She didn't pause, only noting that the halls were empty for once. It seemed that she was one of the first out. It didn't matter in the long run. She was focused on her tasks; nothing else registered.
That last stretch seemed to last forever, but he'd reached the meeting point. And Thursday still wasn't there. Now, he really was worried about the woman.
Still, the faint sounds of conversation and movement from the surrounding area gave a small sense of comfort. The other patients were still there, looking for a way out. Unless those sounds belonged to the monsters, which was a very unsettling thought.
She'd been as quiet as she could as she stalked the hallway in the dark. One of the others though, was dressed as she was from what little she could tell, and seemed to be going around purposefully, as though he knew what he was doing and where he needed to go next. He was alone too, making him the best candidate for a surprise interrogation.
Stealthily she made her way behind him, armed as she was with just the plastic writing tools from the room she'd woken up in. She hardly made a sound as she raised one of the pointed sticks to the man's neck, pressing it in only a fraction so he'd get the message. It was difficult, seeing as he was quite a bit taller than she was. Maybe she should have gone for one of the vital organs, more easily accessible from the back. But it was a little late now for regrets.
"Don't move," she whispered, an order and a warning all at once.
Archer instinctively sensed her before he felt her presence. It was very faint, indicating she'd had training. He almost didn't feel her come up behind him because he certainly didn't hear her. One of the perks of being a former spiritual entity.
The pen to his neck was a threatening gesture, even more so if she could actually jam it into his jugular. Fortunately, he was prepared, having already reversed his grip on his sword, pointing behind him.
"Tell you what. I won't move," he said purposefully, using his sword edge to press against her stomach "if you don't move."
At the right angle he could probably get the lungs. The heart was a highly unlikely but not impossible target, since he'd done it before. At the very least, he'd probably be able to disembowel her before he died.
She'd figured the guy would have had some training, and when she felt the sword against her stomach, she knew she should have gone for the lower back instead of the neck. Dammit.
At least they were at an impasse, which meant that it was a very good time to talk and hopefully find out what was going on. Besides, with her healing jutsu it wouldn't be easy, but she was pretty sure she could close up a wound if he decided to stab her. She'd done it enough times in her last fight with Sasori.
"Fine," she all but growled. "I just need some information. First of all, where the hell are we? Who are you working for?"
At least she was open to talking. Double suicide really wasn't his thing. He usually went for clear wins. Unfortunately, her words almost made him want to sigh. The keyword being "almost." He would have if it didn't press his neck closer to her pen. It may have been blunt, but it was still a weapon nonetheless.
At the back of his mind, Archer noted that her voice sounded strangely familiar. Perhaps he had been to her world before? God, he hoped not, since there was only one reason why a Counter Guardian was summoned.
"Let me guess. You're new here?" He asked, although it was more of a statement really. "We're in Landel's Institute. It's a mental institution by day, and a nightmarish hellhole by night. We're prisoners here, subject to the whims of a sadistic madman known as the Head Doctor, Martin Landel. And I'm not working for anyone. I'm a prisoner just like you. I wouldn't be caught dead in these clothes otherwise."
While his explanation was straight to the point, it didn't leave Sakura feeling any better about the situation. Why were they in a mental institution? When had it happened?
"What?" she blurted, her hold on the pen wavering for just a moment. Who was Martin Landel anyway? Was this some kind of bad dream? Or worse, some kind of Genjutsu? "That doesn't make any sense. Who is this Landel guy? Why would he-" Maybe he was some copycat of Orochimaru? Taking in subjects to practice his experimental jutsu on. Things still weren't adding up. "Just what exactly is going on?"
"Calm down," Archer said simply. He'd been through this before. "I'll explain what I can, but do you think we could talk face to face instead? This is a little uncomfortable for both of us."
Sure, talking face to face sounded reasonable enough, but Sakura was still hesitant. She knew absolutely nothing about this person or this place and there were still a lot of important details missing.
Looks like she wouldn't be easing up on his neck any time soon.
