Xigbar could do as he pleased. Tatsumi, however, would not let Rangiku go into danger alone. It only took the secretary a few steps to catch up. The woman could fight him off if she was that determined, but Tatsumi was a stubborn thing himself.

"...hey now." Xigbar frowned as he shifted space once more, now right side up and behind Tatsumi. "You're twisting my words there. I'm part of the team, but I don't want to see a chick like her splattered all over the floor. 'sides, wasn't the mission to go to the kitchen anyway? It's not cool to change things on me."

Despite that, though, another warping of space brought Xigbar floating beside Rangiku, and he glanced at her with his one good eye, his arms still crossed. "So I'm coming with you. An' making sure that I don't get a bad rap for not looking out for my people. But if I use up all of my energy to keep you in one piece, then you'll owe me one. Got it?"

Yeah, totally not a request there. But despite his loner nature, he had to get the trust of people in this weird group thingie. And that meant he had to prove himself as halfway reliable. Tch, responsibility was a b.

She sighed softly, pinching the bride of her nose in frustration. She appreciated it, really she did, but if they got hurt because of her... well, wouldn't that be the perfect end to the perfect day? Still she couldn't quite hide her amusement at the argument between the two men. It was almost sweet in a way.

"Very well," she said, giving a long suffering smile to the two. "Thankyou both." Even if they were apparently noble but masochistic idiots.

The sight of Xigbar floating in mid-air was rather less disconcerting for her than it would have been for a lot of people. She was used to seeing people appear using flash step and jump long distances, although hanging in mid-air like Xigbar was doing was definitely novel. She nodded in agreement. "Of course. I wouldn't expect you to use everything to keep me in one piece, and definitely not without giving something in return." It was a currency that she was used to using. Very little came for free.

[To here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/185460.html)]

[From here. (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/202798.html?thread=13575726#t13575726)]

"So where you headed to, stranger?" Now that he was inside, Axel was quick to click on his flashlight as well, scanning the area for anyone else who may have arrived. The movement from the corner of his eye caught his attention though, clicking off the aforementioned instrument almost as fast as he had turned it on.

It was only until he could make out Xigbar's voice did the redhead find himself groaning. Acting against his better judgment, Axel quickly threw his fist up in the air and shook it wildly, giving off waves of 'DAMN YOU' in the older Nobody's direction before glancing back at his two companions with a sigh.

“My name’s Kairi.” She told Ed with a smile, nodding her head slightly. “It’s nice to meet you, Ed.”

Smiling up in an apologetic way to Axel, she walked past him and into the building, flashing her light around the hallway in interest. The cafeteria was kind of frightening at night in the dark, yet she paid no mind and simply continued to look around. She was a few feet away from Axel by the time she heard him speak again, and she quickly moved back to his side, surprised at how far she had wandered without even realizing it.

She got back just in time to see him do his moron movement.

Rolling her eyes, the once princess let out a giggle, reaching out to jab him in the side again. “You weirdo.”

That odd, heavy feeling in the air was worse here and Ed glanced towards the Sun Room in irritation. The intercom had said that someone was in there on special counselling, he could only presume that it was them. Not that it mattered as long as they didn't come in here.

He gave Kairi a friendly smile. "Nice to meet you too Kairi, Axel," he added glancing towards the red head who... was shaking his fist angrily at the other small group in the room. How odd. He bit his lip to keep from laughing. It just looked kind of ridiculous without any noise to accompany it.

"Kitchen," he said in reply to Axel's question. "I'm an alchemist so I was planning on getting some metal from there." And possibly trying that alcohol thing again if Adel thought it would be useful. They had to keep large contained of it sdomewhere.

"I still want that divorce!" Axel called back, doing his best to ignore the heavy feeling that clung to this place even more so than where he'd already been. He winced dramatically when Kairi jabbed him, ruffling her hair before glancing curiously at Ed.

"So that means you probably know Roy." He found himself grinning at the blond, taking a few steps forward towards the kitchen doors. "And what a coincidence, it looks like we're heading in the same direction."

Well, that certainly made things a little easier. Though before he could let his thoughts run deeper the redhead found himself shaking his head and sighing. His mechanical heart was protesting much more than it usually did, the constant clicking deafening his ears until he finally gave up in the end.

"Logic tells me to take advantage of this, but consciences can be so annoying sometimes."

