damned_institute | Nightshift 46: M11-M20 Hallway

Stiff as his movements were, and sore as he still was, Dias had indeed planned to go out for the night. There was nothing to be gained if he remained in his room, nothing to do save consider the time he was wasting or, even more compellingly, his death and all the potential repercussions of it. Rather than that, he might as well go out and try to accomplish something, even if he was in no condition for that something to be anything significant. He would have left already, if his injuries hadn't made changing into his clothes from Expel a slower and more painful process than usual.

He'd been pulling on a gauntlet - the last part of his outfit - when the knock came, and an uncomfortably familiar voice followed it. Celes would probably not look kindly on his plans for the night. "...Come in."

Celes flipped her flashlight in one hand idly and opened the door. Her expression immediately turned sterner upon seeing Dias up, dressed, and looking like he'd been preparing for a trip out.

Would none of the men in this institute learn that, contrary to their pig-headed and mule-minded beliefs, they were not invincible. She closed the door behind her and crossed her arms under her breasts. "Reviving from the dead is a very impressive trick, but don't think you'll be making a repeat performance of it anytime soon."

The look on Celes' face when she saw him dressed told Dias everything he needed to know about the rest of the night - namely, that if he was going to go anywhere, it would be an uphill battle to convince her of why that might even begin to be a good idea. And when it came to persuading people of things, he was far better at using his sword than his mouth.

"That was my third resurrection," he replied, cocking an eyebrow at her. "I've got a reputation to uphold by now." He doubted flippancy would do anything to lessen the tension on her end, but it certainly made it easier for him to deal with the thought.

So this was the nightlife.

Axel couldn't say that he was all that impressed though. From how his roommate was harping he expected monsters to be swarming all over the place, but there didn't seem to be any of that within sight. In fact, it looked like people were just lingering around like this was no big deal, but it probably wasn't. The Nobody didn't really have much to complain about if that were the case. With the doors open like this Axel knew it was as good an opportunity as any to find out more about this institute. Asking around wouldn't be a bad idea, but for now he preferred to see it for himself.

However, that seemingly perpetual grin disappeared momentarily from his face when tried and failed to summon the Dark Corridor.

Right, he guessed it made sense. After all, he didn't exactly need the Darkness in the afterlife, but it would've made things a hell of a lot easier. Walking was such a drag, but it was better than nothing he supposed.

Oh well. Part of him wondered if he should stick with the brunet for a bit, but there didn't seem to be any harm in doing some exploring alone. In the end Axel shrugged, pointing his flashlight at the floor and made his way to the end of the hall.

[To here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/784253.html?thread=64274045#t64274045).]

Edited 2010-01-09 04:18 (UTC)

"If you... what?" Haseo asked, vaguely flustered. He suddenly found himself with a sense of hazy déjà vu, and for a moment he hesitated with an odd expression approaching sadness on his face. He couldn't help but think that he'd somehow gotten himself destined for walking into situations of increasing complication.

In the end, he still didn't quite know what to make of affection expressed quite like that, even if Endrance was well-meaning, and especially with his feelings on the matter confusing him far more than he found pleasant. At least he somehow managed to avoid further embarrassment even as his mind fled elsewhere. As unideal as it sounded even to him, he still couldn't argue himself out of making the best of what he had.

"I... don't mind. I guess," he admitted, at last realizing that what Endrance was doing was probably all he'd meant. That, however, did embarrass him, and he straightened as he cleared his throat, trying desperately to collect the pieces of his regular demeanor back together. "Right... come on, then."

She held up a hand to keep him from talking. "Enough. Allow me to be crystal clear, Dear Sir: you're going to stay in this room tonight even if I must restrain you." And from the tone of her voice, she meant exactly that.

Her face didn't soften a bit as she continued (though if he really expected it to, he was talking to the wrong woman), "You're hardly in the condition to go wandering about the halls tonight, a strong breeze could knock you over and then those giant cockroaches would thank the gods for their free meal. But as I am not so poor a friend to allow you, dear Dias, to remain alone tonight, I've elected to stay with you." Really, he should've felt touched.

