NIGHTSHIFT 28: Courtyard

[usoppsenchou.livejournal.com]

[From Here]

This wall was becoming familiar too. He'd scaled it multiple times, and watched others scaling it as well to escape or to avoid monsters. Usopp remembered waving over at his old, now missing roommate as the roommate scrambled over a wall to escape the triangle monster with the big sword.

Come to think of it, a lot of monsters showed up around here, didn't they?

Sliding down the wall into the dark carefully, and with a quiet 'oof' as he didn't make his landing well, he put his goggles over his eyes. They didn't improve his distance vision or night vision at all, but they made him feel better.

"You guys hurry up over here, okay?" he called back over the wall as loudly as he dared. "If there's any giant monsters prowling around I don't wanna be eaten alone."

Comments

[rubbermancan.livejournal.com]

"Okay, I"m hurrying!" Luffy said, the gleeful tone in his voice unmistakable. After all, it wouldn't have been fair if a monster showed up and Usopp got to see it first! The pirate captain wanted to be in the thick of the action as much as possible, and he didn't want to risk being left out.

Within a few moments, he slid down after the sharpshooter, landing next to him.

So far, he didn't see anything all that exciting, but that didn't disappoint Luffy for long. "The kitchen is really close by, right? Right?"

[i-promised.livejournal.com]

After a few moments of deciding what course of action would take the least amount of time and cause the most consternation for the chef, Zoro waited for Nami to get over the wall before grabbing Sanji and hefting him up as far as he would go.

Considering how light the chef was and the fact that Zoro practically tossed him by abruptly pushing up on Sanji's soles (that was partially due to Zoro's outright but silent refusal to touch anything even near his sometimes-rival's... butt...) it was only a matter of the swordsman getting in a good jump before they were all, more-or-less, on the other side of the wall.

His breathing was a little heavy when he landed but Zoro shook off the sweat before it even began to form on his brow. It was still too early in their adventure for him to show signs of fatigue.

[misterprince.livejournal.com]

"Hey! No! I can- What're you-" Zoro's boost suddenly became more of a throw and Sanji, not expecting this but thinking he should have known better, ended up falling over the edge of the wall and all the way down the other side. He landed with a hard thud on his back, the wind temporarily knocked out of him and spots dancing in front of his eyes.

"Shit-eating... bastard..." the chef finally growled, staggering up to his feet with a hand on the wall. He wanted to start something right then and there - would have if he wasn't so sure the drugs would give Zoro the advantage. That wasn't the excuse he was going to use, though. "You're lucky I'm saving my energy for something more dangerous."

There was a lack of walls in the direct line needed for the entrance to the cafeteria, so he'd have to make do on his own. Though he made his way closer to Usopp. Just in case.

[usoppsenchou.livejournal.com]

Usopp slowly crept over to the door to the cafeteria, then realized he didn't actually have anything heavy to pound on the lock with this time, unlike his previous trips out here.

Unless he counted the small army he was traveling with, of course.

"Hey, someone needs to knock the door down. This is the cafeteria, the kitchen's right behind it," Usopp explained, backing away a bit from the door. He also headed closer to Sanji--not reaching out a hand to help steady him or anything, just standing within reach in case Sanji swayed and needed something to land on. A manly, sincere agreement between men spoken without words! He did feel the need to narrate it in his own mind, and it was a pleasant distraction from the list of dooms he'd been composing for the kitchen.

[rubbermancan.livejournal.com]

Grinning brightly, Luffy made his way towards the door. No one needed to ask him twice. As long as the cafeteria, the kitchen, the food, and the answers were on the other side of this door, the pirate captain was more than happy to help bust it open.

Without even thinking, he threw his shoulder against the door, grunting a little when it only budged a little. He tried again, eyebrows furrowed in effort.

"Oi, Zoro, gimme a hand here," he said after a moment. "I think it needs two people to open. On the count of three?"

[i-promised.livejournal.com]

Muttering a quick and very unapologetic "Sorry, my hand slipped" in Sanji's direction, Zoro chuckled softly as he made his way next to Luffy.

Banging a fist on the door once to gauge its strength, Zoro nodded.

"... three." Familiar with Luffy's rhythm, he threw his entire weight on the door at the same time as his captain did, focusing on breaking the weak lock keeping it shut.

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