damned_institute | Nightshift 36: M61-M70 hallway

ZEX listened vaguely to the intercom, noting a few interesting words. Patients. Subjects. The Institute again dissolving into lawless chaos as everyone tried to find a way out. Surely this was real... how authentic could someone's delusions be? It had to be real.

He had to settle things one way or another. There was nothing to be gained by floundering about at random. Either he was insane, or he was not. There could be no middleground. Hopefully, his Captain would settle the matter.

Again, a question repeated itself all too loudly. What would he do if it turned out that he really was mad after all? That he'd always been human, that he'd lied to himself all this time?

The thought made him sick, and he struggled not to focus on it. He'd see his Captain first, then move from there. If he could move.

ZEX managed to lift his head (it felt so heavy and still) finally, standing from his desk with shaky legs. He searched, slowly, for his light and took the fork he'd found the previous night, some kind of protection at least, and tried to keep himself moving. If he stopped, he might not get up again. He'd never felt so heavy and tired.

ZEX flicked on his light and stepped out into the hallway. Over and over again...

[To here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/488744.html?thread=39692072#t39692072)]

Sanji paused as he stepped outside his room, Chopper's hat in one hand and a newly lit cigarette in the other. There was already a scent of smoke in the air, not the exact same as that left by his own cigarettes. Apparently someone else had been lucky enough to get a hold of some, but they were no longer in the hallway, whoever they were.

Chopper had a good nose, though. Hopefully he'd be able to distinguish Sanji's scent through the others. If not... had the reindeer ever gotten his room number?

The drugs still made it hard for Okita to concentrate, and knowing what he had waiting ahead of him, he realized how poor of a choice he'd made. How else was he supposed to have been able to turn and walk away from Hijikata though? The man had been asking him to believe the lies so they could leave this place together, and Okita had wanted to do just that. He'd never wanted to give up more than in that moment, but he knew, he couldn't. There were too many people here counting on him. If they were doing that anymore.

Changing into his patrol uniform, Okita slid the sword through the improvised cloth loop at his side and sighed. Even though he wanted to stay inside, he had an appointment to keep. Bowing to Guy and wishing him luck tonight, Okita head off down the hall.

to here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/488744.html?thread=39712552#t39712552)

As Chopper got closer to the source of the smoke's smell, he was able to pick up the rest of Sanji's scent. Cheered by the fact he'd chosen the right direction, he quickened his pace. Sanji himself soon came into view, standing outside of one of the rooms.

"Sanji!" Chopper called out as he approached, waving at the chef.

Sanji's mood brightened considerably upon seeing his crewmate and he waved back with Chopper's hat. As soon as the reindeer-turned-human was close enough, the chef plopped it down on his head. "There you go," he said with a grin. "You look ten times better now."

It still wasn't the same, but the hat was a familiar touch. It was also good to see that the boy wasn't looking as upset as he'd been that morning. (Due to his pep talk, he was sure.)

Stepping out into the hallway, Jamie experienced a momentary twinge of apprehension at the idea of traversing the building himself. It was supposed to be dangerous around here, right? Well, even if it was he couldn't keep hiding behind someone else all the time. He'd just have to be careful, that was all.

His usual stash of supplies in his pockets, flashlight in one hand and notebook in the other, Jamie ducked down the hall and around the corner.

His leads were gone and he was in no condition to head for the basement no matter how much he may have wanted to. Unfortunately that left his last option as the only option, and Kurogane was not so sure he wanted to have to deal with those children tonight. Unfortunately though, he knew that was where Fai would be going or at least be trying to get to. They'd not finished things, and Kurogane knew he'd seen that visitor again. Leaving the man alone was the last thing Kurogane could do.

F16, he remembered. That's what they'd been discussing on the Bulletin. He'd head there first and take a look, hopefully without being spotted by any of the girls. He did not want another repeat of when Ururu decided to treat him like a damn tree!

He checked the map to be sure, then stuffed it away and promptly broke one of the crutches so that it would make for a better weapon. He didn't care what those women in white said to his mutilation of the thing in the morning. Once he was prepared, he left his room.

