damned_institute | Nightshift 35: Courtyard

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Nightshift 35: Courtyard

[from here]

Lucivar paused at the bottom of the wall, waiting for the others to cross. It was the first time he'd been here during the evening and he took a moment to look around him. The area was quiet but not the strange stillness that felt as though everything was waiting for something to happen. Lucivar had no desire to be around when that something decided to show up.

"Which is the closest door?" he asked Renji, glancing around him. "Does it lead directly to the cafeteria or is there another wall we have to jump?"

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'Almost' became 'was' as Sanji caught their newest crewmate falling out of the corner of his eye. He winced in sympathy, but otherwise was still busy on the task of removing Chopper's hat. At last he succeeded, pulling the pink item completely free and setting it atop his own head.

"We're fine for now." He turned to Usopp with a grin. "What do you think?" The chef didn't need a mirror to tell him he probably looked utterly ridiculous in the reindeer's hat, but it was all fun for the moment.

His grip on Chopper tightened. Their friend was calm enough now, but the loss of his hat was bound to upset him.

The first thing could remember through the foggy haze covering his thoughts was that he'd been fighting. It took until he heard the exchange between Usopp and Sanji to remember who he'd been fighting, and why. The haze cleared, but his body still felt so weak...

Nevertheless, he began to struggle, hoping to free himself from Sanji's hold. "L-let go! You have to go back to your rooms... You have to!"

He was barely aware of the loss of his hat; getting the patients to comply with what was best for them was far more pressing a matter.

Usopp winced too at the sound of his crewmate plus part of the tree hitting the ground. Well, at least Brook would have less to worry about from gravity as he finished freeing any bits of hair left. Sanji's sudden display of himself plus pink hat earned a startled laugh, as much from relief that Chopper was under control as at the sight itself. "Sanji-kun! You shouldn't steal other people's fashion styles!"

The mock-scolding ended as Chopper seemed to come awake again, struggling. Usopp leaned forward towards the water again but didn't touch it yet, since Sanji should be able to control the weakened Devil's Fruit user like this. "Are you hurt, Chopper? Don't worry, it'll be fine in the morning, just try to relax." It was easy to say that, but Chopper's frantic tones struck a little guilt up.

Standing straight, Usopp turned to yell over his shoulder, "Brook! Hold onto the branches for me, please? I'd really like to have them!" Something to focus on other than the forced weakness and confusion Chopper would be enduring until night ended.

More dirt was spat out as Brook pushed himself up from the ground and gave his head a shake. Then he checked his hair and, except for the stick still stuck through it, all was well. Good. His hair was fine. His body was a little worse for wear though, but Brook would have let it suffer through even the harshest of tortures to keep his look intact! What were a few scrapes and bruises anyway?!

Enough to make it a bit painful to move, apparently. He got to his feet however, determined not to be kept down! "A formidable foe indeed..." he hissed under his breath, but refused to speak directly to the tree anymore that evening. Provoking it would do little good now. They would meet again some other night to settle things.

He looked up when Usopp called to him, then gave the wreckage at his feet a look. Branches, he certainly had. "Will do, Usopp-san!" Brook put a hand up, intending to wave, but froze for the action. Right, painful to move. He'd need to remember that before he tried to move quickly again. Slowly he got his arm back down, then squatted to collect the requested sticks for Usopp. It looked as though the other two had things under control for the moment, so stick collecting was safe enough to do.

Sanji held the reindeer tighter as he began to struggle. They'd have to take more action here. He couldn't just keep poor Chopper held in the water for the remainder of the night, could he? Who knew how long that was going to last?

"Sorry about this, Chopper," he sighed before clocking his crewmate hard enough in the back of the head to knock him out for a while. Maybe if they could get him back to their rooms they could keep him in there. If they left this area, would the brainwashing wear off?

"Let's get him back in." They'd have to go over the wall again, as there was no way the sun room would be safe. He was tired and not looking forward to this, but it was the better option. "Usopp, did you still want to run to the shed?"

Chopper redoubled his efforts to get free when Sanji's hold tightened, but to little avail. "Let go," he continued to plead. "You have to let go and go back!"

He concentrated on Sanji's arm, trying to take hold of it to pry it off. When the chef apologized, Chopper looked up at him again. It was the last thing he saw before losing consciousness with a groan as he felt a blow to the back of his head. His body relaxed and became limp in Sanji's arms.

Usopp let out a little sigh as Chopper fell unconscious. That'd make it easier, at least, and Chopper looked sort of cutely innocent like that... apart from the having to be beaten unconscious part.

He just stared at Sanji's suggestion, though. "W-what?! We can't move him! What if he wakes up again? The only reason we could beat him this time was because we kept him confused, and we're not gonna have a pool or something indoors to dunk him if he gets upset!"