Though it made her feel rather touched in the head to say it like that. "So, take off those gloves, and sit. Down."

Kakashi closed his eyes when Landel announced the end of night. Whatever personal issues he had, now they would be pushed aside in favor of the mission. Of course he couldn't forget so easily, but Kakashi knew better than most at what points such things risked causing distraction. He'd have Obito with him, and later, Sakura and Raphael. He couldn't afford to be anything but confident in that situation, since he'd have the coolest head by far.

Kakashi started gathering his supplies, and soon had reason to be glad he'd gotten dressed during dinner; he gave Dias a look of mild curiosity as he invited a woman in, but said nothing. Finding a place for the sword proved enough of a distraction, given it's odd shape and lack of sheath. He finally settled on carrying it for the moment, as it would give him a chance to move with it before he ended up battling with it. Then he headed towards the door, which apparently would be far simpler for Kakashi than his roommate. He almost felt bad for Dias, having been on the receiving end of a few lectures like that himself. But then, any sympathy didn't keep him from chuckling as he left the man to his fate.

Once in the corridor, Kakashi headed towards Obito's room, conveniently only a single hall away. Still, the jounin almost felt like he couldn't move fast enough, particularly if Obito got impatient and hadn't waited. The last thing he needed to do was wander the halls alone.

Dias heard the chuckle as Kakashi slipped out - at Celes' arrival, he'd almost forgotten the man hadn't left yet - and made a mental note to give Kakashi extra tempura the next chance he got. His life was difficult enough at present without his roommate taking amusement at his expense.

"It'd have to be a very strong breeze," he countered Celes dryly, although he did slowly sink back to a seated position on his bed. He made no move to take off his gloves. "And you don't need to act as though you're staying to keep me company when we both know you're staying just to act as my warden."

"R-right." There was something a little sad in Endrance's expression for a moment, but he put that out of his mind as he straightened and walked towards his closet. A moment later, he returned, putting the short sword on the bed and showing Haseo the pipe in his free hand.

"Take that...you're used to fighting with two of them. I'll make do for the time being."

Edited 2010-01-11 04:03 (UTC)

Ashton's cool-seeming (if a little teasing) roommate had already left, giving the brunet a few moments alone to himself. He finished his meal - particularly relishing the remaining bits of the delicious dessert - and did some evening stretches. A place like this was so sedentary, and he was worried his muscles would start getting weaker if he didn't train.

Up, down, up, down. Side, side, touch toes, up, reach for the sky. Or the dark ceiling. Everything was dark in here; he was afraid he'd bump into something if he didn't watch out.

Oh, yes! Hadn't there been a portable lamp underneath his pillow? He'd discovered it the other day... Ah, here it was! Okay. The light was on... He continued to exercise, squatting slowly so he could feel the maximum burn. Up, down, up.

He paused for a second, worrying mid-stretch. What if he'd given Claude the wrong room number? Then Claude would never be able to find him...! He'd be running around the wrong hallway, or even around the wrong side of the institute!! Oh, no!

The light source in his hand, Ashton peeked outside his door, shining it up and down the hallway.

"...Claude?"

Edited 2010-01-11 04:18 (UTC)

Good, he was sitting again. That was one more point in Celes's favor. "It's one and the same to me, you know. Not only do I get to speak to you for an unmarked length of time, but I also get to make sure you do not attempt anything decidedly foolish." She smiled thinly, though it was genuine.

She took a few steps forward, though her hands never left her hips, pointedly reminding him that he'd just better stay there if he knew what was good for him. A little dark part of her quietly relished having control over something again. Oh, how she'd missed it.

