Night 44: F1-F10 Hallway

[mizuhomaiden.livejournal.com]

"Take care," Sheena called to her new roommate as she slipped into the hallway.

The girl seemed nice and she wouldn't have minded talking to her more, but the ninja had stuff she needed to do. The more important one being the reaquisition of her ribbon. Now, if only the youkai had it and wasn't going to hold it over her head or something. Sheena had some time to spare since she wasn't meeting up with anyone, but that didn't mean she wanted to be caught up more than fifteen minutes with Yukari. That damn youkai was distracting and... stuff.

Obi ribbons fluttering behind her, the ninja moved quickly down the hallway. Yukari's room had been a few hallways over. She just needed to get there relatively quickly.

Comments

[thatdamnedninja.livejournal.com]

What?

What?

There was no way she could be hearing that right. Just — no.

Yuffie shook her head, slipping into the hallway as soon as the doors unlocked. All this stuff about better security; better protection; taking 'training to the next level'… Pfft. It didn't sit right with her, but still. No self-respecting villain would spout good-cop-bad-cop crap like that, would they? Still, she had a guess about what it meant — trouble. A lot of it.

Naturally, that meant that she'd have to stay doubly alert. Maybe wandering around on her own at night wasn't the brightest of ideas, but it wasn't as though she was going to be staying out; all she was gonna do was grab her wakizashi back from Suzie, maybe grab her patient file, and then head back to her room to practice. Assuming that Sen wasn't still in there, anyway.

[To here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/727542.html)]

[mind-the-sukima.livejournal.com]

The ribbon in question had been located in the closet with all of Yukari's clothes, probably the first place she should have looked. After dinner finished, the youkai got dressed, pulling on her dress and gloves before tying her many returned ribbons into her hair. Unfortunately, Sheena's ribbon was too short to wear as a choker (unless she really wanted to choke), and the one she normally used seemed to be missing. That must have been the one the ninja had been wearing today. Settling for just wrapping it around her wrist instead, she flopped over on her bed and waited for the door to unlock.

When the time came, Yukari blinked awake. It seemed the doctor was alive and well. And oddly protective of the population, like some kind of reverse Stockholm syndrome. Well, it wasn't too odd that he'd want to fend of outside interferences; the "only I get to mess with them" mentality was not an unfamiliar one to the youkai. Speaking of which, Yukari needed to get going to check on her own victim of interest. Grabbing her flashlight, she headed out. Hopefully, Sheena hadn't left already.

As it turned out, Yukari was just in time, coming out just as the ninja ran past. With nary a thought, she reached out and grabbed the trailing obi with one hand before the girl could get away, covering a yawn with the back of the other that was holding the flashlight.

[mizuhomaiden.livejournal.com]

The opening of doors did not warrant any of the ninja's attention as she headed down the hallway. In fact, Sheena's mind was on her destination for later that night, not her current one, so when someone suddenly grabbed one of her obi ribbons in an attempt to catch her, the ninja reacted out of instinct.

Pivoting around, Sheena brought a foot up and then down on the length of the long ribbon, jerking whoever had a hold of it toward her. Her fist was in route at her attacker's face and it was only at the last moment that she realized who she was about to punch.

"Gyaaaay!" The ninja diverted the blow as much as she could, managing to only clip the youkai's jaw instead of breaking it. Her foot slipping off the obi ribbon at her sudden change in momentum, Sheena stumbled bodily into Yukari.

[mind-the-sukima.livejournal.com]

Had Yukari been paying attention, she might have dodge the blow. Had Yukari been paying attention, she might have opened a gap, catching the ninja's fist and sending it harmlessly whiffing through the air behind her head. Had Yukari been paying attention, she might have figured out that sneaking up on the ninja like that was probably a poor attention.

Yukari, however, was half asleep and instead only blinked dumbly as she was jerked forwards into the incoming fist, wincing as it grazed off her jaw, making her stumbled slightly even as the ninja toppled into her.

"Ow..." she moaned faintly as her feet danced about to regain balance before they both just fell in a heap on the floor. Finally getting their center of gravity, Yukari smiled lopsidedly down at the ninja who she had her arms around. "Well, that was quite the greeting."

[mizuhomaiden.livejournal.com]

Sheena's head went thunk as it hit the ground, reminding her that she already had a small lump on it from hitting her head the previous night.

"Ugh," she grumbled, rubbing the back of her head. "Don't do that, Yukari. I could have really hurt you." She was ninja, after all. Looking up at the youkai, Sheena gently touched Yukari's jaw. "Sorry about that. Instincts and all... I would have preferred a different greeting."

