damned_institute | Night 48: F11-F20 Hallway

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Night 48: F11-F20 Hallway

The night kicked off with another cryptic, creepy message from the Head Doctor. A rebel? Was he talking about Jill, or maybe another comrade of hers?

Well, whatever. Anise figured it was best not to think on it too much. There was a chance that this was just another ploy to make Jill seem trustworthy, after all. Anise had more important things to think about! Like how she was going to get to the ruins tonight. Ugh. How could she let the whole day pass by without at least asking someone to join her? She couldn't just go alone... could she?

For a minute, Anise was seriously considering that thought, but she knew her friends would probably be upset with her if she went through with it. In a way, she was more worried about getting scolded by them than she was about getting attacked by monsters. Even though getting attacked while on her own would be seriously bad...

When she thought about it, though, there was another way to go about this. She could head outside, see if she could find some other bold individual going the same way, then join up with him or her! Preferably a 'him'. A handsome 'him' would be even better.

As she did every night, Anise gathered her things for the excursion: the meat tenderizer, flashlight, running shoes, and a balled-up pillowcase stuffed into Tokunaga's sack. Once she was ready, she gave the room one last glance to make sure she had everything, then slipped out into the dark hallway.

[to here]

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That was it. Beatrix wanted to treat the children to something, and her only viable option was the Patient Possessions Room. Full armed (she never went anywhere at night without her sword and knives), she stepped out into the hallway.

Rika's room was in this hall somewhere...

Rika was practiced at feeling uneasy. It had become almost an art form, over the course of those repeating games, and might have been funny if it weren't sad.

She nodded to Anise once she had left, then began to get ready - "real" shoes, her sweatshirt, and as always, that long knife wrapped in a bundle of shirts.

She wouldn't - no. Couldn't say how close she had come to using it the night previous. Rika had said her apologies and done what penance she could through words. It didn't stop all the guilt, but it helped. She almost wanted to leave the weapon, but...no. The chances of an attack were too high.

Rika took a deep breath, stepping out into the hallway. "Arlene-san? Hi." She hadn't expected the company, but it was still very welcome.

Seeing Rika, Beatrix walked over to her. Placing her hand gently on the girl's head, she smiled.

"I was just thinking of you. Would you like to come with me tonight?"

She returned that smile, even giggling just a bit.

"I'd love to. Where did you think of going?"

Such a sweet girl. Beatrix wondered what Rika was like back in Hinamizawa and who her friends that were lucky enough not to be captured were like.

"Well, I've been meaning to spoil you and Hanyuu. I can't take you to a toy store, but I can take you to the closest we can find here." She tilted her head a little. "Maybe find you some new clothes?"

"That sounds really nice. Thank you so much!" That reminded her - where was Hanyuu? She stepped up a little, knocking at her friend's door, but there wasn't an answer right away.

"Hm. She must be asleep...I don't want to keep you waiting, though. So should we go on?"

[Not sure if we're waiting or not, so...]

Hanyuu lifted her head, blinking sleepily a few times. What had--

"Ah!" Realization dawned, and the spirit immediately jumped up, nearly tripping over herself in her haste. She hadn't meant to fall asleep--again--but it seemed the lack of conversation from her roommate had resulted in just that. How long had it been? Was nightshift almost over? And what had...

The door, that was what had woke her up. There weren't many people she could imagine coming to look for her, although she knew that it could very well be someone looking for her roommate too. Regardless, she padded to the door and opened it, peering out curiously.

"Rika, Arlene!" Hanyuu smiled and slipped into the hall. It was only a few seconds before her smile fell, though. "Um, e-everything's okay, right?"

Finally, nightfall. Hopefully they'd make better progress tonight. Or worse, in a sense. Having spent all their time getting to the basement only for it to end right before they did anything was the most frustrating.