It wasn't that Usopp wanted to hold their friend hostage in the water for the rest of the night--or rather, have Sanji do it--but it seemed a lot safer. He looked over Chopper's unconscious form with a little more worry than sympathy this time. "We can wait for the shed another time. I've got new stuff to worry about tonight anyway. By the way, do you have any spare space in your closet?"

Glancing over his shoulder, he added heartlessly to Brook, "The bigger the better, okay? I've been wanting to get some wood to work with at night for a long time! Thanks!"

"Woodworking would be the term, wouldn't it? Yohohoho!" Not so much of a joke, but it made Brook feel better saying something close. He'd lost of much of his material with not being a skeleton anymore. The only good thing that had come from having skin so far - aside from well having it - was that it had only been his hair stuck in the tree and not the whole of him. Having to pry branches out of his eye sockets would have taken some time!

With a bundle of sticks in his arms, he finally made his way away from the tree and over to the fountain the others were playing in. He'd not been paying much attention in his stick gathering, and hadn't heard most of the earlier conversation, so seeing that Chopper was unconscious in Sanji's arms gave his a scare. "Chopper-san?! Is he all right?! What did you do to him?!"

In response to Usopp's question about his closet space, the chef looked at his friend blankly and deapanned "Ask Brook."

Sanji waved off both of the other pirates' concern. "He's okay. I just knocked him out for now." If they could get him inside to one of their rooms they might be able to keep him down if he woke up. There would also be less space for him to change form in. The blond backed up, stepping out of the water somewhat shakily and still wearing the pink hat on his head.

"We're heading in, then."

"We are? Wait, is this a good idea? Sanjiiiiii..." Letting his voice trail off into a slow whine, Usopp stood for a moment at the water's edge, staring at the unconscious Chopper and at Sanji. But instead of voicing further arguments, he let out a heavy sigh.

"Right, woodworking." He reached out to take a few smaller branches from Brook's armful. "Brook, do you think you've got room in your closet to hold these for me? I need some extra space for just a night or two. Then I'm going to rearrange things."

Well, things would be rearranged, at any rate--he wasn't going to keep storing every single thing everyone he knew brought in his own closet. It was just too dangerous. Speaking of dangerous, "Let's head to Brook's room with Chopper! Maybe music'll help Chopper stay asleep." Chopper was a beast, even if he wasn't very savage most of the time, right?

"Oh, just knocked out..." Brook calmed, but had a worried expression as he looked at the little reindeer. He'd not been the one to deal any real blows to him, but Brook still felt bad about having had to fight him at all. And now Chopper was unconscious and being treated like a threat! It was heartbreaking!

Brook kept the larger pieces without protest, giving Usopp a nod. "I'll see if I can stick them in there. Because they're sticks, so I can stick them in! Yohohohohoho!" Now there was an actual joke! Not a skull joke, but that had never stopped Brook before!

Talk of music pulled him away from the humour for a moment. "A good idea! Yohohoho! Music soothes the savage beast as they say, though Chopper-san is hardly savage at the moment." Honestly this was the first time Brook had seen Chopper's more ferocious side what with those extra transformations and all. It was a little scary! Hopefully he wouldn't turn on them again now that they'd stopped him. "However, while my closet is sure to have space enough for your woodworking, my instrument is in Luffy-san's closet. We would need to visit his room for anything beyond my tapping a bat on the tile floor."

And speaking of his bat... he looked around the place and found that it was still there lying abandoned. The poor thing had slipped from his grasp just prior to his flight. He'd pick it up when they left.

"We'll go to mine." Sanji made his way towards the wall. He could use a change of clothes at this point anyway. And another cigarette.

As he approached the obstacle, the chef sped up his pace so he could get a good running start. Then, tucking Chopper safely under one arm, he made a leap for the top of the wall. He didn't make it all the way feet slipping along the side as one hand gripped the edge, but he managed to pull himself up all the same. He didn't wait for the other two, having only one free arm to help.

"But Brook was going to keep my wood!" Usopp protested half-heartedly, still following along.

Seeing Sanji actually do the leap he'd expected for their trip into the Courtyard was a little surprising, although Usopp wasn't sure why. At home, he'd seen Sanji jump higher, but he was so used to them all being weak here. Even weakness was relative, he guessed. As long as Chopper didn't get jerked around too much. He gave the pond a last, worried glance.

Usopp walked up to the wall in a slightly more laid-back fashion, and after several hops, managed to push his sticks over the top edge. Following, he climbed up the more traditional way, managing not to slip and fall down and figuring someone as tall as Brook probably didn't see the wall as an obstacle anyway.

[to here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/460474.html?thread=38166714#t38166714)]

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Nightshift 35: Courtyard

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