“Augh, why do you have to do that to my hair all the time?!” Kairi squawked out again, her hands lifting to fix her hair and put it back into place. The pressure was nearly suffocating, so much that it caused her skin to burn with the flames without even being touched.

Turning away from Axel once he started talking once again, Kairi simply looked towards Ed for a moment before looking around once more. Taking in a shuddered breath, her eyes roamed back to Axel at his comment about his conscience. What was he yammering on about now?

The alchemist blinked in surprise and not a little bemusement at Axel's behaviour. Divorce? He thought it might be a joke, but he wasn't exactly used to jokes like that. Maybe he was just really insane?

It took him a moment to realise what Axel had asked and he nodded. "Yeah, I know Mustang," he replied. "How do you know him?"

He glanced over at the other small group again and frowned before turning his attention back to Kairi and Axel. "Yeah, the kitchen is good, even if there's no knives or anything, I can probably get enough metal to make some weapons." He smiled slightly. "I could add you to the list if you want?"

"Shut up, Xigbar! You're not the one that has to deal with this damn thing! And while you're at it, why don't you get in mine first?!" The redhead shouted back at the older Nobody, though it wasn't really necessary since they probably would've heard each other anyway. Though the score was hardly settled, he chose to answer Ed's question, ignoring Kairi's words for the moment and ruffled her hair again just to spite her.

"Roy was actually the one that helped me get through my first night, him and Hughes." He quickly explained, all the while still making his way towards the Kitchen. Yet Axel found himself groaning when Ed informed him that there were no actual knives in the Kitchen. He guessed they'd just have to improvise with whatever was available.

"Might as well, especially since half the Institute is already under it."

Kairi hissed from Axel and moved away from him, out of his stupid reach. Crossing her arms over her chest, she pouted and let out a “hmph!” sound before turning her head away in one of those mock cold shoulder motions. Her scalp tingled slightly from the unseen fire, and it was starting to annoy her. Stupid pressure.

Turning towards Ed after Axel was done speaking, Kairi smiled, nodding her head as her arms dropped back to her sides. “That would be really nice. Thank you.” Flashing the younger boy her brightest smile, she turned back towards the cafeteria, walking slowly as she tried to not crash into any of the tables.

At the next outburst, Ed just stared, a faint flush appearing on his face at the implications. Did people really just joke about this kind of thing? Well, obviously they did; he'd heard soldiers making crude jokes before but this was something else. He turned to Kairi, a baffled look on his face. "Is he always like this?" he whispered to her.

Well, if he knew Hughes then that was alright. "My list is shorter," he repllied with a grin. He should help Mustang, but he preferred to know who was getting what weapon personally.

He frowned at the door as they approched it, reaching out to test the lock. "Locked again," he grumbled, testing it with a quick kick.

"Oh really now~?" Well then, luck really was on their side tonight! (But knowing Luxord, he probably jynxed it) Maybe then he'd be able to get a weapon a lot sooner than he expected, but he chose not to be too optimistic since that got him nowhere in the end.

Axel watched in amusement as Ed tried to kick the lock off, looking around the Cafeteria for a moment before meandering over to one of the tables. He was about to lift one of the chairs, planning on using one of the legs as means to knock the lock off, though was met with disappointment when he found out that they were made completely of plastic. Oh right.

"Damn." But then another idea struck him, and it wasn’t long before he offered his flashlight towards the teen.

"Maybe you can break it off using this."

Kairi let out a sigh as Axel continued to make a fool of himself, and at Ed’s question, an expression of mock heartbreak crossed her face, and she nodded her head, pretending to sniffle as her hand lifted to rub at her dry eyes. “Y-yes, I’m afraid so. It’s very sad, is it not?” and just in case, she made her way to the other side of Ed, so Axel couldn’t reach out and ruffle her hair once again.

Watching as Axel lifted up his flashlight, Kairi blinked in surprise, tilting her head to the side as a curious expression crossed her face. Turning to look at the lock, she frowned, wishing she had a better hold of her keyblade so she could at least try and open the lock. It would have saved them a lot of time.

Kairi's acting took him off guard for a moment, wondering if he'd said something so terrible. Then he caught sight of her dry eyes and grinned in relief and good humour. He nodded, bringing a solemn expression to his face. "Terribly sad, yes." He chuckled softly and then turned his sights back to the lock.

The offer of the flashlight was much appreciated and he smiled thankfully at Axel. "That might work, yeah." He took the flashlight, hoping it wouldn't break too easily, and raised it into the air before bringing it down on the door handle with a resounding crack. Another tap and the handle was knocked off, falling to the floor with a clatter. He grinned widely and passed the torch back to Axel. "I think that should do it."