Not surprisingly, the chainsaw she'd gotten then had not followed her back to the room. Apparently things obtained in the basement followed their own rules, not like the baseball bat which Hime pulled out now. It would have to do; with any luck, she'd be getting something nastier tonight.

It was probably too much to hope there was a chainsaw in the gardening shed.

[To here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/841908.html?thread=67456948#t67456948)]</small.

Ruby lay on her bed, glaring up at the ceiling. While being able to play the hurt girl last night had been nice (in a way), dealing with the consequences this morning had really gotten on her nerves. She was used to injuries healing in a matter of hours, if not sooner, but her leg still throbbed and she found herself walking with a distinct limp.

She remembered being a human rather well. What she didn’t remember, however, was how annoying it was.

Ruby had been in and out of her room all day, mostly in. She had milked her “accident” (or very bizarre suicide attempt; the nurses hadn’t really been clear on which it was) for all that she could, claiming that she didn’t feel ‘well’ enough to mingle. The only exception had been the shower. They’d wrapped her leg in plastic to keep the twenty-odd stitches from dissolving before they were ready and away she went.

On her way out of the Sun Room after her shower, she’d noticed Sam’s note. It had been kind of hard not to notice it. Years of hunting had mad Sam extremely careful when it came to disguising his handwriting, and yet that had been so sloppily done that he might as well have put up neon signs. And he was staying in? Well, that wasn’t really like him either.

Naturally, the only choice was to pay him a visit. They needed to talk more anyway.

[going here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/842092.html?thread=67512172#t67512172).]

Edited 2010-03-25 05:17 (UTC)

Here, again, the night started, and as the nights before, Renamon moved to gather her things, reaching under the bed for her knuckle and scalpels. Halfway to placing them, the Digimon paused, and slowly moved to the closet to glance at the jacket within. So it had stayed from that night almost a week back. She eyed the ears hesitantly, then slipped into it, the black covering up at least some of the grey. The pockets proved themselves useful as well. That done, she picked up the long knife and carefully slid it into a sleeve. It was by no means a permanent solution but it was one that would do.

[to here]

Dinner over, Celes slipped out with Dias's sword and a slightly lighter heart. It was time, once again, to go out there. But... first.

She needed to apologize to Edgar for her outburst. ~~And perhaps, if it so pleased him, he'd apologize to her.~~

[to here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/841269.html?thread=67454517#t67454517)]

Ewww. If the Head Stick-in-the-Mud was going to talk on the intercom, the least he could do was blow his nose first. Harley felt like she was catching something just listening to the guy. Hopefully he decided to stay locked up in wherever-he-was so it didn't spread.

Hmm, maybe that was something to keep in mind while she was out shopping tonight. If she played this right, it might come in handy if everyone caught pneumonia. Heheheh.

Harley stripped the pillowcase from her pillow as a makeshift burlap sack, snatched her flashlight and iron poker, and ran out the door in a mad dash like she was participating in a race. She was in such a rush, she didn't even make a departing comment to her roommate. Whether this meant she was mad or just distracted, who could say?

[to here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/841908.html?thread=67567284#t67567284)]

Edited 2010-03-27 01:49 (UTC)

What a strange message... Sakura wasn't really sure what the Head Doctor meant or who he was referring to, but whatever it was, it didn't sound good. Pulling out her flashlight, Sakura had to give it a shake to get it working. Maybe it was time for batteries?

At any rate, Touya and Yue were probably coming at any minute, so Sakura plopped back down onto the bed and laid down, her legs dangling off the edge. Would they ever find their way home?

(From here. (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/842834.html?thread=67491922#t67742290))

Touya thought that he and Yue and Yuki could probably make this walk blindfolded now. It wasn't a very eventful trip, it never really was. Unless cursing their need to be productive during the nights classified as 'eventful'.

He stopped in front of Sakura's door and knocked. Another night, another gathering at Sakura's room.

"It's us," he called, shoving his hands in his pockets.