Touya frowned. Yue was obviously not doing well, but at the same time refused to accept any gesture or even suggestion of comfort. It was beyond frustrating, though Touya managed to stay calm. He wasn't the type to be on a hair-trigger to begin with, and for some reason the coliseum had made his fuse even longer. Of course, he was still a little annoyed that Yue wouldn't even let Touya hold his hand of all things.

"She's fine," Touya said, standing up and moving out the door and into the hallway. "She asked me if Fai went home after he was killed. Let her be optimistic--if we both charged in there after I told her we were all taking a break, she'd worry even more, right? Or feel like it was her fault somehow."

He looked down the hallway then back to Yue. "Even if you won't admit it, you need more attention than either me or Sakura. We weren't the ones in that arena. I may have resigned myself to letting you handle everything else, but at least let me help with something that isn't going to get me killed or injured.

"Or," Touya backed up a step out of the doorway. "I'll go back to my room by myself and you can sit here with a sleeping Ken, and replay what happened over and over again. Yuki would, at least, so I have a feeling you would too."

He crossed his arms and looked coolly at Yue. "So. What's it going to be?" This was a massive gamble he was taking, and frankly if Yue decided to stay and mope, Touya wouldn't be happy with that at all. But he couldn't drag Yue out of the room and back to his own. Not only would that creative a big scene, but Touya hadn't forgotten how much stronger Yue was. He didn't know what sorts of things Yue could or would do to separate himself from Touya.

Yue only stared back at Touya for several heartbeats, his expression held carefully blank as he considered the options. Touya was right; he knew it and Yukito knew it, but only one of them was willing to admit to it. We'd be better off with someone else tonight, Yukito murmured, his presence growing stronger enough that Yue realized he wasn't going to simply drop the issue, either. We spent all day thinking about it and nothing has changed. He wants to help. I want to let him.

Let him? Yue immediately rejected the idea without thought; letting someone help him meant letting himself care. He couldn't do that again; it wasn't even an option. And yet Yukito persisted, not in words, but in a surge of silent affection. He cared about Yue, it said, no matter what the guardian might think.

Finally Yue flicked his wings once and settled them against his back, careful to hold them close to prevent any problems getting through the door like he'd experienced the night previous. "Very well. We'll go." With the assent he stepped forward, moving toward the door himself.

Hard as it was, Touya allowed himself a small smile, face turned away from Yue. He'd been beginning to doubt the validity of his earlier thought that Yue and Yuki weren't so different, but then things like this popped up and he'd remember what he first saw the day he gave up his power.

"If anything," Touya offered, walking down the hallway next to Yue. "It will give Ken a chance to sleep without us talking in his ear while he's trying to rest?" Perhaps a different approach would loosen Yue a bit--if only a bit. He seemed stiffer than usual...

Couldn't be. Touya must've been reading too much into it. After all, Yue was already upset, why not stiff as well?

Haseo took a few seconds to continue internally steadying himself, and by the time Endrance spoke to him again he'd mostly regained his nerve, standing as casually as he could with his weight shifted to one side. His eyes drifted from the metal pipe to the sword, expression flattening with the rush of indignation.

"I'm not used to fighting with anything!" he protested, making an awkward gesture with the newer sword he'd brought with him. "Well, not like this anyway. Besides, I'm not sure how I'm supposed to carry all this crap when I've only got two arms. Unless you want me to stab myself." He paused, taking a breath- that wasn't exactly fair. It seemed that dinner he hadn't eaten was haunting him in the form of irritability. Or something... the usual, deceptively-vague option of "everything all at once" was viable too.

"Look, here," he said, lower in tone, and without further warning pulled the metal pipe from Endrance's hand. "... Now I've got two weapons and you can take the sword." He didn't wait for the counter-protest or flowery speech or whatever else, shifting the pipe to halfway under his arm, grabbing the other things he'd brought, and going for the door.

