damned_institute | Nightshift 22: 2nd floor, top of stairs by the medical reference library

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Nightshift 22: 2nd floor, top of stairs by the medical reference library

(from here)

"I'll take your word for it," Jack said. "All I ate was the cake." And as cake went, it had been pretty good, he had to admit.

And then they were at the top of the stairs. He hugged the inside wall for a moment, before slowly easing out into the new hallway, listening for anything untoward.

So far, so good.

"Looks like we have three choices," he said quietly over his shoulder. "Left, right, or straight."

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Zabuza stopped when he heard Haku. He had smelled the blood too, of course, but he hadn't cared enough to stop. His eyes narrowed at the spear. The rest of his expression was hidden under the strips of cloth that he had wrapped around the lower part of his face.

He knew that Haku could help. There were many times where the boy had healed his wounds. He stayed back as Haku moved forward, alert to their surrounding and unwilling to leave Haku alone with a stranger.

Adelheid slowly considered the two of them, his crimson eyes focusing and regarding them. The boy seemed thin, girlish- quite a bit like Shion, which hinted at proficiency in weapons. The other man was taller, quiet, his face obscured and his musculature not as much... was he more of the boss, who let his underling speak for him? Or was he a silent guardian?

Still, it wasn't as though the German had much of a choice in the matter. If there was any chance for healing, he would be forced to take it. "That depends on what price you put on your aid."

He had to get used to the idea that everything would have its price. Altruism had no place for a 'merchant of death', and therefore he had to assume that when he was in such a poor bargaining position, he would have to pay dearly for what he was forced to obtain.

Haku swung his 'bag' around and rummaged around in it. "I require no payment," he said, voice soft. "However, I would like to ask you a question. You are free to answer or not, your choice." He pulled bandages and antiseptic out of his bag.

He set the bottle down, still holding the bandages in one hand and then, in a quick series of moves, lightly tapped four spots on the blonde's arm and once on his chest.

The acupressure points would serve to relieve most, if not all, of the pain of what he was about to do. That is... if his body reacted like a human's would. Haku had no doubts that some of those trapped here might not be human.

Briskly, and without changing the gentle, concentrated expression on his face, Haku set to work cleaning the wounds he found. "I wish to know where and how you managed to obtain your weapon."

Zabuza's expression darkened when Haku said they wouldn't be taking a payment. He looked at the weapon. It wasn't a sword, but he wanted it. Being unharmed was too exposing. The pens he had grabbed wouldn't really do much.

The problem was that Haku had already said it and he didn't want to seem contradictory. It was better if people assumed they were of one mind. The boy usually knew what he was doing and possessed the only opinions Zabuza cared about that were not his own.

Zabuza remained silent as he watched Haku work, finding strange comfort in the fact that the young shinobi had already found medicine and had not lost his ability to heal.

Hm... Adelheid glanced from one man to another, not missing that look of desire in the other man's eyes, nor the fact that he had said nothing despite that desire. It was entirely possible, then, that his second assumption had been correct and the taller man was a guardian for the younger. But... no, something seemed wrong about that guess. The smallest of the three had a gentle, almost docile demeanor about him; a polar opposite of the lords Adelheid knew.

In time, perhaps, the German would discover the truth for himself.

For that moment, however, his gaze shifted back to Haku, suddenly interested by the acupressure strikes. Despite their obvious utility, acupressure had really not been advanced as a fighting style in the tournaments- for obvious reasons- and Adelheid had never encountered one who used it in person before. He almost wanted to ask if he could learn it, with his family's technique... but no, he was already indebted enough, even if the boy said that no payment was required.

Thankfully, even though his blood was stained with the stench of an earth deity, Adelheid himself was still human enough that the acupressure did as intended, alleviating the pain of having his bloody and skin-less palms cleaned out. And, as the German was no stranger to agony, he only gritted his teeth as raw wounds were tended to. Though the electrical burns that trailed from his palms all the way down to his feet? That would be another matter entirely. He hoped, with every fiber of his being, that the other would be discrete; Adel would have hated to seem ungrateful to someone who was already going out of his way to aid him.

As for the question? The taller boy simply answered, "The spear was made for me in this Institute a night or so ago. The knife in my pocket was given to me by another patient." There; no hidden surprises, no concealed weapons. It wasn't as though Adel was a threat in any case, but he did want the other two to know that he was concealing nothing. A small price to pay for the healing he was receiving, especially as he was far better trained in unarmed combat than with weapons.