Yue had allowed himself to fall back slightly as they approached their destination, and when Touya knocked he glanced away, watching the hallway with a wary air. Their nights had been so quiet and uneventful for so long that it made him feel on edge -- not that he was expecting anything like that night in the basement, but it felt almost as though whatever inevitably happened would only be worse for the time in which nothing happened.

The intercom message only made that feeling worse, and the guardian's feathers ruffled at the sound of the Head Doctor's voice, his jaw clenching at the reminder of the last time he'd heard it in the middle of the night. Not that Landel had anything useful to say, of course. Only tantalizing hints which might very well be more lies. More deception to give the patients a semblance of hope in a place where it was useless.

It was strange that Touya and Yue had taken so long tonight. Typically, they arrived within minutes, but tonight, Sakura had the opportunity to stare up at the ceiling for longer than she thought she had to. Waiting for so long gave her a dreadful feeling. The hall between the boys' and girls' blocks were typically safe, so it was unlikely that they ran into a monster on the way here. So what happened? The longer she had to wait, the more Sakura worried.

Thus, once she heard her brother's voice on the other side of her door, she breathed a sigh of relief. "Coming!" she shouted as she sat up on her bed. Quickly grasping her flashlight, Sakura hopped up and opened the door.

"You guys are okay!" she shouted after seeing their faces on the other side and hugged her brother tightly around the waist.

And that was the clincher. The nail in Touya's proverbial guilt-coffin. He shot a nervous glance at Yue before putting a hand on Sakura's back.

"Yeah... we didn't mean to worry you. Yuki and I just got to talking." It was... more or less the truth. And it wasn't like he was going to tell Sakura every detail about his love life. Especially when it was so painfully obvious that she had a major crush on Yuki.

"C'mon, let's get inside. It's not safe out here," he said, urging Sakura back into her room.

Sakura's obvious concern was enough to make Yukito wince inwardly, feeling guilty for not only making her worry, but making Touya feel guilty as well. At the same time, though...he was still glad that they'd had a moment to spend together. They just needed to find a way to do it without making Sakura think that something was wrong. Somehow.

Outwardly, however, Yue only met Touya's glance without expression, then looked away again and inclined his head in greeting to Sakura. "Do we have a plan for this evening?" he inquired, his wings shifting and re-folding with a soft rustle of feathers. "If so, we should leave immediately."

"Okay," Sakura agreed, leading the boys back into her room. She honestly cared more about the safety of the boys as opposed to the time they had at night. There would indubitably be more nights to explore.

Sitting back onto her bed, Sakura glanced back up at Yue to address his concerns. "I'm not really sure what to do tonight," she modestly admitted. "Oh and my flashlight seems weaker tonight. Do you have any spare batteries?" She looked at both of them to indicate that she was asking both Touya and Yue.

Touya frowned, trying to remember if he did or not. He and Yuki had filled a box of things a long time ago, but Touya honestly couldn't remember what was in it anymore. So many things had happened since then--wonderful, terrible, crazy things.

"There have to be spare ones around here somewhere," he said slowly, raising a hand to his chin in thought. "Maybe that closet we went to a long time ago?" he suggested, looking back at Yue.

"Not that I saw there." The closet they had visited had been heavy on medical supplies and light on such useful items as batteries; Yue was fairly certain he would have remembered seeing those there, given how much they relied on their flashlights at night. (Another point which annoyed him -- his night vision should be far better than it was, but apparently it amused Landel to make them weak.)

After another moment to consider what he remembered of his map, though, the guardian added, "But we didn't see all of the storage rooms upstairs that night. I would imagine the others are finding batteries somewhere." Hadn't there been bulletin posts about it in the past? Pity he hadn't paid more attention at that time.