[ To here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/781144.html?thread=64382552#t64382552). ]

Edited 2010-01-12 18:10 (UTC)

Once through the door Yue allowed his wings to relax slightly, but there was no corresponding change to his own posture. The change of topic was a welcome one, and he gave Touya a brief sidelong glance and nodded. "He's been sleeping quite a bit lately," he observed, frowning slightly. "I've been starting to wonder if something is wrong. Did he seem injured when...you last saw him?"

And then even that ended up moving around back to the night before. The realization made Yue's frown deepen; his wings twitched slightly before he moved on, walking just a little bit faster now.

[to here]

[To here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/781617.html?thread=64395057#t64395057)]

"Speak to me, or at me?" Dias asked guardedly. He wasn't so naive to think that he was done with lectures for the foreseeable future. In fact, he doubted Celes had even begun to get started on him.

It didn't help that he got the distinct impression that she was kind of enjoying this, somehow.

((From here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/785301.html?thread=64179093#t64179093).))

Once Claude had gotten close enough to where his friend was peering out from his room, he greeted him with an enthusiastic whisper. "Ashton! It's me!" He hoped he hadn't kept him waiting too long. Gosh, though -- it sure was a lucky thing that he had the same hallway as Luke. Funny, how things worked out like that sometimes.

Ashton looked like he was in good health, which was a relief. Not that anything should have happened to him since lunchtime, but this place had a way with being dangerous at the most unexpected times. The only thing that was off was that Ashton no longer had his outfit from Expel even though it was nighttime. It made Claude feel a little guilty for wearing his own Federation uniform, but he guess it couldn't be helped.

"Is your roommate still here?" he asked. Up until now it hadn't occurred to him that maybe the person Claude roomed with would also be in need of traveling companions, though it was also possible he'd managed to find someone else to explore with. Still, he figured it would be polite to check first.

Claude waved back before turning away and heading down the hallway. Some part of him was concerned about Guy's injuries, but since he wouldn't be wandering around alone he imagined he'd be just fine.

Now all Claude needed to worry about was finding Ashton's room. It was in this hallway, thankfully, so he didn't have to go far. Just as he was about to start counting room numbers, however, a gleam of light caught his eye, and he heard a familiar voice. His first instinct was to call out to Ashton, but he held back. It'd probably be better not to make too much noise, even if the patient hallways were generally safer than the rest of the institute.

Still, Ashton was here. Even after talking to him earlier, it was difficult to believe. Without even realizing it, Claude's face broke into a smile, and he hurried toward the light's source.

((To here.)) (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/785301.html?thread=64331413#t64331413) ()

And there Claude was, just as promised! Perhaps he already knew the way. "Oh - hello, Claude!" Ashton beckoned Claude into his room. If there truly were monsters in the hallways at night, it was probably safer to talk in a closed area. "Come in, come in!"

The question about his roommate caused him to shake his head. "Oh, Axel? He already went out. I hope he'll be all right..." Ashton bit his lip for a moment, thinking about the redhead. Would he really be okay?... Well, the man looked versed enough in the ways of the world to at least escape if he had to. Ashton had stuck around him long enough to tell that he had been through a battle or two in his time. Maybe it was the eyes. The eyes of a fighter. Was that even possible? Did Ashton have the eyes of a fighter? ...

Hmm, now he wanted a mirror...

Oddly enough, Claude looked... normal. He was wearing the same strange, alien clothing that he'd always worn back on Expel, and he looked so comfortable in it. Rather envious, Ashton felt that he had to comment on it. "That outfit... gosh, that sure brings back memories. How lucky that you were able to find it!"

Claude stepped into Ashton's room once he was invited in, struck by the faint sense of déjà vu that washed over him as he did so. It was almost strange to have Ashton back again, and yet his presence was so familiar that it was difficult not to feel comforted by it. Finding him alive and well like this was almost like letting out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding for days on end.

When his friend dropped his roommate's name, he was stunned into silence. So it was Axel after all! Who would have thought! Of course, it might been weird to suddenly spring the fact that he and Axel used to be roommates on poor Ashton. All the other stuff was probably hard enough to swallow as it was. As strong as his urge to blurt everything out was, Claude managed to hold his tongue. For now, at least.