"You can't, since there's no reason to. We're strangers. It'd be foolish for you to do so. Although I'd like to think of myself as a trustworthy and honorable person." He could hear Rin snickering in the back of his mind. "Well, to answer your other question, Martin Landel seems to be the leader of our captors. At night, they allow patients to roam freely only to encounter danger from monsters and traps, but you shouldn't take my word for it. Since it's already nighttime chances are you'll be able to see for yourself. As for why, some people suspect it's just some sick twisted to our captors, but no one knows for sure."
Hopefully he wouldn't have to explain to her about the existence of other worlds, since he didn't know how receptive she'd be to the idea.
Sakura frowned, still holding the pen to the man's neck. Of course she knew that much already, she didn't need his lectures. Just because he said he was trustworthy, that didn't mean a thing. It did speak well for him that he'd answered her questions though, so she eased up on the pen, just a little.
"I see."
It definitely sounded more like one of Orochimaru's bases though, from what she'd seen of Tsunade's research papers, he conducted experiments just like this to see which people would make better candidates for his new body. He was supposed to be dead though, and it still didn't explain how she was suddenly in this place to start with.
She was probably going to have to try exploring further on her own, though it would be difficult to disentangle herself from the current situation.
Archer felt her pen ease up from his neck and her focus drift slightly. Her ambiguous answer indicated they'd reached a stalemate, and he was really getting tired of being held up, so he took the only option available.
Without looking back, he quickly thrust his elbow, hitting her chest and knocking her back into the wall. Whirling around, he immediately whipped his sword up, the point centimeters away from her throat, pinning her against the wall. His hand may have been steady, but he could stab Sakura faster than she could blink. "Don't move. Don't even think about it."
Now that he had a good look at her, he realized she was just a teenager. She couldn't have been more than fourteen or fifteen years old. Even in the darkness her youthful features and pink hair stood out.
She should have expected it, but her mind was still reeling trying to piece everything together and his sudden swing was just the icing on the cake. He hit her hard in the chest and suddenly the sword that'd been at her stomach was now aimed at her neck.
Dammit. He'd answered her questions before, could even have been making them up to confuse her, and now he had her, with a real blade and nothing to fight back with except a few pens.
Sakura let out a frustrated sigh and tried to decide if she could break that sword in her hand before it went through her throat. Most likely not, this guy seemed like a pretty experienced fighter. Even if he said not to think about it, she couldn't really help doing so. Her hands were balled into fists at her sides and the thought of decking this guy across the face sure was tempting, but she resisted.
Since he'd said not to move she simply stood there, glaring back at him with her angry green eyes. Angry at him for trapping her, but angrier at herself for letting it happen.
She seemed pissed, a natural reaction to being ambushed like that. It didn't escape his notice the way she balled up her fists, ready to smack him if the opportunity presented itself. Not that he would ever give her that chance. He didn't imagine her lithe frame could summon up that much strength, but as a magus, he knew appearances were deceiving.
"Look, I'm sorry it had to come to this, but what would you have done in my position?" he asked, keeping track of her movements like a hawk. Archer took serious pride in his eyesight and reflexes, two key components as a bowman. "I'm going to lower my sword now as a gesture of good faith, but only if you promise not to try anything."
Retaliation was a serious possibility, which is why he needed to convince her that alienating the first person she came across wasn't a good idea. Pointing out some additional facts to her might help. "You're obviously new here, and it wouldn't be a good idea to go charging into the night unprepared. I think a civil conversation would do us both some good."
Even if it was a show of good faith, Sakura couldn't help but feel like he was talking down to her, like she was just a child! Just because he was a freakishly tall giant, that didn't mean that she was that little! She crossed her arms over her chest, lips still pursed together in an angry pout.
"So where are we? You gave me a name, but I've never heard of it before. Are we still in Konoha? Or is this somewhere else? And just what do you mean when you say it's dangerous. Just what's out there?"