"We could go up and see," agreed Sakura, nodding toward Yue. After all, she hadn't really had the opportunity to explore the second floor yet, so she had been wondering what was up there for a while. Of course, that meant that the monsters they would face would most likely be different from anything Sakura had seen thus far, but now wasn't the time to cower away. In fact, she needed to put on a brave face, otherwise Yue and Touya would more adamantly oppose Sakura leaving her room at all.

"Onii-chan, what do you think?" the younger sister asked, looking up at her brother.

When night fell Anthy was almost expecting the staff to appear at her door for another session, same as they'd done before. The locks clicked open after the Head Doctor finished babbling and she allowed a moment for her apprehension to settle before rising from where she sat on the bed. Utena was a few rooms down the hall -- this would be the first time she'd seen her since breakfast.

Her heart thumped faster. Once she reached the door she turned the knob slowly, then finally pushed past it, flashlight at the ready to peer down the hall. Anthy took a few steps south and allowed herself the small comfort of knowing she would be safer with Utena, at least.

However shameful a thought that was.

Somehow, throughout the course of the day, Utena had held out against everything that threatened to shatter her faith in her friend. The Special Counseling. The stabbing. The revelations of betrayal. Yes, Himemiya had committed horrible acts - downright evil ones even; there was no denying that. The only thing that was important to Utena, though, was that the good inside Himemiya was strong enough to overcome all of that. No matter how strongly that twisted part of the other girl's soul tried to snuff it out, Utena could always see a bright light within, ever vigilant, ever shining. Maybe Himemiya didn't think that light was so strong, but Utena knew otherwise.

She had been preparing for this moment since after she had left ZEX at the end of fourth shift. Really, she had been preparing for it since the end of breakfast, but she had only really started thinking about the night itself during dinnertime. She had wondered at first what exactly they were going to do. There was no way she wanted to go back up to the second floor. Seeing that place again so soon would just leave them both feeling raw and vulnerable again. And on top of that, doing much of anything that would normally be considered "productive" work didn't feel like quite enough. How could they just go back to searching for items and checking out hallways after, well, that? The more she had considered the prospects, the more one in particular had kept coming to the forefront of her mind. It was so simple, so pure a plan that Utena was surprised they hadn't done it sooner. Sure, maybe it wouldn't accomplish much, but nothing else felt really quite so right.

Why don't we just escape?

There was only one thing she had needed to get ready before night fell. Utena had politely let Sakura know during dinner that she was working on something, and asked not to be disturbed until she was finished with it. The work was done quickly, using a skill that Utena did not make use of often, but could put to great effect when she did try. The results were satisfying, and Utena had smiled as she laid out the finished product over a now bare mattress.

Now, as night fell and the intercom clicked off, she was changed and ready to go. Well, almost. She was still missing the most important part. Opening the door, Utena spotted the silhouette of Himemiya making her way down the hall. She stepped out into the darkness, watching the figure approach. For a moment, she could see the figure from the night before - shadowed behind the flashlight beam, blades skewered every which way. She stared into that shadow, gazing into the abyss as she had the night before. And sure enough, hidden behind the distracting beam of the flashlight and the deep shadows of the institute, she found her best friend's deep green eyes, just barely concealing her unique, brilliant shine.

"...Hi, Himemiya," she said simply, softly, bringing forward a small smile. She paused, a faint blush on her cheeks as she tried to find words that weren't too awkward. "Uh, could you come in here for a sec? There's something I wanna give you before we head out tonight."

Edited 2010-03-29 06:19 (UTC)

When she noticed the familiar figure appear from a door that she was drawing closer to, Anthy wasn't really sure what to expect -- Utena had actually apologized at breakfast, actually uttered the words I'm sorry as if she'd been the one to betray and to hurt. Not that it was the first time she'd responded to Anthy's honesty in unexpected ways. When they approached each other there was a small smile on the other girl's face, and by the light of the flashlight, some pinkness on her face.