Haku wrapped his palms with bandages, frowning slightly. "I can only give you minor first-aid here," he said. "I do now doubt that those who heal us here will do better come morning." He recalled waking up with his own wounds bandaged and fought back his uneasiness that someone had been that close to him while he was unaware.

"May I ask who made you the weapon?" Haku kept his voice calm and soft. He understood if the tall blond didn't want to answer him. After all, he wasn't obligated to. But he could tell that his Master wasn't going to be happy with that answer.

Zabuza grunted slightly, letting Haku know that his patience with this was wearing thin. He understood the boy's need to help, it was a good way to gather information. That and Haku was too kind of his own good, but staying in one place made him uneasy, especially when they weren't getting anything out of it.

"Doubtless such would be the case," Adelheid quietly agreed, a bit of a frown on his face, "Thank you for what you have done." Minor first aid was good, but he had his own medical kit waiting for him, and that still didn't solve the greatest of his problems. A minor favor deserved only minor information, then.

That, and he wished to be gone from the taller man's presence. The grunt from him informed Adelheid that he was, in fact, incorrect, and that the man with the wrappings around his face was the one in command. Interesting, that; though it meant that future business dealings would likely have to be with him. Not a promising prospect.

...and why were the boy's fingers so cold? Another mystery for the tall teenager to unravel, perhaps. "I am afraid that giving their names would be inviting trouble. However, if you wish for a weapon to be made, I can pass your wishes on to them, as well as to add that I am in your debt. That is the best I can promise; they can not make something out of nothing, and the manufacture of weaponry is as exhausting one way as it is another, regardless of how much faster it may be."

Perhaps not the answer that the big guy was wanting, but Adelheid wanted to cut to the chase and conduct business, as all parties were obviously wishing to do so and move on. Besides, he wasn't going to reveal that the bottoms of his feet were as badly mangled as the palms of his hands, and therefore he needed to begin his own treatment as soon as possible.

"I appreciate the help," Haku said, his smile warm even through the bandages on his face. He started to place things back into the part of the pants he'd modified that served as his bag. He knew that Zabuza-san was eager to leave and he moved to stand closer to him, signaling that he would follow.

He looked over the blond man. "Will you be alright to walk to safety?" The taller man hadn't mentioned any other injuries and Haku would never pry, but he was concerned. He could smell more blood than just the wounds on his hands could make.

"Who cares?" Zabuza said with a vicious tone before the man could answer. "The weak should die, Haku. You've gotten anything useful out of him so we're done." He paused, looking out into the dark hallway for a moment. "You are too kind," he added. He didn't care if the man could hear him saying such things to Haku. He had already learned that Haku could help him, and if he wasn't work the acquaintance he would die soon anyway. He always thought that Haku was too kind and too pure for a shinobi, but that hadn't meant that the boy was weak. If anything he was one of the strongest ninja that Zabuza knew.

Adelheid felt like his blood was going to run cold. 'The weak should perish, only the strong survived.' That was the philosophy his own father had raised him with, and only through sheer force of will had he turned from that path and went to something kinder, something nobler.

And now, just when he was turning back to his father's path, he found a proponent of that same philosophy, and a boy who, like himself, seemed not to follow that course. It was... more than a little unsettling. "The weak perish on their own, in this place; for that matter, please do not go down the hallway I came from, the one to the far left, and certainly not into the kennels there. Not unless you are somehow impervious to lightning."

That he had survived such a bolt could be considered a testament to his own resilience, but he rather just didn't want to see Haku suffer as he had. Such a gentle person, despite his obvious talents, shouldn't walk into an ambush. "As for me? Yes; I've suffered far worse than this before, and despite my condition I'm far from helpless." His ki still flowed through his body, after all; even one like Zabuza wouldn't be able to defeat him without at least suffering some wounds. "However, please seek me out during breakfast tomorrow, or at some other time? At that time you may inform me further as to what you would wish made for you."

As, at this rate, Adelheid wasn't certain that he'd even be able to remember, let alone make sure that the request was followed up on. Still, he flexed his fingers and tested the bandages, impressed by the skill Haku had shown. Yes, he'd certain try to live up to his side of the debt... and he was worried about the other boy, as well. But now was neither the time, nor the place, for further inquiries. "Until then, take care of yourselves."

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Nightshift 22: 2nd floor, top of stairs by the medical reference library

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