The way she childishly pouted showed he'd inadvertently rubbed her the wrong way with his words, but at least she seemed willing to talk, so he lowered his sword. Archer had no doubt she'd undergone serious training, but he'd been through so many life or death situations that he was confident he could handle himself if it came to a fight.
"I honestly don't know. As prisoners, our information is limited, but I've heard we're on a western continent called North America. I don't know any more than that. I'm not familiar with Konoha," he said, trying to keep the multiple worlds fact out of the conversation. "When I said dangerous I meant anything from deadly obstacle courses to freakish monsters of varying shapes and sizes. It almost seems like the head doctor comes out with a new nightmare each day."
He paused. "I realize this is all very confusing. Honestly, I felt the same way when I woke up here." Well, maybe not the same. Archer was used to the whole dimension hopping thing. "But someone was kind enough to explain things to me." Hisoka had done so reluctantly. "I'll try to answer your questions to the best of my ability, but I don't have all the answers."
"I think we got off on the wrong foot," he said, trying to be nice about it. "I'm Archer and you are?"
She'd been fooled by smiles before. Kabuto had been friendly enough at first and Sai too, only to find that they had other sides they were just hiding. Sakura relaxed enough that it was visible, but only so the guy didn't go waving a sword in her face again.
This place sounded suspiciously like the Forest of Death. A deadly obstacle course full of monsters? She supposed it might be daunting to the average person, but to other ninja, surely it was nothing to be too concerned about. She only raised an eyebrow at his claim, not in open disbelief, but certainly not with her full trust in hand. How could someone have never heard of Konoha? Did he live in a cave or something? And what the hell was North America? More of these made-up sounding names.
At least he was making an attempt to be civil and she could fake it too, better than most. She let a hint of a smile come to her lips and uncrossed her arms. "Sakura," she supplied. "I just woke up in one of the rooms down the hall. How did they bring us here?"
Her fake smile didn't fool him in the least. No doubt she thought he was strange for not knowing about "Konoha." He could tell she was still on edge with him but didn't really blame her. At least it didn't look like she was gonna smack him or anything. Looks like the civil approach worked somewhat. "I'm not sure. The same thing happened to me when I first arrived. I've asked around, but no one else has a clue either."
Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Thursday had finally arrived. "If you'd like, you can come with me and my team, and I'll prove to you I'm telling you the truth about the nightshift's dangers."
He'd made his offer and that was it. Archer wasn't going to force Sakura to do anything. If she didn't feel like she could trust him or didn't want his assistance then they'd part here. Since Thursday was finally there they should get moving. He didn't want to waste anymore time.
It was a decent enough answer, but seemed a little too convenient. If not for the bruise on her chest, she'd say it was some kind of dream. As it was, she wasn't totally sure it wasn't some kind of genjutsu... illusion thing. Though when or where they'd managed to pull one over on her, she couldn't even begin to imagine.
Archer's offer to let her come along with his "team" was kind of curious though. Was he genuinely concerned for her well being in this place at night or was it all just a ruse to get her outnumbered? If he'd wanted to kill her, he'd had ample opportunity, but there was always the chance that he might just want information.
She considered it all for a moment and having seen several other people in the same uniforms pass them by without even showing much interest, she had to wonder if she'd perhaps over-reacted. It wouldn't be the first time, though she wouldn't be admitting that anytime soon.
"Alright," she said with some hesitation. "Where are we going?"
"My mission tonight is to investigate the messages broadcasted over the radio," Archer answered. Thankful that she seemed to be coming around. In Archer's opinion she was handling herself pretty well. "There appears to be an outside force aiding us in our struggle against Landel. In the past it was a man named Jack, but he was killed by the Institute. His replacement is a woman called Jill. She leaves cryptic clues during radio broadcasts that usually lead us to valuable supplies such as weaponry and tools, which are usually guarded by monsters."
He looked towards Thursday, "Over there. That's my team leader for tonight's mission."