Anthy felt her heart twist a little in her chest. She scared up a tentative smile in response to that greeting, short and sweet as it was. At least, from here on out, they could --

She blinked twice in succession at that next part. That phrasing, as well as the blush on Utena's face, almost made the invitation into the room sound ... less than innocent. Except this was Utena, so it was bound to be innocent. Only, a gift, of all things, was hardly deserved after last night, so for a moment Anthy was thrown for a loop and stuck wondering how to respond to the gesture. The darker part of her mind had to almost suspect revenge, fitting as it would be, but her knowledge of Utena's character trumped it.

The best she could do was nod and follow her friend into the room. "What is it?"

Good, Himemiya was smiling back, if only a little. She'd been half afraid the girl would still be too weighed down to hope for anything.

She lead Himemiya into the room, then picked up the flashlight from her desk. "Here," she said, clicking on the light and shining it over the mattress. Spread out there was a white dress. It was very simple - clearly made out of bedsheets - but strangely pretty. It closely matched the tablecloth dress Utena had made for Himemiya on the night of the ball, sans the shoulder rose and with a sash added to better hold the outfit together. With it was a matching bedsheet shawl, rough around the edges where Utena had torn the fabric. "I thought you might want something else to wear tonight. Something that wasn't Landel's." The flush remained in her cheeks. Would Himemiya accept the present? She was hoping they could both leave tonight without a trace of that sinister Landel's Institute grey on them.

Edited 2010-03-30 17:53 (UTC)

The gift turned out to be ... a dress, laid out on Utena's mattress, white, simple and pretty. Anthy's eyes remained wide for the full half-minute she spent giving the garment a once-over by the beam of both their flashlights. If she had to guess, Utena must've used extra linen for the fabric and Anthy couldn't help but be reminded of the time she'd made a dress out of a tablecloth in what seemed like roughly five seconds. Wasn't it also true that she altered the boys' school uniform by hand to create her trademark outfit?

Utena had a talent. The smile sneaked back onto Anthy's lips and she turned her head to set it appreciatively on Utena, who never changed.

"For a prince, you can be quite the talented tailor," she teased. There was only a moment's hesitation before she placed her hand on Utena's shoulder, leaned up and gave the other girl a quick peck on the cheek. They'd gotten closer than that during most duels, but with all the rawness hashed out between them earlier such gestures felt oddly more significant.

Flowing forward, she meandered to the bed and picked up the simple yet appealing concoction. Before trying it on Anthy examined it; it actually looked like it would hold together through a nightshift, regardless of the lack of access to sewing kits at Landel's. Utena did have a talent.

Edited 2010-03-30 22:56 (UTC)

Utena raised a hand behind her head and laughed quietly. "Well, I wouldn't call it a talent. It's just something I like doing every now and then," she protested. "Especially if it's for a—" The other girl had placed a hand on her shoulder. "Eh? What is it, Himemiya?"

Utena couldn't remember the last time her cheeks had gotten so warm. She could feel Himemiya's breath against the spot she had kissed, giving her involuntary goosebumps. "Uh, do-don't mention it," she finished, a bit of that awkwardness from before returning to her reddened face. There was a silent moment between them. Utena looked over at Himemiya, smiling again softly.

"Ahh! Uh, I should let you get changed!" she said after the moment had passed, turning around so that her friend could have some privacy.

It was odd, because she was expecting to feel something -- heavier than this, after last night, but when she clenched the fabric against her fingers all she could feel was strange giddiness. The last thing she deserved was a handmade gift and it should've weighed heavily in her hands, but Utena had done this sort of thing to her before -- unexpected and inexplicable lightness.

Anthy glanced over her shoulder to see that Utena now had her back turned, and since she couldn't see it, smiled a touch too warmly in her direction.

"I don't mind," she noted so as to put her friend more at ease and slipped her shirt off. The dress fit nicely when she pulled it overhead and stepped out of her pants, the last bit of gray falling to the ground. Anthy gathered the spare clothes and set them on the bed, neatly, before pulling the shawl loosely over her shoulders and tying it at the front. Shaking her very long hair loose a few times became unavoidable -- maybe it really was time to obtain something to tie it back.

