damned_institute | Nightshift 32: Janitor's Closet

Hiei's thoughts were similar to Kurikara's as he saw in the enclosed space. Every disadvantage they had wasn't enough, it seemed. Now they had to be confined to a tiny space not suited for one of them to fight in, much less the pair. But it was a necessary risk, and while Kurikara took center, Hiei moved towards one of the shelves, not only to give the dragon as much room as possible (which wasn't much), but to start going through the items stored there.

He wasn't going to bother with useless hand wringing over where to start.

"Just open something and look through it." Hiei pulled out a set of small cylindrical tubes, much like those he had found in his drawer the first night he was here. He'd never figured out their purpose, but they seemed to be made of metal, which was one of the things they needed. And even better were the pipes he found after, though carrying them would be tricky.

"Yeah yeah." Kurikara waved over his shoulder, finally heading to the opposite corner to start digging. He really didn't like closets.

He had a specific goal in mind so most items were set aside without a second glance. No pipes on this side, just various chemicals and batteries and - ha. Toolkit. Kurikara snapped it open carefully, fingered through the contents and snapped it shut again. "That's it." He called across the room, coming to join Hiei. He set the toolkit down and bent to tuck some of the pipes under his arm. "'Might as well get as much as we can carry. It's not just for the sword."

It wasn't that Kurikara wasn't intrigued by what else they might find, but they had no way of carrying a lot of junk that might be useful. Now that it was possible, he was itching to get to work.

Kurikara's apparent dislike was all the more reason to get out of there quickly. The dragon started shuffling around shortly after, however, and that satisfied the demon. Leaving Kurikara to his own devices, Hiei stripped off his shirt, and began tearing it into strips that he could tie around the pipes. It wasn't perfect, especially since Hiei was small, but it would do.

By the time Kurikara came over, Hiei had managed to gather a decent sized bundle. Tying it into a knot, he hefted the load, then shook his head at the dragon. "We can come back. Keep your hands free so you can use your sword if you need to."

"I only need..." Kurikara began to protest, but he lifted Murakumo experimentally with one hand. While it was alright for generally moving around, the sword was actually too heavy to be properly wielded that way. Kurikara snarled almost inaudibly and dropped the pipes he'd picked up.

There was another reason he couldn't take them all, namely the wound in his arm that he would have surely torn itself back open. He picked up the toolkit and handed it to Hiei. "This really sucks. Let's go."

"Stop complaining, idiot." Hiei shot Kurikara a glare for his words as he took the kit. It sucked so much to have the burden of a sword? The demon could have kicked the god for that, and just might before the night was over with. It wasn't often at all that Hiei did something noble for another. He hated the very idea. And Kurikara may not have been commenting on having a sword specifically, but Hiei still found the remark annoying.

A good kick to the head, as soon as his hands were free.

"Just don't fall behind." Hiei set a quick pace out of the closet, keeping the weight of the pipes on his back as he headed back into the hall.

[To here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/370839.html?thread=29983383#t29983383)]

[coming from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/370839.html?thread=29848727#t29848727), after Kurikara and Hiei have left (by agreement)]

The place definitely looked picked-over, but even with just a quick sweep with his flashlight Leon could tell that there was some stuff left worth taking. If nothing else turned up, there were mops and brooms with good, long handles.

"It's clear," he called back to Seiya, before starting in on the boxes.

"Yeah, but not cleared out, at least." Seiya stepped in after Leon, looking around as well. It was a slightly crowded little room, and looked just like a janitor's closet really ought to, downright mundane. A mop would work well enough, for now, as she stepped to the back to lift it and begin screwing off the mop's head. Not very heavy, but at least it had reach. Holding the mop handle over a shoulder, she started investigating the shelves a little more. A box cutter near some of the opened boxes was carefully tucked into the waistband of her pants. Not exactly a sturdy knife, but there was no telling...

One of the first things Leon grabbed was an extra flashlight--it seemed a bit tougher than the ones they were provided with by default, too. "There's another one of these, if you want a spare. See if there's anything to carry stuff in, too."

Leon kept looking, as well, and found a roll of something tough and sticky. He wasn't sure what use it would be right now, but maybe he could use it to attach his little knife to the end of one of the broom or mop handles when he had some time, like tomorrow during dinner.

