damned_institute | Day 32: Sun Room (4th Shift)

It was rare that Homura's nurse try to persuade him to a scheduled activity, but then, it was rare that Homura didn't go. But the demi-god had plans, and the poor woman had little other choice but to leave in a huff as he once again settled himself near the bulletin board in the Sun Room.

His conversation with Kenren the previous shift had left the demi-god with a lingering sense of anxiety. Perhaps it was something only those from his own world could do, but none the less, he was all the more ready for night to begin now. Goals and memories, the truth of his past and the possibility of the future: all thoughts lingering on the forefront of his mind, more than enough motivation to move forward.

Impatience was something of a rush for an immortal, he'd discovered. Homura liked the feeling, the excitement even before he had arrived in this prison. And now while he waited, he savored it again, a yearning that shone so much brighter than the boredom of Heaven.

[Waiting for History Club Q&A time.]

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These drugs seemed to hit Sai a lot harder than they had hit him.

"I don't think that's a good idea. Traveling with an unarmed, untrained person is no different from traveling alone." Aside from dividing an attacker's attention between two bodies...but that certainly wasn't a job Mello was going to sign up for. He needed Sai and Usopp as allies, but not badly enough to risk life and limb, especially without any evidence that Sai was a competent fighter. Mello had fast reflexes, but when he was unarmed it was hardly a feat to pin him to a wall.

Sai's smile was more than a little creepy. There was no point in faking an emotion if you couldn't pull off the subtleties.

The comment seemed to sober Sai up some, and his smile had half faded when he regarded Mello next. "Not the best of ideas, no. But... Usopp came on supply runs himself, and he's not the best of fighters either."

He leaned in closer to the blond, expression blank. "It's a matter of trust, isn't it, Mello-san? And you could still use more of ours."

Then he pulled away again, resituating himself in his seat. "I will need your eyes."

"Regardless of whether I come with you, you're still going to consider me a thief," Mello said, leaning back as well. "I can't gain your trust, and I don't plan to. I'm not looking for friends. All you need to know is that I'm reliable, and I do what I say I'm going to do. I said I'd help you build weapons, and I said I'd help you protect your stash. I didn't say I'd help you fight monsters. It's an inefficient use of resources." Even drugged, he expected Sai to be rational. If he was a ninja, he should know a bit about strategy.

"You're a fighter, and I'm sure you have allies other than Usopp. I'll make a list of what you need, but you should go with another group that's gathering supplies."

"The less people that are involved... the better. My list of allies is small, and I have traveled with only a couple - neither of which are available." One was Usopp, and Sasuke... well, there'd be no working together tonight. Not after what had happened over dinner. "The others could fight just as poorly as you, for all I know."

Sai rubbed a hand over his face. There was Haku, but given the tenuous neutrality he was holding with the boy, it wouldn't be a good idea to get him involved in anything Sasuke was involved in. Who else? That John Trick person? No, he knew too little about him. In a way, he trusted that blond less than this one.

"And I wasn't asking you to fight monsters. If I can't handle something, we'll flee. Your safety would be my main priority."

Mello took a long, tired-sounding breath, although he wasn't low on energy. "You're asking me to put myself in a lot of danger to protect something that isn't even mine," he said. Usopp's loot wasn't his, nor did he particularly want it. It was too early in his plan to need those kinds of weapons.

However...there were quite a few other things he needed.

The plan started to form, but Mello's demeanor didn't change. If he did go along with this, he'd want it to seem like he was doing Sai a favor. "Where would they keep that kind of stuff, anyways?" he asked.

Sai smiled again. That last comment had been promising. The first was ignored. It was the future investment that mattered.

"Most've the storage's on the second floor, 'cept for food," the ninja slurred. He'd lost some of his focus, and he paused for another moment to rub at his eyes again. Stay more alert! He'd been conditioned to deal with such situations, hadn't he? Where had that conditioning gone?

"Chemicals," he bit out more clearly. "One of the closets." He could advise the best route up, also, for the least amount of travel and thus less chance of running into anything.

Although Mello didn't know much about the movements of the monsters in this place, the second floor seemed like a pretty big risk. He closed his eyes for a second to review the map, and wished L had been more prompt in his efforts to chart the movements of the monsters. He'd been here for how many days, and what had he accomplished?

Not that Mello had been doing much better, recently, but at least now he was taking initiative, and based on the conversation Homura was having a few feet away (one he'd been sure to listen to), L hadn't taken the most effective route.

"I'll go with you, but we'll need to stop in a few places to get everything we need," Mello said. Hopefully, Sai wouldn't question his expertise and he'd be able to slip a few of his own requisitions in with what Sai and Usopp needed.

"Right," Sai agreed with another smile. "Good. Of course." They would be far too lucky if they found everything they needed in one place. The Institute wouldn't be so kind. (The ninja wondered when he'd begun thinking of the Institute itself as a being.)

"Your room is... M3, isn't it?" He confirmed. If Mello had lied originally he'd need to know now. His promise to keep the man safe began the moment the blond stepped into the hallway. "I'll meet you there."

Day 32: Sun Room (4th Shift)

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