"Finished," Anthy announced after a quick couple of minutes. She dusted at the low front end of the dress and then straightened up. "How does it look?"

Utena shifted from foot to foot restlessly as she waited. She wanted to see how the dress looked. She wanted to get moving. When she heard the rustling of fabric stop, she turned back with an anticipatory smile on her face. She wasn't disappointed. Even in the small beams of their flashlights and with the rough construction, the outfit looked gorgeous as far as she was concerned. "That suits you a lot better than Mental Institute Grey, I think," she commented with a small laugh.

Now everything was set. The path before them had not been prepared, but Utena was prepared to walk it with her friend. No, that's still not quite right, is it? She extended her hand, palm up. "Will you run with me tonight, Himemiya?" she asked, a flash of the same giddiness in her eyes. "To the outside world?"

The dress was comfortable enough, but she did wonder if something so simple, pretty and stainless actually suited her. Utena thought so -- her hand swept up over the torso to adjust the sash, averting her gaze to try and hide the widening smile on her face. It wasn't quite right, to be accepting such a gift, for Utena to be spending her time on one directly after last night, but she couldn't help the relief to know that they could still build something new from here on out. They could start over.

Utena extended her hand with a bright look in her eyes and Anthy looked up, as if caught in a beam for a moment. Run with me tonight, to the outside world.

Her first thought was not certainly someone has tried that before, which was a testament to Utena's charm. The thoughts came, though -- no possible way that would work, the institute must have preventative measures beyond their walls. Still, she found her hand rising and settling palm-to-palm with Utena's and her lips forming the words: "Yes."

"To the outside world."

Edited 2010-04-02 14:49 (UTC)

"Then let's go."

Utena picked up the sword from where she had left it, then opened the door. The pain from the previous night was still there in her side, jabbing through her with every step. Somehow, though, that didn't seem to matter as much now. As the pair moved out of the room, Utena felt like she might as well have been gliding through air, the pain pushed off to the side for a while.

And then, they started to run.

[to here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/841908.html)]

Shutting off the lights, talk about unoriginality. They couldn't have come up with something else?

Faith reached over to flick on her flashlight. Sonofabitch was a freaking brick. Something easier to maneuver would've been nice, and as she picked it up, she couldn't help thinking that it felt heavier than something that size should've. Not a lot heavier, just...more of a weight there.

She shook it off. The radio was useless, only gave her some static—couldn't be bothered to provide her a soundtrack to walkin' around in the dark; what a shame—but there was proper footwear. She couldn't complain about that. No way she was navigating this place in slippers.

Tossing her hair over her shoulder with one hand, she pushed open the door with the other. Was she gonna run into that kid from last night? She hoped not, 'cause that'd mean he spent his nights hanging out in the same place and that measured a bit up there on the Twilight Zone scale.

[going here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/842092.html?thread=67648364#t67648364)]

Edited 2010-03-30 02:24 (UTC)

[from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/841269.html?thread=67656501#t67656501).]

Each night was becoming more discouraging than the last. If they got nowhere yet again tonight, Kenshin...didn't know what he would do. He couldn't give up, he knew that much. No matter how tempting that option might have been, he had to stay strong. There were entirely too many people depending on him for him to just roll over and give up.

And one of those people was waiting for him right behind that door.

"Kaoru-dono? This one is here."

Kaoru had gone through the motions of the rest of the day with very little thought involved. She'd been thinking of other things, better ones, ways for her to get on through the institute. It hadn't been easy, of course; these sort of things never were.

"I'm here, Kenshin, open the door," Kaoru called as she examined her skillet. It still looked the same, thankfully, and not a ding on it. (Probably because she hadn't had proper incentive to use it yet.

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Night 48: F11-F20 Hallway

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