"Tch."

Kunzite's day had not been what one would call "constructive". Two arguments - one which nearly came to blows - capstoned by a failed attempt at raising another's spirits. The swordsman watched annoyedly as his roommate shuffled out of their room, still depressed over whatever the Institute had done to him. At the very least, the 'History Club' had an assignment for him, and if all went well, he might have the chance to face some youma before the dawn.

Gathering up his usual supplies - lantern, bat, and map - Kunzite stepped into the large hallway outside his doors. The route was familiar enough; south to a larger area, then east, and south again...

Chopper grinned, reaching up to take the brim of his hat between his fingers. He readjusted it on his head, settling it into a more comfortable and secure position.

"Thank you!" he said, rubbing the material between his fingers for a moment and then dropping his arms back to his sides. It was a little unsettling to have the hat, as it reminded him of everything that had happened last night, but... He couldn't deny he liked having it back. He might've been in a body he wasn't fully used to yet, but the feeling of the hat on his head remained familiar.

"Oh!" he said suddenly, remembering the other reason he'd come to Sanji's room. "I told Usopp we'd bring him some of his wood. You have it in your closet, right?"

"Yeah, I do." Sanji opened the door to his room, motioning to his side. "That closet there. If you could grab it, that'd be great. My roommate doesn't like me smoking in the room." In retrospect, he probably should have waited until later to light a cigarette up, but he'd hardly been thinking about the wood at the time.

"Grab a little extra if you can and I'll carry it."

He hadn’t been kidding about getting out of there ASAP. As soon as the dumb fuck on the intercom began his nightly wank fest, Reid grabbed his flashlight and took off without much in the way of a farewell.

Many people could testify to that Reid didn’t act based on self-reflection. When he needed not to think like he did now, it was all impulse. Which was the only way for someone like him to deal, if he had the ability to recognize the quality in himself. He didn’t want to think about his missing Power, or his missing best friend, or his missing life, or any of it.

When he got out, it wouldn’t matter. Things would be back to normal.

Or just… back.

_{[to here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/488962.html?thread=39848450#t39848450)]}

Once Okita left, Guy abandoned his dinner as a lost cause and moved over to his bed, carefully easing himself down and marveling at how nice it felt to just rest. Unfortunately, even if his body was getting some down time, his mind was still buzzing. There was always something to be done in this place, after all, and so laying around was bound to make him antsy. He could only hope that Claude would get here soon, if only to give him something to do for a short while.

Though they had left off on a strange note, hadn't they? He had been about to tell his friend about his phobia, and while he wasn't sure now would be the best time to continue that conversation, he wouldn't be surprised if Claude asked about it. Still, he was ready to spill the beans, so if Claude decided he wanted to discuss it now, that was fine by him.

The intercom announcement was also worth considering. Was it just him, or was the head doctor hinting at yet another area being opened? To Guy, it was starting to seem like traps just opened up into more traps, but on the other hand, it had to end at some point, right?

On top of that, he was trying not to worry too much about Okita. Even though Guy wanted to assume his roommate could take care of himself, he was almost certain that wasn't the case. And he could have assumed that Okita's friends could watch out for him, but it also sounded like he was distancing himself from the people he cared about for the sake of their safety. But if he did that, then he'd be alone, and Guy couldn't imagine that would help any. It was a messy situation, so he was glad he could check up on Okita once a day, at the very least.

So as much as Guy would have loved to get a few winks while he waited, in the end all he did was stare at the ceiling and think.

Chopper went into the room, heading for the closet Sanji had indicated. He opened the door, sorting through the various pieces of wood until he had pulled out five of the size Usopp had requested.

He wrapped his arms around the bundle and carried it awkwardly out of the room.

"This is how much Usopp told me to bring him."

((From here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/488744.html?thread=39902504#t39902504).))

