damned_institute | Nightshift 30: M1-10 Hallway

Knives looked up when the intercom came on. He had no idea what it meant that the voice behind the radio had been killed and he didn't care either way. The point was the sudden change in the doctor's voice pointed to the fact that Roy had not been lying or insane earlier in the day. In fact, Roy was the only person Knives had encountered that seemed to be worth anything.

Knives' head was still hazy from the drugs that they had given him at dinner, but at least his irritation on Monzenrath faded as the two of them were pulled apart. He felt... strange as he thought back on how heavily he had lost control. It was embarrassing.

He was quiet for a while, mostly letting himself think over his options for the night. Finally, he looked at his roommate and said the first thing he cared to say that night.

"You're going out," he pointed out. It was redundant but he said it only to establish the fact. "I am going with you." The second statement wasn't a request, but his tone was no where near as demanding as it would have been before. "It would be foolish for me to go alone when I know little to nothing about this place and you are the only competent human I've encountered today."

The radio man, dead? Roy wasn't certain if he believed it, though he wondered if he was just being delusional. Still, this could easily just be another way that Landel was trying to discourage the patient population. Even if it was true, Roy didn't know if it mattered or not. It didn't sound like Ashton and the others had gotten much out of the man, so who knew if he was that willing to help them in the end.

On the other hand, if Landel had seen him as such a threat that he'd been forced to murder him, then perhaps he had been trying to help them in his own way. Either the deed had been done or it hadn't, and Roy knew that he had no control over it, which meant that dwelling on it would be pointless. He was curious about the girl he had met at dinner, and perhaps a little dubious, but she had seemed sincere enough. The extra help was definitely needed, even if it meant handing over some of the spotlight.

He hadn't been expecting for Knives to speak up, so he was a little surprised as a result. The fact that he spoke without question seemed presumptuous - Roy didn't have to take him with, after all. But he knew that it wouldn't sit right with him if he left his roommate to wander around on his own.

"You have no one else to go with?" he asked carefully. "There are a lot of patients who wander around looking for others to spend the night with." Still, if Knives insisted, then he would have no choice but to let him tag along.

Knives looked at Roy oddly, as if something Roy said confused him. "As I said, you are the only person I met that I found capable." He didn't see why he had to repeat himself. Truthfully, he didn't trust himself very much just yet, considering what had happened during dinner. Roy, at least, had offered him information and help in acquiring a weapon. He seemed useful, which was more than Knives could say about the others he met during his day at this hospital.

"Would you prefer that I wander off on my own, weakened as I am, to face the unknown?" He knew that was a little dramatic, but Roy seemed like the type of person who considered himself to be a 'good' person and 'good' people were at least predictable. That was the reason Knives had known how to get under Vash's skin. "At least for tonight, I believe it would be smartest for me to stay with you. I am able to fight, and I don't expect you to babysit me." Knives actually would have been insulted if that was what Roy thought he was looking for. "I need a guide and you might be able to use the extra pair of eyes and hands."

All in all, Roy could hardly argue. While he could tell that Knives was goading him to an extent, he simply wouldn't let him go off on his own. Knives apparently had his number already, though Roy didn't have any reason to resent the man for it. He seemed very straight-forward and if there was truth to his words, then maybe he would be a help. There might even be a chance of recruiting him into the Cooking Group, but it was less likely if he was so intolerant of people.

On the other hand, he may have just happened to be unlucky enough to run into very insufferable people.

"Very well. I'm planning to meet with a man who's going to show me how to get to the basement. He isn't the most pleasant of people, so there's your fair warning. We need to wait for another patient to show up so I can make a weapon for him, though." Hopefully Hisoka wouldn't keep them waiting too long -- he wasn't sure how long Kimbley would wait for them. Then again, he would probably wait for a pretty long time if it meant he got to torment him eventually.

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M6, M5, M4... Finally. A small spark of life lighted in the boy as he came across M1. This was his chance to finally get a sword so he could do something, even if it wouldn't be all that much. He didn't like the idea of coming up short, though--they had made the arrangement that he would get the metal and the alchemists would do the rest. It felt like he was cheating them, even if he was going to compensate eventually.

Oh well, Hisoka sighed as he knocked on the door. He would have to just wait and see how things went.

Before Knives could make any sort of response, there came the knock he had been expecting. Roy immediately got to his feet and moved over to open it, wondering to himself what this Hisoka was going to be like. It was a little strange to meet someone in person after his communication with them had been conducted strictly over the bulletin beforehand, but he was slowly getting used to it.

The boy was much younger than he had been expecting, though Roy realized he should have been used to so many young people being around. It wasn't the norm in the military, and Fullmetal was definitely the exception, but a lot of the patients who were in their teens seemed proficient at fighting. Part of him had to admit that it was impressive.