Turning back to Sakura, he asked, "Do you require a weapon? I can lend you my bat if you promise not to slug me with it." He continued on with a slightly more serious tone. "I'm not sure if you've realized it yet, but our powers are limited in this place. Somehow, our captors seem to have the ability to seal away most of our former powers."
Messages on a radio? Maybe it wasn't a dream or genjutsu, maybe she was on drugs. This was getting ridiculous. However, to his credit, it just so happened that a radio broadcast crackled to life. There were enough people around that she caught some of it, but it was still an awful lot to swallow.
She glanced over to Archer's team leader and back to the man in front of her. He was offering her a weapon. A big stick? Subtle. Weapons were fine, but she did alright with unarmed combat too. Still, it seemed like some kind of gesture of good faith, and tempting as it might be to smack the people around her to take out her frustration, it would probably be a hindrance, in the long run. But the last part caught her attention. Limited powers? Like chakra? Just what did that mean?
Sakura was tempted to test it out, just to see how she'd been affected by this 'limitation' stuff, but it wasn't like she was that strong on her own. She'd done a lot of training, but she wasn't nearly as strong as a lot of the other ninja in Konoha. She hadn't thought there was a seal, or at least, not one she recognized. And she'd studied her fair amount of them in the ninja academy.
"Limited, huh..." she said aloud and stepped away from the wall, pressing her fingers together to try a simple jutsu. Something like climbing trees or walls was pretty easy, so she should be able to do that without trouble. She concentrated and focused her chakra into her feet before she ran at it, but she only made it near the ceiling before it stopped gripping. Seriously?! What the hell?! her inner voice screamed angrily.
She landed without trouble, but the shock of having so little chakra weighed heavily on her. "Fine," she said, dusting herself off. "I won't hit you with it." Of course, if he tried anything funny, she could always just deck him one, she didn't really need a bat for that.
"Alright then." He handed the bat off to her. Regardless of how much faith she had in her own abilities, a solid weapon would be useful against the nightshift's brood.
He noticed that her failed display of acrobatics seemed to shock her. It wasn't surprising, since he had no idea of how powerful she was in her old world, but he hoped that it wouldn't be a problem. "Let's go."
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damned_institute2008-10-28 11:45 am
no subject
That last stretch seemed to last forever, but he'd reached the meeting point. And Thursday still wasn't there. Now, he really was worried about the woman.
Still, the faint sounds of conversation and movement from the surrounding area gave a small sense of comfort. The other patients were still there, looking for a way out. Unless those sounds belonged to the monsters, which was a very unsettling thought.
no subject
She'd been as quiet as she could as she stalked the hallway in the dark. One of the others though, was dressed as she was from what little she could tell, and seemed to be going around purposefully, as though he knew what he was doing and where he needed to go next. He was alone too, making him the best candidate for a surprise interrogation.
Stealthily she made her way behind him, armed as she was with just the plastic writing tools from the room she'd woken up in. She hardly made a sound as she raised one of the pointed sticks to the man's neck, pressing it in only a fraction so he'd get the message. It was difficult, seeing as he was quite a bit taller than she was. Maybe she should have gone for one of the vital organs, more easily accessible from the back. But it was a little late now for regrets.
"Don't move," she whispered, an order and a warning all at once.
no subject
The pen to his neck was a threatening gesture, even more so if she could actually jam it into his jugular. Fortunately, he was prepared, having already reversed his grip on his sword, pointing behind him.
"Tell you what. I won't move," he said purposefully, using his sword edge to press against her stomach "if you don't move."
At the right angle he could probably get the lungs. The heart was a highly unlikely but not impossible target, since he'd done it before. At the very least, he'd probably be able to disembowel her before he died.
no subject
At least they were at an impasse, which meant that it was a very good time to talk and hopefully find out what was going on. Besides, with her healing jutsu it wouldn't be easy, but she was pretty sure she could close up a wound if he decided to stab her. She'd done it enough times in her last fight with Sasori.
"Fine," she all but growled. "I just need some information. First of all, where the hell are we? Who are you working for?"