It was a good thing Guy's room was so close, Claude thought to himself as he tried to adjust his grip on the pillow case. Huffing a little, he waved his beam around the hallway until he caught sight of M63. This was probably one of the first times he hadn't seen Guy standing outside and chatting with Peony, which made Claude wonder about the Emperor, and if he was all right. Hopefully nothing had happened...

It'd do him no good to think like that, though, and he pushed all of that aside as he knocked on the door.

Their conversation in the chapel this morning was still lingering in the back of his mind, and not for the first time, he had to wonder what kind of condition Guy had been referring to. It'd sounded personal, hadn't it? He wondered if one of them would wind up bringing it up again, or if they'd leave it for another day. Guy had given his word, so Claude trusted him to follow through at some point.

"It's me, Claude," he spoke up after a brief moment. "Is it okay if I come in?"

Edited 2008-10-31 01:18 (UTC)

Sanji glanced down at his smaller friend. "Oh, is that all?" He motioned with his free hand. "Go ahead and toss me a couple of the more difficult to carry pieces, then." It wouldn't be fair to make Chopper toddle around with that on his own. Even human he was still rather small.

"Guess we should head over there, right?" It'd be good to see the sniper... maybe talk about what had happened with Nami. He'd seen the message on the board as well, after all.

Chopper nodded, setting down the pile of wood. He picked out the larger of the pieces for Sanji; the chef would be able to carry them more easily than he could in this body.

"Here," he said, holding out the two he'd selected and debating a third. "If you could take these..."

The branches were long and awkward, but nothing Sanji wouldn't be able to manage. Sticking his cigarette in his mouth, he shuffled the weight around until he was holding it in a way that was easy to walk and smoke with. (This was important, after all.)

Closing the door to his room, the chef glanced off down the hallway. "Usopp's room is M33. He'll still be there, right?"

He didn't wait for a response before starting off.

One of these nights, Citan was going to accomplish something. Last night had been close, terribly close, and perhaps they could try again this evening. He doubted Armand was truly excited about the idea of attempting medical procedures on the creatures of the institute, but it would serve a valuable purpose.

Armed with only his small scalpel and a dying flashlight, Citan headed out into the halls.

It was both weird and kind of nice to be on his own, Tokito found. He didn't have to worry about anyone but himself, which was definitely a nice change, and he didn't have to worry too much about keeping his secret, either. The monsters weren't going to blab, probably, if he ran into any of those--he'd just have to be careful of other witnesses getting too close. Still, it was weird--Tokito hadn't ever been alone in this place yet. It was also a bit scary--Jamie was no use as backup, but Tokito still really wanted Kubo-chan to come get him.

In the meantime, though, he wanted a weapon.

[to here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/488744.html?view=39980072#t39980072)]

Normally Guy would have done the polite thing and gone to open the door for his friend, but he didn't have it in him to shift around the way he'd need to in order to get out of the bed without jarring his arm. He was sure that Claude would understand, so all he did was prop himself up a little on the bed as he called out.

"Yeah, go ahead!" It had taken a little longer than expected for Claude to get here, and there was something slightly off in his voice. It had almost taken on the same quality that Okita's had when he'd been sedated, but...

What would have caused Claude to get sedated? He didn't seem like the sort of person who would lash out in front of the nurses. Then again, anything could happen. Guy would just have to see for himself if his friend was drugged - most of the time it was pretty easy to tell just from body language.

Claude hadn't expected Guy to get the door for him -- nor would he have wanted him to, seeing how injured he was. Instead, as soon as he got the okay, he pushed the door open and shuffled inside. It was a bit of a balancing act, making sure he had everything in his arms. As soon as he let the door close behind him, the pillowcase slipped from his grasp and clattered noisily to the floor.

"Sorry 'bout that," he said belatedly. The blond fell silent as he glanced over all of the things he'd brought, wondering what he was supposed to do with them. (He had the meat cleaver strapped to his leg, too, right? He probably needed to untie that--) But then he caught sight of Guy lying on the bed, and he was suddenly more concerned about that.

