damned_institute | Nightshift 39: F1-F10 Hallway

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Nightshift 39: F1-F10 Hallway

First things first, then.

Now that she was fully dressed (in her own clothes!) and as equipped as she was going to get, Yuffie headed out into the hallways. She didn't want to dawdle, or even worse, take another nightshift-long nap; one of those was enough. Tonight, she had stuff to do - talk to (or at) Kenshin, then go off and get the metal she needed for her weapon. "Wow," she grumbled under her breath. "That sure sounds exciting."

At least she had knives. They were tiny and not the sharpest things in the world, but they made decent throwing instruments, and... and they were knives! They'd do for now. It wasn't like she'd be stuck waiting forever for a weapon, either; now that she was on Skuld's list, it was only a matter of time. Then, she could really get her act together. The unstoppable ninja Yuffie would finally be back in action!

[To here]

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Noting nothing of interest in the closet, Mele slunk over to the dresser.

She was unsure how to react to Soma's words. On one hand, it came dangerously close to pity, but on the other hand, Soma was so reserved (and Mele was not the greatest at reading people), it was hard to be sure. And she hadn't meant to imply that the decision to become of Rin Juken had been a mistake. "I just thought it'd ended, is all," she settled for saying, pulling out the third drawer and observing that it was exactly the same as the first. The fourth, when she pulled it out, proved to be the same as the second.

Mele leaned back on her heels, tapping her lips as she thought. "Bottom drawers are mine, all right?" she said, tapping the third drawer. If anyone broke into this room, the first drawer would probably be the first one ransacked, out of habit. The fit of the clothes wouldn't be an issue; she and Soma were more or less the same height and size, as near as she could approximate.

As for plans--"Nope."

"All right." Soma had no real objections to that; she doubted she would keep anything of value in the drawers anyway.

"Some of the patients here are meeting for what they call a 'Boxing Club.'" A sudden thought struck Soma; she opened her closet again and examined the rod from which her clothes were hanging. Without further ado, she removed the hangers and dropped them on her bed before attacking the rod with the butt of her flashlight.

"As far as I can tell," she continued over the noise, "they're going to practice sparring with one another. I'm going to test how much the staff has dulled my reflexes here. Would you like to come?"

Turning as Soma got up, Mele sat down with her back against the bed (wincing as the pants chafed against her legs), and considered. Amusement at the "club"'s name aside, it might be a good way to check her limits, like Soma suggested. Also a good way to pound out the flood of emotions she couldn't possible deal with all at once. And it might be a good way to get more information about this place, as a plus. But it might not be a good idea to test it on normal humans. Or even if they weren't 'normal'.

Despite her curiosity about the place and what it had done, Mele wasn't sure she should fight, even if she could.

The sound of Soma's strikes seemed to echo in Mele's beating heart, reminding her all the reasons she didn't have. Most of which started and ended with Rio-sama. He might be here. He might not be here. She had been severely distracted throughout the day today, but she needed to make sure.

She'd avoided thinking about her death--

~~...Crap.~~

Well, okay, that was that. Mele had been sure she'd died. She'd also been sure that, before she was gone for good, Rio-sama had drew her to him. But she'd only known that academically, because she hadn't been able to feel anything anymore. The sense of touch had been lost to her and it'd made her sad, because if there was one thing she had the right to ask for in her last moments, she'd wanted it to be the warmth of Rio-sama's embrace.

And then she'd ended up here. Mr. Grumpy hadn't been able (or willing) to answer her inquiry as to Rio-sama's presence. Brook hadn't seen anyone of his description, either. Soma, though from the future, didn't know of Juken and so could not tell her the outcome of that battle.

Rio-sama may or may not have come after her. She didn't know. She didn't know anything.

"I'll go my own way," she finally said. "There's something I need to see to." Even if it was only to wander around the place, hoping to pick up his presence. Let it never be said that hope was easy to bear.

One end of the rod came free with a crash; wrenching the other end out of its socket was a simple affair. Soma hefted it experimentally: not the best weapon in the world, but good enough to get her where she needed to go tonight.

"I'll go my own way. There's something I need to see to."

Soma nodded. "All right. We'll be meeting in the Music Room if you decide to join us later."

Shifting her flashlight to her right hand, she stepped to the door, then paused and turned. Dulled as her quantum brainwaves were, Mele's emotions were a good deal stronger now, and easier to read.

"You're looking for someone," she said as she opened the door. "I hope you find him."

And then she was out the door and down the hall, flashlight beam bobbing as she made her way through the dark.

[to here]

She only managed to catch a glimpse of white hair as Soma left. Mele realized she had gotten to her feet, fists clenched.

Slowly, she made herself release the tension, settling back onto the bed.

Mele hadn't mentioned Rio-sama. Not this time.

Soma had read her mind.

Crap. Crap crap crap it wasn't even a question, Mele needed to leave this room. Right now.

Reaching beneath her pillow in imitation of Soma reaching under her own, she found a flashlight and, checking to make sure it worked, flung the door open and stepped out.

Once out, Mele aimed the flashlight at both ends of the hallway, but there was no Soma in sight.

Biting her lip and wondering if she had really aimed to catch up to Soma, Mele spent another few seconds looking up and down the hall.

After a moment, on a whim, Mele shined the light backwards on the door she'd just exited. She noted the letter-number combination she saw as she closed the door--F9, probably the name of the room. She could always come back, then, (even though right now she couldn't imagine wanting to, not anytime in the near future), if something happened and she needed to. Or maybe she just needed the comfort of knowing something.

Mele picked a direction at random and headed into the gloom.

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Nightshift 39: F1-F10 Hallway

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