[mind-the-sukima.livejournal.com]

"A little high-strung, aren't we?" said the youkai with a laugh, as if it was normal to be as relaxed as she was in a crazy haunted mental institute of horror and torture. Getting to her feet and helping the ninja do so as well, she smiled at the girl's touch.

"Don't mind it," she said easily. "I've grazed worse shots before." A near miss from a Master Spark was a lot worse than a little punch. "I moved rooms, by the way." As if it wasn't obvious already.

F5

[shallweplay.livejournal.com]

Ophelia had spent a good majority of the day after her shower in her room, insisting to her nurses repeatedly that she was resting. In reality, she had done anything but. The entire day had been spent practicing, honing her reflexes and letting the long butcher's knife become intimately familiar in her hands. She had even managed to ignore the fact that Yukari Yakumo, the youkai she had met early on in her week at the institute, had become her new roommate. There simply hadn't been time to chit-chat with her. If Ophelia was going to take down her prey and get back her blade, she was going to have to be completely optimized when night came. There would be no room for even a single mistake.

At last, the lights went out, and the doors unlocked. Ophelia smiled her venomous smile as she tread out into the shadows, quickly making her way to the end of the hall.

Re: F5

[shallweplay.livejournal.com]

[To here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/729136.html?thread=60239152#t60239152)]

[number1smiley.livejournal.com]

Hefting the length of bed frame that would serve as her weapon until hers was crafted, Teresa tied it in place across her back as she would have her claymore. Taking the long strand of beads with her, the hybrid left her room without a glance back at Argilla. Now that she'd decided she wasn't going to immediately kill the youma, she didn't want to be around it any more than she must. As it was, Teresa had a question she needed answered.

[to here] (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/728695.html)

[akarusa.livejournal.com]

Heh. Funny how things worked out; Hokuto had been hoping to see Tsubaki again soon, but this was a surprise!

Hopefully Sora wouldn't mind her being less than punctual, though... she had a sword to drop off, since there was no way Falis would be able to guess where she'd been taken off to.

Once she was dressed and armed, Falis' sword in hand, she took off.

[[To here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/731425.html?thread=60048417#t60048417).]]

[F8]

[ninelivesonce]

Taura didn't own any blankets beyond the short list of advantages her new body had retained; it made gearing up for the night just a matter of checking her flashlight batteries and tightening the laces on her sneakers.

The hallway was full of people; she wasn't the only one on her way somewhere. And something that might be a brawl or a public display of affection. She didn't stick around long enough to find out.

[to here]

F1

[see-my-back.livejournal.com]

While the messages tonight had been enough reason for concern, Sakura committed them to memory and let them bubble in the back of her mind for now. There were other important things to be done and she was in no mood to have a repeat of last night. She was getting her missions completed dammit!

She packed up her weapons, tearing up the bedsheets again to tie a strip around her waist, then knotting her pillowcase with supplies on one hip and securing the hatchet on the other side, she was almost ready. The scalpels and razors went here and there, hidden in a sleeve or waistband as necessary and she was ready to go.

[[to here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/727542.html?thread=60106998#t60106998)]]

F4

[tostepforward.livejournal.com]

With their conversation -- if it could be called such -- interrupted by the onset of night, Ayumu's question went unanswered. Still, it meant that Yuffie had vacated the room as soon as it was at all possible, which gave her the chance to make her own preparations in private. She had to be quick about it, as well; Okita hadn't said outright where to meet, of course, but she knew where he was going, so it would be simple enough to situate herself along the route before he arrived there.

She took a few moments to stretch, then fetched her coat from the closet and carefully distributed her assorted weaponry about her person. As little as she liked encumbering herself when it wasn't necessary, this time she felt it was: the extra pockets, at the least, could be helpful when going into an unknown situation. If Okita only needed her for a short time, she could at least spend time searching for useful supplies upstairs.

With that in mind, she added a folded pillowcase into one of her coat pockets, then added the napkin-wrapped brownie from her dinner and the candy she'd obtained in town. It was small thanks for the gifts Okita had brought for her, but still better than nothing.

Her preparations were as complete as she could make them at this point, so she opened the door, carefully listening to the noises in the hallway before slipping out and toward the exit.

[tostepforward.livejournal.com]

[to here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/727542.html?thread=60119030#t60119030)]

F1

[beloved-less.livejournal.com]

[From here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/729136.html?thread=60209712#t60209712).]

Soubi knocked and walked in. Empty. He found the scalpel waiting and sat on the edge of the bed, fiddling with the cigarette. He wanted to smell it. Taste it. But that would make things worse. He was going to calm down, give this one up and get more later. Because he could handle that.

He put it on the desk and packed the scalpel away in his bag before setting off again.

[To here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/729136.html?thread=60209712#t60209712).]