"How're you feeling?" he asked. "Any better?" Maybe it was kind of a stupid question since he'd seen Guy just that morning, but he wasn't sure if the nurses gave him any kind of medicine to help with his pain or not. Claude kind of hoped they did, but, at the same time, he could see why it'd be bad to have his senses dulled, too. It sure made getting ready for nightshift more of a chore than normal, anyway.

The sight of Claude entering and carrying so much with him that he literally had to drop what he could the moment he got the chance left Guy feeling pretty guilty. He shouldn't have just allowed all of his belongings to pile up in the other man's room like that, though at least it was being evened out now.

"Don't worry about it," he said, trying to will himself to get up now so that he could sort through his things. It was difficult to muster up the energy, but he was going to need to put all of it in a safe place before morning, bad arm or not.

"Umm, I'm doing all right. Still hurts, but that's just how it goes," he responded. He would have killed for some ice to put on it, but the chances of finding something like that were slim. The closest thing he could think of was that refrigerator behind the kitchen, but there was no way he was heading out that far. The clinic was as far as he was willing to go, and even then he was still undecided.

Slowly, wearily, he started forcing himself to his feet, though he couldn't help glancing over to Claude to give him a proper look. "How about you? You seem..." He trailed off, wondering if his friend might just fill in the blanks for him. Neither of them seemed to be in good shape, so there was no real shame in admitting it.

Claude wondered how long it would be until Guy's arm started to feel better. Healing was supposed to be accelerated in Landel's, right? According to Ashton, Axel had recovered pretty fast from his heart surgery. But how long would a broken arm take to heal?

There wasn't really any point in vocalizing all of that, though, especially once he saw the man trying to get to his feet. Eyebrows furrowed, he moved towards him without thinking. "There isn't any reason to get up. Just tell me where you want everything, and I can put it up for you." He could do that, at the very least. Besides, with Guy's arm the way it was, he didn't need to be lifting anything heavy anyway. Not when Claude was around to do it for him.

He hadn't expected the question about himself, and he took a moment longer to answer than he normally would have. "...Huh? Seem what?" For a second there, he was honestly confused over what Guy could have possibly meant before it occurred to him. "Oh. Oh." He sighed, caught between looking sheepish and a little frustrated with himself. "Is it really that obvious?"

Claude had hoped the steak would have helped (it usually did), but maybe time was the best remedy for getting sedated...

If there was something Guy wasn't used to, it was someone else offering to do something for him. Even if he had once been nobility, most of his life had been spent as a servant, and he couldn't ever completely get out of the mindset that he should be on-hand to do whatever was needed. Heck, he would launch into an explanation whenever Jade asked him even if he griped about it.

So all he could do was stare at Claude for a moment before sitting on the edge of his bed and nodding slowly. He could have insisted on doing it himself, but it really wasn't the best idea and they would probably waste more time arguing over it.

He smiled wryly at Claude's reaction to his question. Maybe he shouldn't have brought it up, but he was pretty sure they had decided not to hide things from each other. If Claude had been sedated, then something must have gone down. "Not too obvious," he assured him. "What happened?" The sorting of his stuff could wait until after the explanation.

It was kind of odd when Guy fell silent and stared at him; Claude nearly asked if there was something on his face, but decided against it once the other blond nodded in agreement. It was almost like he hadn't expected to be told to just sit back and let him tend to things, but what kind of friend could he call himself if he did anything different?

Well, either way, it didn't look like Guy was going to push the issue, so Claude just grinned at him.

He reached down to untie the meat cleaver from his leg. Hopefully it'd give Guy some time to think over where he wanted everything. He imagined the bulk of it would go in the closet, and maybe his friend would keep the blade under his bed or next to him. Still, it seemed a little too forward to just go dumping stuff wherever he thought it should go, so he was willing to wait.

His being sedated was apparently obvious enough for his friend to pick up on it, but maybe Guy was just naturally observant. Either way, it really couldn't be helped, and Claude knew he couldn't complain. It'd been his fault he'd gotten drugged in the first place. Before, it might have been easy to brush off his concern, but after what they'd talked about this morning, there was no reason to try to dance what had happened. Being honest with each other was a two-way street, right?