"O-oh, okay," he answered after a brief pause. "Well, I'm sure he'll be fine if he felt confident enough to go out on his own." Either that, or he was just incredibly dumb, but Claude had already gotten a chance to see how Axel responded under pressure. Yeah, a guy like that would be just fine out there.

When Ashton called more attention to his uniform, Claude glanced down at his shirt. It was strange how it'd been repaired since ripping it the other night. Claude didn't really understand how it'd been done, much less why their captors would bother with a detail like that. Oh, well. Like he could really find it in himself to complain about it.

"I know, right?" He remembered how he'd felt, slipping on those clothes for the first time since he'd arrived here. Having another choice besides that stupid smiley face shirt was almost...well, liberating, in a way. Even on Expel he'd never been able to bring himself to buy another outfit, so getting the chance to wear his old clothes here had been a nice breath of fresh air, to say the least.

"I found it in my closet, actually," Claude added as he looked up at Ashton again. "Did you ever check in yours?"

"Both, at my prerogative," Celes replied calmly. She adjusted her bracers and took another few steps forward. If she'd judged correctly (and she knew she had), there was enough space between them for her to cover all his possible exits.

Unless, of course, he did something particularly surprising. "Have you spoken with Claude at all?" The little thread of pleasure coiled warmly in her stomach. Enjoying this? Her? Well... yes.

Ashton didn't miss the pause that went along with the stunned look on Claude's face, but he wasn't sure how to address asking about it... or even if he should. There were some things Ashton wasn't going to delve into. If Claude had wanted to say something, wouldn't he have said it already?

The curiosity wasn't going to kill him; he already knew that being curious could be a wellspring for bad luck.

Anyway, he addressed it: "He didn't know there were monsters here before I told him, but he didn't seem to care that much beyond being surprised. It's strange having to tell people about this place... I don't really know that much myself, you see, and I've already had to tell two whole people." He sighed. "I'm just not good at explaining."

Hoping Claude didn't mind if he inspected his shirt a little bit, he stepped a little closer and pointed the light source at him. Yes, this was the exact same outfit he'd had - same stitching and everything.

"Really? It was in plain sight? In your closet?" Ashton's face lit up, and he nearly dropped his lamp in the process of gaping. He hadn't checked there, no. "I better look!"

He opened the closet on his side of the room tentatively, peering inside, and - ... Oh! This was it! The same fabric with the same relaxing feel to it... Even the soft fur around the neck. Oh, goodness gracious sakes alive! Here it was!

"Lucky for me! Look, Claude!" He wondered if there was something similar waiting for Axel in his own closet.

Ashton went about putting his favorite headband on, beaming all the while. It was as if he'd just discovered a barrel under the bed.

Edited 2010-01-20 02:52 (UTC)

To be honest, Claude couldn't say he was completely surprised that Ashton had found his outfit. After all, the people running this place had decided to let him have it before, so why would now be any different? Not that he knew why they let people have their stuff back in the first place, but it made sense to him, at least. Even if he wasn't surprised, though, it was good to see he had it back. Now they could walk around wearing the same clothes they always did.

It would be like old times.

The thought was a comforting one, to say the least. Old times meant fighting side-by-side in victorious battles, or drinking ice-cold tea in weird cafes, or making preparations before starting out on a new journey. But Claude knew few of those things would be found here. This was Ashton, his dear friend, but their time together now was different from before. Claude suspected it always would be, yet simply having Ashton here with him was enough to ease his mind.

"That's great, Ashton!" he said brightly. "If you're going to wander around the place, may as well do it in style, right?" At any rate, it was a heck of a lot better than the uniforms they were supposed to wear, that was for sure.

"Why don't you go ahead and put it on?" Claude suggested. "I could turn the other way while you change."

Nightshift 46: M11-M20 Hallway

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