[tofindherwings.livejournal.com]

Well, her roommate was definitely interesting but Cissnei had things to do and she would move more quickly alone. She might check on Reno and Rude later on, but for now, the lure of getting a good weapon was more than enough to get her moving quickly. Once Taura had left, she grabbed the torch and slipped out into the corridor, running over her admittedly limited mental map of the Institute.

[tofindherwings.livejournal.com]

[To here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/729136.html?thread=60220720#t60220720)]

[cursed-exorcist.livejournal.com]

"Take care," Kagura whispered to her still-sleeping roommate.

After she closed the door, Kagura took a few experimental swings with her makeshift weapon - the clothing rod from her closet. Removing the rod had been a little difficult, but it was well worth the effort. The makeshift weapon was less effective and durable compared to a katana, but it was better than being unarmed. With her flashlight in the other hand, Kagura made her way down the hallway.

[cursed-exorcist.livejournal.com]

F10

[kagurazuki.livejournal.com]

Kagura watched her roommate leave, finding herself a bit more attached to Tsuchimiya than she'd been to the others. Plenty of people could say they cared, but few seemed as genuine as this new girl. It reminded her a little of home. A little of Tohru.

She set about gathering up her things, the pole and bat and flashlight, but when she went to click it on, the beam was weak and flickering at best. She gave it a worried shake, but it did no good. She made a frustrated noise and tried not to slam it against the wall. There were more batteries around somewhere, weren't there?

Well, she could discuss it with Bridget when he got here. Maybe his light was doing a little better. And she had to admit the thought of sharing a flashlight with Bridget didn't sound so very awful.

Re: F10

[roger-hug.livejournal.com]

(From here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/730785.html).)

Bridget had found that his new roommate was pretty interesting as well. He managed to make it through the halls unmolested, and knocked softly on the door to F10. "Miss Sohma?"

Re: F10

[kagurazuki.livejournal.com]

She didn't have to worry long at least; when there was a knock at the door and a familiar voice behind it, she hurried to open the way. There was something comforting about his presence. Even if the others had all gone away, he was still here, just as he'd said.

"Bridget, it's good to see you again." She held the door open for him to come inside. He seemed to be alright, despite all the recent hardships. No new injuries, and while neither of them had cause to be smiling brightly, he didn't look like he was falling apart either. "I um... come in. I'm not sure how much good I can do tonight. It looks like... ah- my flashlight that is... I think it's dy- it's not working anymore."

F9

[mugenreppa.livejournal.com]

Mele tapped her fingers on the desk, eyes narrowed. So. The 'Head Doctor' was back.

Nothing to do with the past two nights? Mele had assumed there was only one person responsible for the entire mess of the institute. But if Mele could accept that 'Landel' was not the same entity as 'Long'....

Mele leaned back into the chair, folding her arms. What had happened at the town...was that one of the things the 'Head Doctor' (who may or may not be 'Landel', Mele hadn't quite figured that out yet,) claimed not to be responsible for? The zombies...they'd not been like rinshi, couldn't organize themselves, and, according to Hinamori Momo, didn't have their souls. And they were rotted; did that merely mean they'd been buried in a normal plot of land, unobstructed from decaying normally? But if that was so, why had revival even been possible?

And he'd said the last "two" nights. The screaming, the mechanical voice?

But if—if—he was telling the truth and this wasn't some ploy to mess with their minds...who had done the things from the last two nights?

Enemy dynamics. This had been so much easier when she was an observer of fights...Mele shook her head. Right, aside from the mysterious 'Landel', there was the intercom guy, and Head Nurse Lydia. She couldn't get any reading of Lydia's personality from her announcements, but that wasn't unexpected. Mele paused in her thinking. The nurses. Lydia was 'Head Nurse', did that mean...? Lydia could have been among them. So the nurses were in on this? ...Well of course they were; they were the ones who locked the prisoners in and insisted on calling her "Airi." In a way, the nurses were to Lydia what the rinshi had been to Mele, once...an army.

Which brought her right back to why they were nurses, why this elaborate lie of an institute. She'd seen the way the residents of that town looked at her and her fellow inmates. And why allow them out into the town at all?

Which came all the way back to what the intercom guy had said about 'training'. Be prepared, her body seemed to scream at her. But she already knew that.

[demon-beast.livejournal.com]

Argilla watched as her roommate left, taking her time to savour the brownie, licking the crumbs off her fingers with obvious delight. Once the very last was gone, she left the bed and went over to the closet to grab her pickaxe, slinging it over her shoulder easily. She had seen the message on the bulletin, and she wanted to see her tribe again. Heat seemed different to how she remembered too, and the differences in their memories intrigued and disturbed her.

She stepped out into the hallway, heading towards the exit.

[demon-beast.livejournal.com]

[To here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/727542.html?thread=60407798#t60407798)]