"Thanks." Seiya smiled at him in the dark, reaching for one of the flashlights too. It couldn't hurt to have a spare.

Something to carry things in? "There's the boxes, but it'll weigh us down if one of us is toting those. Here's some garbage bags..." She pulled one out, opening it up. It wouldn't be suitable for anything sharp or delicate, but it ought to fit over the shoulder a little easier for carrying. She tossed the spare flashlight inside, and held it open for Leon to throw any extra items he wanted to add as well. It wasn't as though she couldn't remember who had grabbed what, for later sorting when they were in an area that was less dangerous.

Reminded, she glanced over the room with her flashlight another time, checking corners just to be safe. As her eyes wandered over the male and female restroom signs, her mouth twitched a bit again. "What else do you want to get?" Maybe the extension cord could be used for something... but she wasn't sure how sturdy it was, whether it could actually hold her weight if she used it as a rope. For now, what she'd gotten out of the place satisfied her. It seemed as though other patients would be coming through as well, and taking everything when she didn't need and wasn't sure she wanted it might be a bit too rude.

Leon nodded and added his own extra flashlight and the roll of sticky silvery fabric to the bag. He then sorted through the chaotic pile of metal pipes that remained--most seemed to be too short to be useful, but he found one about a foot and a half long that would suit. It didn't improve his reach much, but close up it would do a lot more damage than a bare fist, so he put that in the bag as well.

"There doesn't seem to be much else of use." Leon sighed and stood, grabbing one of the brooms. The broom end wouldn't come off quite as easily as the mop head had, but he could take care of it the next night, probably. It was still better than nothing, even with the straw sweepers still attached.

A mop and a broom. It really begged for some sort of awful pun about cleaning up, but Seiya kept that to herself. The pole over one arm, she closed the bag, and pulled it over her shoulder as well, easily able to drop it if she needed to in case of the unexpected.

"Let's go to our other destination before it's emptied out, then." She opened the door carefully, glancing out into the hallway before stepping out herself and holding the door open for her guide.

[to here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/370839.html?thread=29941399#t29941399)]

Leon frowned as he looked around. Yea, the place had most definitely already been raided. He turned to Kadaj, hoping the man wouldn't be too upset by this. "Well, what are you looking for?" There was always the storage room on the other side of here, and that door didn't seem to have been messed with yet.

Kadaj was definitely upset by the fact that most of the good things in the room had been taken, especially those metal pipes, but since he was supposed to be gathering things for someone else rather than himself, he wasn't exceptionally bothered by it. Shrugging, he said, "Metal, wood, and medical supplies-- that's what Roy asked me to get. Seems we're short on metal, though."

He went to the remaining brooms, eying them thoughtfully. "Think these will work for wood, or should we try something else?" It was such a shame so many things were made out of plastic, really. Oh well, Roy would understand.

The mage glanced over the room again, thoughtful. Kadaj was right. There wasn't a whole lot to be found when it came to what Roy needed. ...Whoever Roy was. Probably the leader of the group the man had invited him to join.

"What about the other room behind this one?" the boy asked, pointing to the door. "There were some metal things in there, right? And a few medical supplies?" Not much in the way of medicine, but then Kadaj hadn't been entirely specific. "At least there may be a better selection than what's here."

"That's true," Kadaj said, visibly brightening. He wandered over to door in question, testing it briefly before breaking out into a broad grin. "And no one's been in there yet. See? It's still locked." Perfect.

He stepped back from the door in what was by now an easily recognizable prelude to him mercilessly kicking the poor door in-- which he did, of course, apparently enjoying himself immensely. Stupid door. "There we go," he muttered, pushing the now thoroughly abused door open and stepping inside.

[To here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/379356.html). ~~Damnit, Lauren.~~]

[from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/370839.html?thread=29899927#t29899927)]

Reno eyed the contents of the closet critically. Lots of stuff missing, but there was enough left. He would've preferred larger pipes, but he ended grabbing a couple of the somewhat shorter ones remaining and pushed them into Rude's arms without hesitation.

"Hold 'em for me, will you?" He turned back. "C'mon, let's go. That's all I need."