"You know, I'm not deaf, nor am I senile." Axel pointed out with a scowl, crossing his arms and giving both teens a good glare before sighing. Honestly, kids these days had no respect for their elders, though he probably wouldn't have been the greatest example to follow, seeing as that he killed one so ruthlessly just for his own gain.

But no one had to know that.

He gave a curt nod, taking the flashlight back and opened the door to peer his head in. There didn't seem to be anything dangerous from what he could see, so Axel shrugged lightly before opening it completely, quickly motioning a hand towards Kairi.

"Ladies first."

“Well, that’s good,” Kairi chirped happily before moving towards the door, “Because if you were I’d think you were gross.”

Peeking silently inside for a few seconds, she shrugged her shoulders and strode into the kitchen.

[From Here] (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/202798.html)

Stepping into the darkness of the cafeteria, Cloud allowed the door from the outside to swing closed behind him. He was bathed in darkness, and he stood perfectly still listening for any sounds of danger while allowing his eyes time to adjust to the new level of light. He flicked on his flashlight and peered around before nodding to himself. All was clear apparently.

He turned and made his way around the tables, considering for only a moment to sit by himself. That seemed a little pathetic, so he moved on towards the door that would lead him through the Sun Room. It would allow him to explore the hallways that he had not yet been to. Perhaps he would find a way to reach the second floor to explore there.

He would cross that bridge when he managed to get into the familiar hallway on the other side of the main rooms. Walking to the door, he eased it open and slipped passed into the Sun Room, careful not to make noise.

[To Here] (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/185460.html)

[from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/202798.html?thread=13780270#t13780270)]

Finally, the cafeteria. Practically in the kitchen already.

He paused by one of the tables, waiting for the others to catch up. After all, there wasn't much point in a kitchen raid alone. The first time he'd come here, it had been with Yuber... that was nostalgic.

I don't think you can be nostalgic for something that happened a couple days ago.

Well, it was something, anyway.

"Is everybody all right?"

"I'm all right, Usopp-kun," Sai answered, though one hand rubbed briefly at the spot on his head where the pirate's foot had connected a few minutes before. He hadn't been kidding when he'd said he'd need a little extra help getting over.

He took a look around the kitchen. It was empty now, but had obviously had visitors earlier in the evening. Bypassing the Sun Room using the over-the-wall method had obviously been thought of by others.

"What are we looking for?"

Clark certainly hoped Sai was okay - getting kicked upside the head hardly looked fun. At least they were at the cafeteria, which was were he guessed they were supposed to be. And as far as he could tell, everyone was mostly okay. He wasn't sure what the others were looking for, but looking around, he could see that even in the darkness, there was evidence that other people had beaten them here. He supposed that if there was a cafeteria, there was probably a kitchen; maybe that would be their best bet, because he couldn't really see anything here that was useful.

"Are there kitchen knives or anything?" Clark said. "I mean, there's gotta be a kitchen around here and I don't think they prepare their food with the plastic stuff they give us during the day."

Unless they just shipped their food in and microwaved it. That would kind of be a damper on his theory, but it was worth a shot.

"When I was in here a few nights ago with Yuber, we didn't find any knives. I think they must move them at night or something. We did find some stuff that was sort of sharp--the edges of can openers and that kinda thing." Usopp told Clark. Then he puffed up a bit. "However! That doesn't mean there's nothing there that can be used for weaponry!"

He hurried on back towards the kitchen, feeling a rush of enthusiasm at finally reaching their goal.

[to here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/204900.html)]

Carefully closing the door behind him, Kimbley glanced around at the (mostly) empty cafeteria. It didn't change very much at night, did it. He could hear voices - a lot of them - whispering through the door to the north. That many people ... it had to be the kitchen. Richter's goal.

Still, if there were already people in there, then any useful objects had probably already been picked clean. He may as well stay in here and try to find something hidden - or move back into the hallways and try to find something useful there.

Next time night fell, he wasn't following anybody.

Riddick arrived in a half-crouch bearing Haku on his back. He knelt with obvious pain as he lowered the unconscious boy to the floor by the wall near the door he'd just come through. Being this close to the Sun Room was murder in combination with the pain ripping through the killer's left side. Then he spotted the guy who'd been missing from the courtyard, and rage helped Riddick keep his mind his own for the time being.