"Well, the truth is..." The blond stared down at the meat cleaver in his hands, trying to figure out how to word things. "I was sitting in the courtyard when Sync approached me. He kept saying some pretty terrible things and wouldn't stop. I lost my cool, and then the nurses got involved pretty fast after that." Those were the basic details, he knew, but that was how everything had happened. He could have gone into what Sync had said, or how he'd kept following him around, but it probably would have only served to rile himself up again, and it wouldn't have made Guy feel much better, either.

He was still wishing he'd just gone all out and decked him in the face -- at least it would have made his getting sedated worth it. But, in the end, Claude guessed he was lucky he hadn't gotten in worse trouble. Up until now, he'd done a decent job with keeping a low profile during the day.

"It was pretty dumb now that I think back on it, but..." He trailed off as he fidgeted with the meat cleaver a bit. Then he looked up and fixed Guy with what he hoped was a reassuring smile. "Well, it's over now."

Reid left faster than Mori expected after dropping off the pie, but he supposed that was for the best. The guy was distracted and whatever was going on in his mind, he wasn't exactly up to talking about it. Mori always had the offer to listen on the table, but Reid wasn't exactly that sort of person. Picking up the closet rod and the two plates of pie, Mori balanced the pie on one arm and headed out into the night. Mitsukuni would be waiting for him like always and tonight, he had a special treat for his cousin.

He hoped he liked it.

[going here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/490786.html?thread=39717922#t39717922)]

It was a relief to see that Claude had kept the meat cleaver. Night had ended pretty soon after the younger man had gathered it up, so Guy hadn't been entirely sure that the weapon had been salvaged. He hadn't even imagined there would be a time in his life where he was glad to see a meat cleaver, but he wasn't going to get caught up in thoughts like that.

Guy should have figured that Sync had been the cause of Claude's sedation, though he could only marvel at the fact that the God-General had the audacity to go pestering his friend just the day after the attack. Not that Sync played by any logical rules, and Guy had to admit that he didn't blame Claude for reacting the way he did. It seemed that Sync saw Claude as yet another "target" now, and Guy couldn't apologize enough for allowing his friend to get caught up in the Tempest's sick schemes.

He didn't actually voice any of that, though, since he knew Claude would just wave it off. He always seemed to; they were similar in that way.

It was probably better that Claude didn't detail the things Sync had said. Guy could make some pretty good guesses, after all, and he didn't really need (or want) to hear it. "It's pretty difficult to spend too much time around Sync without wanting to slug him," Guy responded with a crooked smile, figuring that Claude had attacked the God-General somehow. Hell, Guy had gotten close to doing that himself. He wouldn't be surprised if he soon got himself sedated for snapping around Sync at the wrong time and place.

"So, let's see..." He continued, craning his neck to get another look at what Claude had brought. "The metal can go in my closet, and the cleaver can go under the bed," he said, keeping his tone casual so it didn't sound like he was ordering Claude around.

Claude couldn't help but snort a little at Guy's comment. Boy, that was an understatement. The fact Sync had an annoying way of not letting up just made it that much worse. "Glad I'm not the only one, then," he replied dryly. Then again, he couldn't really see Guy losing his cool and getting drugged like Claude himself had. More often than not, the older man had a way of keeping his head on straight, even when Claude was on the verge of doing something impulsive or stupid.

He figured Guy was certainly capable of getting riled up, of course. But he hoped his friend would never be pushed to that point. Sedation sucked, not to mention it was a little embarrassing. Plus, in a way, Guy's level-headed nature was kind of a comfort to Claude. It was an admirable trait, really.

"You got it," he said once Guy told him where to put everything. He started with the meat cleaver first. After kneeling down, he carefully tucked it under the bed, making sure it was hidden enough to where a nurse couldn't stumble across it during the day.

"I brought those extra batteries of yours, too," he added as he stood up. "Do you want those in your desk or something?" As he spoke, he jerked his thumb over to the place in question, but paused once he caught sight of the steak dinner. Not only was it uneaten, but it was practically untouched, save for the side dishes. Claude frowned without realizing it.