He noticed the bag Hisoka was carrying and was glad to see that he had at least been able to bring some materials with him. "Come in," he said, taking a step back.

Hisoka couldn't have been more grateful for the straight-to-business attitude, he really wasn't in any mood to chat and the last thing he needed to do was insult the alchemist. The boy stepped past the threshold and glanced around the room, noting that another man was also in the room as well. A roommate, maybe?

"You're Mustang?" Hisoka asked the one who had opened the door. He had never seen the man before, it was only safe to ask.

Roy nodded. While it seemed that Hisoka had noticed Knives, he didn't comment beyond that, and he figured it was obvious enough that the other patient was his roommate. If the two wanted to introduce themselves to each other for whatever reason, then that was their prerogative, but Hisoka didn't seem like the overly friendly type.

"So, what did you manage to bring with?" he asked, looking to the bag again. "And you wanted a basic katana, correct? If there were certain details you wanted, I'll see what I can do." He was limited, but something simple wouldn't be too hard to pull off.

In the meantime, he moved to the closet where he had a stash of metal, assuming some of it would need to be used.

"Not much," Hisoka replied just barely managing to hold back a scowl. "I got to go through the drawers in the kitchen, but beyond that and this-" He held up the metal bar he had brought with him as well. "-That's about it."

He could have gotten more, Hisoka was sure, if he wasn't always being held up in some way. Then again, getting somewhere in this place would just go against how things worked--one step forward, twenty steps back. Add a few wounds, mental trauma, and maybe some claws along the way and they were good.

"And yes, a simple katana will be fine. I don't have any preferences as to how it looks."

Well, that made things easy. Roy didn't reply at first, bending down to grab a few more pieces of metal from his own stash. Just odds and ends, really, but it didn't matter where the materials had come from.

Once he had what he calculated to be enough, the alchemist moved away from the closet with the metal in his arms, moving to the center of the room and dumping it on the floor unceremoniously. This was routine by now.

"Add what you have to the pile," he told Hisoka as he moved over to grab his journal and a pen. He ripped a page out and stood over his desk as he started drawing the array. Having made a few katanas now, he had an idea of what it required and was able to get the array sketched out a little faster. Kimbley would be waiting, after all, and while he didn't mind making the man wait, he knew that getting to the basement was likely to take a while.

Doing as he was told, Hisoka emptied the contents of the bag onto the floor before setting the metal bar down on top. He wasn't going to need it anymore, anyway, and if he did find himself needing another he could always pry another loose from his bed frame. Once finished, Hisoka returned to where he was before to wait for Mustang to finish.

Roy was completely silent as he worked, glad to see that the others were keeping their thoughts to themselves as well. It expedited the process, and while the alchemist wasn't looking forward to the drained feeling that would follow the transmutation, he didn't want to spend the entire night in his room either.

Once the array was finished, he moved over with the paper to the pile of metal, sizing it up with a nod. There might even be some leftover, which he could just put back into his stash.

Kneeling, he put down the piece of paper and moved the metal on top of it, leaving a corner of the array exposed. He only took a moment to collect his thoughts, seeing how he had done this a few times before and knew how it went by now.

Then, he set his hands down on the array and the normal yellow light shot up, bright enough to cover the metal as it was reformed. Roy closed his eyes and willed the materials to morph into the proper shape -- it took about half a minute, but then the light died down and there was a katana in place of what had been there before, along with some leftover metal beside it.

Roy was gasping, with both hands planted heavily on the floor as he tried to fight back the wave of exhaustion that always overtook him. He had hoped that he would get used to it, but he never seemed to be able to.

Knives stood up from his bed and moved slowly to where his roommate was, walking in such a way that he didn't get too close to the other human in the room. He was a little more than fascinated by what Roy had done and also a little concerned about the way he was acting now. It wasn't as if he were really worried about Roy, that idea was laughable, but Roy was the one who was supposed to guide him tonight and the idea of being without a guide was unacceptable.

"Are you alright?" he asked, voice strained to not be too annoyed or gruff, to actually sound like he cared. He knelt by Roy, ignoring the boy completely but leaving enough room for him to grab his weapon and go.

Hisoka pretended not to notice Roy's sudden weakness as he grabbed the katana from its place on the floor. He had a vague idea of what might have caused it, especially considering they were in this place, but some things were better left unsaid. Even questions of concern.

So instead, the boy inspected the blade with admiration. It was a good sword, if he had the means, Hisoka would have given Roy something else other than metal as payment. He would have to think of something, the bag he had brought with him seemed pathetic now.