"Following orders?" snarled Riddick at the ponytailed man. The guy smelled like fear. Big time. He had run like a motherfucking chicken. "If you know what's good for you, you'll follow mine. Help the kid."

Riddick collapsed into a sitting position, leaning back against the wall beside Haku as pain tore fiery trails through his chest. No doubt he had made his own injuries worse by dragging the kid in here. He grimaced and just tried to breathe for the moment. His mind was getting very, very dark.

Haku's own mind was filled with nothing but pain and a desperate need to breathe. The broken ribs that had already pushed into his lung had been shoved farther due to the way he'd been transported and he'd lost a great deal of blood so far.

Even he was starting to feel a chill...

((ooc: Feel free to skip Haku for a bit. He's going to stay unconscious and all bleedy for a while.))

[followed the group from outside]

Zabuza ran into the cafeteria and went straight to the unconscious body of Haku. His blade was fastened to his back once more.

He went to where Riddick had placed the teenager, ignoring the other two men completely as he bent down to get a better look at the damage. He put a warm hand on Haku's forehead, checking the boy's temperature to see if it was any colder or warmer than normal, though the touch turned into a soft caress as his eyes scanned over the boy's chest to survey the wounds.

His own body was close to shaking. He couldn't lose Haku. Not again. Not ever again. The first time had been hell enough, he would stay in this place forever if it meant that he could be with Haku.

"Damn you Haku," he muttered, voice low. He was unable to keep his worry and emotion out of it. He didn't care that two complete strangers could overhear him.

If Kimbley could have read Riddick's thought process and noted the idea of the scent of fear, he would have spat a response along the lines of Learn to smell - that's coming from the kitchen. He wasn't particularly frightened, just a little put off by the sudden snarling behind him from an injured man who had a knife in one hand and looked fucking murderous.

He leaned against a nearby table and quirked an eyebrow at the pair near the door.

"There weren't any orders," he said idly. (Not for him, at least, which was part of the reason he'd walked away.) "And I don't have a reason to follow yours." This guy wasn't going to hook him up with explosives (although after tonight ... ) or anything of the like. If he tried anything, Kimbley was fast enough to keep out of his way until the bastard collapsed.

When the other giant rushed in and practically collapsed next to the fallen girl, Kimbley barely spared him a glance. No point in bothering with him ... yet.

Riddick's eyes were open again, and he ignored the man who'd come to hopefully aid Haku. He was staring at the asshole who'd just blown him off. His purple vision swam even as he rose slowly; it appeared to be a hindered movement, but there was no more pain. There was no more thought. The pain he had been feeling, the surge of anger, and the aura from the Sun Room had combined to steal whatever ability Riddick had to discern between reality and the need to kill the man leaning against the table. He sprang from his crouch, running fast for his target with a primal roar.

Zabzua continued the ignore the two men.

He wasn't a medic, had never had the patience to deal with healing chakra unless it was about his own body, and then he had only ever learned to heal minor injuries. Haku had always been the one to make sure they survived horrible battles.

He carefully removed Haku's bag, looking for something, anything that could help him while thinking over times they had been so injured.

But, Haku had never been this bad before, minus the time that he had died.

Focus Zabuza told himself. He didn't care if the two useless excuses for men were fighting. He needed to find a way to enable Haku to breathe.

If only the boy was awake, then he could tell him what to do.

When the bastard charged him, Kimbley immediately ran through every situation he could in his head - blow him the fuck up was the first option, but that wasn't physically possible any more. The second was try to kick his ass, but from the looks of it, the bastard was in an insane rage and had about fifty pounds (of pure muscle) on Kimbley.

Then there was the briefest recollection of what had happened in the courtyard - his flashlight, struck from his hands during this bastard's charge.

Hell, if this worked --

Kimbley turned on the flashlight and brought it up to chest level, shining the beam directly in Riddick's eyes without moving his body. Still, he was ready to jump if anything happened - like if this didn't work.

Riddick literally screamed as the light tore through his vision. Blinded for the moment, he continued his trajectory, but now his arms were up in front of his face in an attempt to stop the torture that was actually making its way through his rage-fused mind.

[from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/202798.html)]

Recluse only spared the others a glance as he walked past. There wasn't any advantage to stopping and dealing with them. He still had things to do, and there seemed to actually be a chance he'd be able to accomplish at least one goal tonight.

[to here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/204900.html)]

Nightshift 26: Cafeteria

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