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At the back of his mind, Archer noted that her voice sounded strangely familiar. Perhaps he had been to her world before? God, he hoped not, since there was only one reason why a Counter Guardian was summoned.
"Let me guess. You're new here?" He asked, although it was more of a statement really. "We're in Landel's Institute. It's a mental institution by day, and a nightmarish hellhole by night. We're prisoners here, subject to the whims of a sadistic madman known as the Head Doctor, Martin Landel. And I'm not working for anyone. I'm a prisoner just like you. I wouldn't be caught dead in these clothes otherwise."
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"What?" she blurted, her hold on the pen wavering for just a moment. Who was Martin Landel anyway? Was this some kind of bad dream? Or worse, some kind of Genjutsu? "That doesn't make any sense. Who is this Landel guy? Why would he-" Maybe he was some copycat of Orochimaru? Taking in subjects to practice his experimental jutsu on. Things still weren't adding up. "Just what exactly is going on?"
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"How do I know I can trust you?"
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"You can't, since there's no reason to. We're strangers. It'd be foolish for you to do so. Although I'd like to think of myself as a trustworthy and honorable person." He could hear Rin snickering in the back of his mind. "Well, to answer your other question, Martin Landel seems to be the leader of our captors. At night, they allow patients to roam freely only to encounter danger from monsters and traps, but you shouldn't take my word for it. Since it's already nighttime chances are you'll be able to see for yourself. As for why, some people suspect it's just some sick twisted to our captors, but no one knows for sure."
Hopefully he wouldn't have to explain to her about the existence of other worlds, since he didn't know how receptive she'd be to the idea.
no subject
"I see."
It definitely sounded more like one of Orochimaru's bases though, from what she'd seen of Tsunade's research papers, he conducted experiments just like this to see which people would make better candidates for his new body. He was supposed to be dead though, and it still didn't explain how she was suddenly in this place to start with.
She was probably going to have to try exploring further on her own, though it would be difficult to disentangle herself from the current situation.
no subject
Without looking back, he quickly thrust his elbow, hitting her chest and knocking her back into the wall. Whirling around, he immediately whipped his sword up, the point centimeters away from her throat, pinning her against the wall. His hand may have been steady, but he could stab Sakura faster than she could blink. "Don't move. Don't even think about it."
Now that he had a good look at her, he realized she was just a teenager. She couldn't have been more than fourteen or fifteen years old. Even in the darkness her youthful features and pink hair stood out.
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Dammit. He'd answered her questions before, could even have been making them up to confuse her, and now he had her, with a real blade and nothing to fight back with except a few pens.
Sakura let out a frustrated sigh and tried to decide if she could break that sword in her hand before it went through her throat. Most likely not, this guy seemed like a pretty experienced fighter. Even if he said not to think about it, she couldn't really help doing so. Her hands were balled into fists at her sides and the thought of decking this guy across the face sure was tempting, but she resisted.
Since he'd said not to move she simply stood there, glaring back at him with her angry green eyes. Angry at him for trapping her, but angrier at herself for letting it happen.
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"Look, I'm sorry it had to come to this, but what would you have done in my position?" he asked, keeping track of her movements like a hawk. Archer took serious pride in his eyesight and reflexes, two key components as a bowman. "I'm going to lower my sword now as a gesture of good faith, but only if you promise not to try anything."
Retaliation was a serious possibility, which is why he needed to convince her that alienating the first person she came across wasn't a good idea. Pointing out some additional facts to her might help. "You're obviously new here, and it wouldn't be a good idea to go charging into the night unprepared. I think a civil conversation would do us both some good."
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"So where are we? You gave me a name, but I've never heard of it before. Are we still in Konoha? Or is this somewhere else? And just what do you mean when you say it's dangerous. Just what's out there?"
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"I honestly don't know. As prisoners, our information is limited, but I've heard we're on a western continent called North America. I don't know any more than that. I'm not familiar with Konoha," he said, trying to keep the multiple worlds fact out of the conversation. "When I said dangerous I meant anything from deadly obstacle courses to freakish monsters of varying shapes and sizes. It almost seems like the head doctor comes out with a new nightmare each day."