"Thank you," Hisoka spoke politely. "I'll be sure to compensate you as soon as I can." With that, the boy grabbed his makeshift bag and left to allow Roy to recuperate in peace. Relative peace, anyway.

The questions of concern were normal, though he hadn't been expecting it from his roommate. At least Hisoka wasn't adding to the pity party, and instead was keeping things short. That was for the best -- they all had their own tasks to attend to, after all.

"You're welcome. We can discuss it later," he said, struggling to keep his breathing steady. Once the boy had left, he forced himself back into a proper sitting position and glanced up at Knives as he wiped the sweat from his brow.

"This is normal. I'll be fine in a few minutes," he explained, closing his eyes as he tried to overcome the initial feeling of fatigue. The weakness wouldn't be gone until morning, but he was accustomed to dealing with it by now.

Knives watched him for a moment with a blank expression, trying to figure the guy out. Why would someone intentionally weaken themselves to give someone else an upper hand? His eyes narrowed slightly as he waited for Roy to collect himself. He stood and went back to his bed, sitting there instead of close to Roy again.

"You're like my brother," he said after a moment, without even meaning too.

Luckily, Knives didn't seem the sort to get overly concerned, which Roy could appreciate. He watched the man as he moved back to the bed before glancing to the leftover metal that remained on the floor.

The comment didn't mean much to Roy, but it definitely seemed like his roommate had something of a fixation on his brother. He wasn't sure how to respond, so he decided to focus on expediting the process of leaving. He didn't trust himself to be able to stand just yet, so instead he pointed out the metal. "Could you do me a favor and move that to the closet? And don't worry, we'll be able to get going soon."

Knives almost scowled at Roy for the request, but instead he sighed and stood up. He carefully gathered the scraps of metal and put them away. He then moved back to his own bed, quietly waiting. He wasn't in a rush, because he didn't particularly care what happened to him. He had, after all, chosen to fade away for a reason. He didn't speak, only watched Roy with a contemplative expression.

While Knives didn't seem too happy doing what he'd asked, he still did it. Roy didn't care if he was bothered by it, so long as things got done. He knew it wasn't his place to be ordering his new roommate around, but he had also agreed to watch over the man for the night, so it seemed like a fair trade. Besides, it would get them on there way sooner, and he doubted Knives could argue with that.

Though now he would be the one holding them up if he delayed any longer. Even though it seemed like quite the task, the colonel slowly got to his feet. He was able to stand in place well enough, but he knew that the moment he started walking that he was going to start wishing he had a wall to lean against. He would resort to that if he had to.

He checked the pockets of his coat to make sure he had his lighter and his matches before nodding to his roommate. "Let's get going," he said, trying not to look as worn down as he felt. He still had quite the night ahead of him, after all.

Knives stood as soon as his roommate did and slipped on his harder slippers and his robe. He didn't have anything to bring but he didn't let that bother him.

"Do you need help?" Knives asked, inside his stomach twisted at the idea of helping a human, but he refused to allow it to show. His roommate wasn't showing a lot of signs of exhaustion but considering how he had been before Knives wasn't so sure how okay he really was.

The moment Knives go to his feet, Roy started for the door, making sure to take small steps. Knowing that he couldn't move too quickly, he could already tell that it was going to take longer than it should have to get to the Sun Room, but that couldn't be helped.

At the other's question, Roy glanced over at his shoulder with a slight frown. "What do you mean?" he asked, genuinely curious. He wasn't one to accept help so easily, but Knives didn't look like the sort who usually offered it, either.

"You... do you need something to lean on for a while?" he asked. It was uncomfortable asking, but Knives had basically ordered this man to be his guide and watching Roy give so much of himself to Hisoka had really reminded Knives of Vash. It made him way too thoughtful. "I don't want you to wear yourself out trying to walk in case you end up wasting all of your energy before we actually need it."

Roy wasn't much for relying on others, but the way Knives explained it made it a little easier to accept. They were already running late, and he didn't need to slow them down any further. The fact was that neither of them liked the situation, but they had to be practical - or that was how Roy felt about it, at least.

"Perhaps that would be best," he agreed as he opened the door and waited for Knives to move over, trying to make sure it didn't get awkward.

Knives moved over and offered himself for Roy to lean on.

"Which way do we go?" he asked, as they stepped into the hallway, not exactly sure of the direction Roy had been planning to take him, though it did seem pretty obvious they should at least start to move down the hallway, since their room was the last one. He started to move that way, testing how fast he could go with Roy relying on him.

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muted-flame.livejournal.com - 2008-03-08 09:20 (UTC) - Expand

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gone-2far.livejournal.com - 2008-03-08 09:47 (UTC) - Expand

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Nightshift 30: M1-10 Hallway

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The Ditching of the Hisoka