When Claude moved over to the bed to put the cleaver in its hiding spot, Guy made sure to scoot to the side so that the other man had enough room to do so. As far as Guy knew, the nurses weren't too thorough with their searching, so it wouldn't be a problem. He thought it was strange that the staff didn't do a better job of making sure their patients didn't have anything dangerous stashed, but if their makeshift weapons were getting confiscated all the time that would almost be too unfair.

Landel probably wanted them to have a fighting chance, at the very least.

Oh, right, the batteries! Guy was glad Claude had remembered them, since he was sure he'd been in need of them soon enough. "Yeah, the desk is fine," he confirmed. That was where he had found his original set, so it seemed like the best option.

Claude's frown went unnoticed, mainly because Guy was unable to catch the look from where he was sitting. "So... the metal, the cleaver, and the batteries. That's everything, right?"

As he moved over to the desk, he grabbed the extra flashlight he'd brought. "Okay, in that case, I'll just put your flashlight with the batteries, then." It didn't look like Guy was going to do much wandering around tonight anyway, so that would probably be all right.

Once he was done with that, he stepped over to the pillowcase, which was bulging with metal, and began dragging it towards the closet. "Yeah, I think that pretty much covers everything," he said. It was good his friend finally had his things back. He'd meant to bring the metal and batteries over eventually, but once he'd gotten a hold of Guy's more important things, he'd figured it would be best to haul it all over at once. After all, with the rate of people who went missing, it wouldn't have been any good if he'd disappeared while holding onto someone else's hard-earned things.

Not that Claude intended on going anywhere anytime soon, of course. Well, except home, but that went without saying.

"By the way," he added, "do you not like steak or something? I noticed you didn't eat any of it, so..." They offered a vegetarian dish for people who preferred not eating meat, though, so that didn't seem quite right.

Nodding to Claude as he put both the flashlight and the batteries away, Guy allowed himself to lay back down on the bed, stretching his legs out and letting his sling rest carefully against his chest.

As for the metal, Guy was relieved to physically have it in his possession now. It would be there for him whenever it was his turn to get a weapon, though he still had no idea when that would be. He was sure he would be informed when the time came.

Guy was a little surprised to be asked about his meal (it was a pretty random question), but there was no harm in answering. "Oh, there was just no chance I'd be able to actually cut the steak up, so I didn't even try." He had been busy talking to Okita, anyway. He'd at least made sure to eat a few fries, though.

If Claude offered to cut it for him, Guy wasn't sure he could agree to that. That might be too big of a hit to his pride, even though the protein would probably be good for him at this point.

"I'm kind of surprised the nurses didn't cut it for you," Claude remarked. It was pretty obvious the man had a broken arm, after all. "If that happened to me, I'd be a little mad." The one meal here he actually looked forward to, and then being unable to eat it? Talk about cruel!

Of course, that was him, and he knew other people didn't necessarily share his taste in food. Still, beef could be good when it came to keeping up one's strength, right? For a split second, he actually considered just cutting the steak up for Guy, but he took pause. Had their positions been reserved, he'd probably die at the thought of anyone who wasn't his mother doing something like that, broken arm or not. Steak or not.

"I guess it's gone cold by now," he finished his thoughts out loud. "It probably wouldn't taste very good, huh?"

He pushed the metal fully into the closet now, sitting it in such a way that it wouldn't fall over or spill onto the floor.

"Say," Claude said as he turned to face his friend again. "Did you plan on hanging out in here all night, or did you want to see some healers?" Guy had never said one way or the other, but it seemed like going to the clinic could be pretty beneficial if he wanted to get better as soon as possible.

Edited 2008-11-05 04:24 (UTC)

Guy figured he could have asked the nurses to do so, but he hadn't really thought about it at the time. He'd been a little too concerned with Okita and the idea that his roommate might snap and attack him without warning. He felt a little better about all of that now, though. He just hoped Okita stayed reigned in for the man's own sake, since it didn't sound like he wanted to lose it and lash out - it just happened.