He paused. "I realize this is all very confusing. Honestly, I felt the same way when I woke up here." Well, maybe not the same. Archer was used to the whole dimension hopping thing. "But someone was kind enough to explain things to me." Hisoka had done so reluctantly. "I'll try to answer your questions to the best of my ability, but I don't have all the answers."
"I think we got off on the wrong foot," he said, trying to be nice about it. "I'm Archer and you are?"
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This place sounded suspiciously like the Forest of Death. A deadly obstacle course full of monsters? She supposed it might be daunting to the average person, but to other ninja, surely it was nothing to be too concerned about. She only raised an eyebrow at his claim, not in open disbelief, but certainly not with her full trust in hand. How could someone have never heard of Konoha? Did he live in a cave or something? And what the hell was North America? More of these made-up sounding names.
At least he was making an attempt to be civil and she could fake it too, better than most. She let a hint of a smile come to her lips and uncrossed her arms. "Sakura," she supplied. "I just woke up in one of the rooms down the hall. How did they bring us here?"
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Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Thursday had finally arrived. "If you'd like, you can come with me and my team, and I'll prove to you I'm telling you the truth about the nightshift's dangers."
He'd made his offer and that was it. Archer wasn't going to force Sakura to do anything. If she didn't feel like she could trust him or didn't want his assistance then they'd part here. Since Thursday was finally there they should get moving. He didn't want to waste anymore time.
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Archer's offer to let her come along with his "team" was kind of curious though. Was he genuinely concerned for her well being in this place at night or was it all just a ruse to get her outnumbered? If he'd wanted to kill her, he'd had ample opportunity, but there was always the chance that he might just want information.
She considered it all for a moment and having seen several other people in the same uniforms pass them by without even showing much interest, she had to wonder if she'd perhaps over-reacted. It wouldn't be the first time, though she wouldn't be admitting that anytime soon.
"Alright," she said with some hesitation. "Where are we going?"
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He looked towards Thursday, "Over there. That's my team leader for tonight's mission."
Turning back to Sakura, he asked, "Do you require a weapon? I can lend you my bat if you promise not to slug me with it." He continued on with a slightly more serious tone. "I'm not sure if you've realized it yet, but our powers are limited in this place. Somehow, our captors seem to have the ability to seal away most of our former powers."
no subject
She glanced over to Archer's team leader and back to the man in front of her. He was offering her a weapon. A big stick? Subtle. Weapons were fine, but she did alright with unarmed combat too. Still, it seemed like some kind of gesture of good faith, and tempting as it might be to smack the people around her to take out her frustration, it would probably be a hindrance, in the long run. But the last part caught her attention. Limited powers? Like chakra? Just what did that mean?
Sakura was tempted to test it out, just to see how she'd been affected by this 'limitation' stuff, but it wasn't like she was that strong on her own. She'd done a lot of training, but she wasn't nearly as strong as a lot of the other ninja in Konoha. She hadn't thought there was a seal, or at least, not one she recognized. And she'd studied her fair amount of them in the ninja academy.
"Limited, huh..." she said aloud and stepped away from the wall, pressing her fingers together to try a simple jutsu. Something like climbing trees or walls was pretty easy, so she should be able to do that without trouble. She concentrated and focused her chakra into her feet before she ran at it, but she only made it near the ceiling before it stopped gripping. Seriously?! What the hell?! her inner voice screamed angrily.
She landed without trouble, but the shock of having so little chakra weighed heavily on her. "Fine," she said, dusting herself off. "I won't hit you with it." Of course, if he tried anything funny, she could always just deck him one, she didn't really need a bat for that.
no subject
He noticed that her failed display of acrobatics seemed to shock her. It wasn't surprising, since he had no idea of how powerful she was in her old world, but he hoped that it wouldn't be a problem. "Let's go."