There was more he could've taken, but he'd learned it really wasn't worth juggling and dragging all that shit around.

Rude had turned to try and point out that Kadaj was there...but Reno had seen him and kept walking. What the hell was wrong with the kid? Ok, so he'd said all that stuff before, but Rude was still smarting from his last encounter.... Where was Reno's sense of fun?

Busy perusing the closet's contents, Rude was snapped back to reality when half of it was forced into his arms. "Yeah, sure," he sighed. He tucked them under his arm, leaving one out in his free hand to swing about, almost clocking Reno but not quite. It was tempting though, wasn't it? Anyway, pipes made good enough weapons, he supposed. But....
"Who they all for?"

Reno shrugged, flicking a stray lock of hair out of his eyes only to have it fall back in again.

"There's a guy here," he replied. "Apparently all magical. Give him a few pieces of metal and he says he can make a weapon out of it."

He nudged Rude towards the exit. He was tempted just to squeeze past his partner's bulk to get out of here but the space was too small.

"Haven't heard any complaints from his customers," he went on. "And I hung with him for a night. Seems as trustworthy as anyone ever comes."

Which wasn't saying a lot, but it was saying something.

Rude raised an eyebrow and folded his arms. Anyone could make a weapon out of metal, so this guy must be doing it a different way. With magic.
"Materia?" he asked. Why was Reno titting about with pipes if there was meteria around?

He stayed put for a second or two before moving out of Reno's way. It was always fun to remind his partner who was bigger. Even if Reno always managed to get a hit in somehow. And often unintentionally...

Reno cocked an eyebrow, but slipped past Rude, giving him a casual, light jab in the ribs with his elbow as he passed.

He gave the door a push, letting it bang open without bothering to play stealthy. He'd crept around enough these days. Who the hell cared about being quiet anymore?

"If I had materia," he replied, "there'd be a few dead people by now."

Schuldig? Still high on that list. Man, he really should've gone all the way and just broken the guy's wrist that time. But not having to see him again since then--really wasn't gonna complain about that.

[to here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/370839.html?thread=30320791#t30320791)]

[From here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/379356.html).]

Were those Reno's dulcet tones he heard just outside the door? He certainly hoped not, but with how close the Turk had been to his little expedition earlier, it was probably a (ha) hopeless cause. At least the Turk wasn't pestering him again, that useless thing. He had other things to attend to right now.

... Well, almost. "Were there any other rooms you wanted to visit?" he asked Leon, looking back at him curiously. If what he came up with was any less interesting than what Kadaj was hoping for, he'd all too happily shoot down whatever ideas those were, but until then, let the boy think his opinion actually mattered.

"Er," Leon blinked, surprised by the question. The last time the boy had led them somewhere they'd been attacked by a monster and Kadaj had gotten his ribs broken. Still, the young man's sanity was in question sometimes, and the mage wasn't exactly the type to turn down an opportunity to lead.

...Now if only he knew of somewhere for them to go.

"Well, we've been pretty safe so far tonight," he said thoughtfully. "So we might not want to go wandering into any area no one's been to yet. Just to keep it that way." He glanced up and down the hall, trying to find the best place to lead them to.

[From Here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/370839.html)]

Entering inside the room, Cloud looked over the shelves. They too seemed to have been picked over, and he wondered if the hospital staff actually noticed. Perhaps all the items that patients took reappeared after a certain amount of time and the staff were unaware that patients were having their own little secret stashes under the bed. He doubted that they were allowed these items, but it was not as if they did room searches either. There could not have been that much trust for the patients.

Walking over to the shelves, he picked through some of the items. He took a screwdriver and actually found some screws to go along with it. There were not any nails, so he had to be satisfied with screws. They would probably hurt a little more, though he did not think the title 'screwbat' would have the same effect.

Pulling himself away from the shelf, he looked down at the mop and bucket. He contemplated the uses of such an object but decided that it would not fit under his bed. He stood around peering at the shelves before walking towards the back wall where there appeared to be an open door.

Passing by the rather odd pair, he simply muttered, "hello, Kadaj." He continued on his way without looking back.

[To Here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/379356.html)]

Nightshift 32: Janitor's Closet

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