"Yeah, probably not," Guy agreed, pulled out of his thoughts by Claude's question. "Anyway, don't worry about it. I'll just have to make sure to ask the nurses about it next time." Or maybe they'd be served a meal he could actually eat with one hand. Considering how often people got hurt here, the staff probably should have taken it into account a little more.

When Claude asked the question Guy was still asking himself, he sighed and gave a small half-shrug. "I'm still trying to decide on that. I guess it's not that far, and they're there to help, so..." The sooner he could be part of the team and helping out again, the better, right? He was doing no good just sitting around here. People like His Majesty needed him to stay safe. Something occurred to Guy after the fact, and he quickly looked up and eyed Claude. "Don't think you need to escort me or anything, though. I'm sure you've got stuff you need to do, and I can get there on my own."

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea," Claude said with a nod. There was more he could have mentioned about how he needed to eat for a speedy recovery, but he was sure Guy already knew all that. There wasn't any point in lecturing him about a nutritional diet, of all things.

As for whether to go to the clinic or not, Claude figured it was a no-brainer. "They'd probably be able to help you out somehow." Maybe they even had some people with healing magic. It'd likely be kind of weak, but every little bit helped, right?

Not to mention it was probably a safer place to go, given the circumstances, but he wasn't about to dwell on that for too long.

The truth was, he'd feel better knowing Guy had gotten to the clinic safely, and the best way to go about that was escorting him personally. "I wouldn't have any problem going with you," the blond quickly replied. "I mean, there are other things I want to see to tonight, but I'm not in any huge rush." He paused, folding his arms over his chest. "And it's not because I feel like I 'need' to, either. It'd be something I want to do."

When it came down to it, though, Guy was a grown man, not to mention a capable fighter, and he certainly couldn't force his company on him. Not only that, but for some people, there was the matter of pride to consider. Maybe having an escort would seem like too much. Guy had been right when he said the clinic wasn't far, after all. It wasn't like an excursion to the greenhouse or anything like that.

Claude flashed a quick grin, rubbing the back of his head. "It's your call, though."

Maybe Guy would have had more of a problem with Claude's offer if the younger man had been insisting on it. Instead, he was just expressing the desire to come along, which was easier for Guy to accept. It probably wouldn't take too long to get there (his legs still worked fine, after all), so he wouldn't be infringing on whatever plans Claude had.

On top of that, he did need to keep his promise and tell his friend about his phobia, so they might be able to get that taken care of as they made the trip over.

"All right, if you really want to," he said lightly, smiling at the other man as he made the attempt to stand once again. Even though he didn't really want to admit as much, it would be relieving to have someone along for the trip. Then when he was in the hands of the healers, Claude could be on his way.

Now, the question of what to take. He didn't really need much, so all Guy picked up was the flashlight from his desk. It wasn't like he had another hand to even hold a weapon, and taking one would almost seem like he was asking to get attacked.

"Ready?" he asked once he had his flashlight in hand, turning to Claude.

"Okay, great," he replied, returning the smile. It was kind of a relief to know that he'd able to accompany his friend, even if he wasn't going to say that out loud.

The blond grabbed his own flashlight, and for a moment, he couldn't help but glance around for that dumb clothes rod of his. He caught himself when he realized he'd left it behind in order to carry everything over, though. Well, it couldn't be helped, he guessed. Hopefully nothing would jump out of nowhere while they were walking. But since they were mostly staying within the patient blocks, they'd probably be fine.

Of course, he knew he'd be venturing out further once he left Guy with the healers. It looked like he'd have to cross that bridge when he got to it.

"Let's go, then." With that, he opened the door and stepped out into the hallway.

((To here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/488744.html?thread=40280360#t40280360).))

It was pitch black when Siegfried awoke in his room. He couldn’t remember how he’d got there, but he assumed a nurse had brought him back after he’d spoke to his mother earlier in the day. There was no usual speech from the Head Doctor either, and Siegfried wondered how far into the night it was.

He searched the room for his torch and pipe, which, although he knew where they would be, was made difficult by the lack of light. Upon finding them, Siegfried left the room and the patient block.

[to here (”http://community.livejournal.com/damned/488962.html?thread=40540674#t40540674”)]

Even in the middle of the night, Tokyo rarely slept. Normally, on the very, very rare occasions that Yahiko woke up between when he laid down and when the sun rose, he could hear the comings and goings of bar patrons throughout the night, sometimes singing slurred lyrics and sometimes simply laughing. Almost always, he grunted something like "shut up already!" and fell back to sleep immediately, but as gruff and annoyed as he sounded, there was something pleasant about the sounds of people enjoying themselves.

So, when he woke up in pitch blankness and what seemed to be total silence, Yahiko was understandably unsettled.

"Hello?"

No voice responded to his call, so he lay in silence for a few more seconds, trying to get his bearings, before he sat up on a unusually soft mattress and tried to remember what he'd done the night before. The usual food at the Akabeko, and not even a single glass of sake. Any excuse for waking up in a strange place vanished.

He shifted to the side of the mattress but when he swung his feet to stand up, he realized, with considerable shock, that there was nothing there. The floor, which should have been a few inches below him, was over a foot away. He stood up, listening closely (silence) and taking note of everything he could see (nothing), then moved until his fingers met a wall. Well, wherever he was, they still had walls. That was good, even if they felt more solid than anything he was used to.

A few steps later and the texture of the wall changed. It took Yahiko a second to figure out that this was some kind of door, a western door, one of those doors with the twisty things that pulled open instead of sliding to the side. What the hell? So someone had abducted him, stolen his clothing, given him new clothing, taken his weapon (he absolutely had to get that back), and left him on a high bed in some weird western room.

This was not okay.

Beyond the door his bare feet found even more smooth flatness, rather than the rock or grass he'd hoped for. No moonlight. No nothing. He moved down the silent hallway, sticking close to the wall in case someone tried to ambush him. There were voices up ahead, growing louder, but nothing like the cheerful laughter that filled the Tokyo streets at night.

[to here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/486650.html?thread=40562426#t40562426)]

Conklin was a stubborn person, so he eschewed common sense with a firm hand and decided to limp around outside this evening. Never mind that the last time he'd tried it, he'd been stomped and stomped good by King Kong's inbred cousin. His ribs did not approve of this plan; nor did his shoulder. He told them to go stuff it and grabbed his flashlight and cane.

If they thought they could scare him...they were mistaken, was what.

[to here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/488744.html)]

Night. It wasn't his favorite part of the day-- not by a long shot-- but when the promise of new information, loyalty, and obedience were contained within that precious span of time, Light was willing to look on it somewhat more favorably. It was even more favorably received with the fact that he wouldn't be expected to go and fetch Misa from her room again-- her continued absence was both a bane and a boon in that way-- leaving him more time to meet with Mikami and discuss everything they couldn't earlier that day.

He didn't set out the instant the intercom announced the beginning or nightshift, though, choosing instead to sit at his desk and continue making copies of all the maps he'd accumulated so far. Mikami's room was, after all, only a hall away from his, and while the man had his trust for now, he was still wary enough to want to avoid giving any hints as to his own room's location. Considering the lack of restraint he'd displayed when it came to sharing that information in the past, though (and with good reason), it was bound to be a short-lived effort, but then he hadn't anticipated ironing out all of those details and more with Mikami taking all that long anyway.

After he'd put the finishing touches on his last map for the night, Light stood up and secreted everything away before shrugging on his coat stepping outside, flashlight already in hand. There was no need to turn it on just yet with his level of familiarity with the halls and the incredibly short distance there was left to travel, but as he had yet to acquire and in fact didn't really need a more effective weapon to protect himself, bringing it along was common sense.

The hall was empty when he emerged, but besides silently taking note of this and wondering idly if every other hall was like this, he didn't think too much on it. It wasn't important.

[To here. (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/490786.html?thread=39986722#t39986722)]

Nightshift 36: M61-M70 hallway

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