Night 53: Main Hallway 1-West

[hasnomeaning]

[from here]And again, quiet. Silence broken only by far off footsteps and the creak of a building settling. There was more in the darkness, Ayanami knew this, but currently nothing had stepped forward to show itself. This night was too similar to another, and her hand raised to her neck without meaning to. There was nothing like trauma in this, she

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[windstwilight]

[from here]

Looked like a lot of people weren't out yet. That was... sorta weird, to be honest. Senna had a tendency of being late to everywhere, and being one of the first few out was a change. After glancing around perfunctorily, she just shrugged to herself and continued down the hall. It wasn't anything bad, she guessed. Just a little weird to be the early one.

[to here]

[thatdemonbitch]

[ from here ]

And there it was. The large, sweeping hallway just past the nurse's stations wasn't quite so empty and desolate as the others had been. There was a girl there, dark-haired and looking like she was hanging around for the same reasons as Ruby, and the demon regarded her out of the corner of her eye with a suspicious glance. She didn't look like she was gonna be attacking anyone anytime soon, though, so after she flicked her flashlight over that way once, she decided further inspection wasn't worth her time.

Instead, she headed to the wall opposite the nurse's stations. Folding her arms over her chest (with some struggle, considering how full her hands were) and leaning up against the cool brick, she got comfortable, ready to wait. From there, Roxas would be able to get a good glimpse of her from whichever hallway he headed down, and she could wait and keep an eye on whoever -- or whatever -- showed up.

Hopefully, Roxas would be among them, and hopefully he'd be in one piece.

[ roxasssssss ]

[rischiarare]

[From here.]

What he now thought of the main hallways - especially with their position on the map - was as crowded as ever, and still seemed to be a prime meeting place to more patients than just the Nobody. He even spotted Sora's dark shock of hair, speaking with... oh, wasn't that Neku? He didn't know Sora and Neku knew each other, but he shouldn't have been surprised. Sora seemed to know a lot of people. They looked deep in conversation with a girl, so Roxas didn't feel it was the best course to interrupt.

He swept his light over the various patients as they did the same, then along both sides of the hallway. He'd almost mistaken another girl for her, but her hair was a lot shorter... once he'd found the right silhouette, Roxas made sure to wave at her just in case the Organization coat was making him blend into the darkness a little too well.

"Hey Ruby!" He gave her a small smile, glad to see she was in one piece. And she'd gotten a pipe! Now she wouldn't be completely defenseless. "I have a good idea of where to go now. There

[thatdemonbitch]

For a moment, Ruby was sure that Roxas had just appeared out of the darkness -- self-manifestation of some kind. But, as he drew closer, she realized the blackness and distinct lack of body was just because of his dark coat. Leather, by the looks of it, and while it carried a certain absurd human goth chic quality, it was better than the crappy uniforms that Landel dressed them up in. Hard to be intimidating with a smiley face plastered over your tits.

"So, he shows up after all," she couldn't help the teasing tone of voice -- people had filtered in and out while she remained stationary against that wall waiting, and while the doubt never crept in that she had the wrong location, she did question his intentions of showing. Now that he was there, though, the smile was returned and her arms uncrossed, dropping to her sides as she straightened up, done leaning on the wall now that he'd made his appearance.

"Makes sense -- figure they've gotta keep something big and carve-y up there. If not for the turkey, then for us." She

[rischiarare]

About that second thing... "I wish I could," he answered, shrugging nonchalantly. It was the truth. Luckily, the wear and tear it received every night seemed to always vanish in the morning like it was brand new, but it also always fit him exactly like his old uniform. "It's mine. I mean, from home. I was getting something out of my closet a couple of days ago and it was in there." It was kind of a point that would have worried him earlier, considering the nurse - assuming it was his - would have seen the dirtied pipe leaning against one of the corners. Even in clear view, she hadn't taken it out or scolded him or even brought it up.

Not to mention: how did they get his uniform? Had they just... snatched it off of him when they'd first nabbed him? It was probable, but the thought made his face turn red.

"I don't think you'd fit in this anyway," he added with a laugh, "but we can look for something on the way. The stairwell up should be right over here." Right over here happened to be pretty much literally near them, the door

[autophoenix]

[ from here ]

There were a couple people waiting in the main hallway that connected the patient room blocks. Sure, it was supposed to be reassuring enough to make it so she didn't need to check for monsters, but her flashlight beam made one quick sweep of the area nonetheless. Paranoia, maybe, or maybe just habit.

Regardless, she just took a quick left and continued on. They could hang around and get jumped. She'd have enough of that later, or so she figured, considering what she'd heard about the second floor and what she'd seen. There wasn't enough time in the night to stop and make sure that everyone was safe. If they were sticking there waiting, they knew what they were doing.

At least, that's what she convinced herself to keep herself moving forward, past the stairs to make the left down the next hallway and not look back.

[ to here ]

[scintillatingly]

[From here.]

A-ha!

Sora took a moment to glance around the area, but the only people he saw was a woman who was carrying a pipe and seemed to be waiting for someone and a girl closer to his age with light blue hair. No Kairi and no Neku, which meant he was the winner of this informal contest. Neku probably wouldn't care, but he could at least tease Kairi about it.

Though what he really wanted to do was ask the girl if she remembered Claire. She probably did, since they'd sort of bonded over their similar voices, but it would still be nice to have that confirmation. There were so few people still left in the institute from that far back, and even Kairi had been gone for a good chunk of time.

All of that would have to wait, though, and he hoped that Kairi would show up before Neku just so they could talk it over quickly without wasting time. He'd just have to wait and see, though, and so he took his usual spot against the wall and kept an eye out for either red hair or... hair similar to his own.

[For Kairi and Neku.]

[kingdomless]

( skipping hallways because it's not like she hasn't gone to the same place every night or something lol. )

"How did you get here so fast? Not fair!" Kairi's voice came from the darkness of the hallway, and a few moments later, out she stepped, sword in hand. She was used to being the first one at the meeting place, but now it appeared as if Sora had beaten her for once! She had gotten so caught up in talking with Rita that she had hardly noticed the time.

Finally reaching her taller friend, Kairi set her sword down against the wall, smiling up at Sora as she clicked off her flashlight as so to not draw attention to the two of them. Why had it felt like she hadn't seen her friend in a long time ... ?

Time runs strangely here, she told herself mentally. That has to be why.

"How was your day?" she asked him in a soft voice, pushing her hair behind her ear. She at least hoped his day was pleasant, considering his previous night had been plagued by shadows. He deserved a rest.

[scintillatingly]

As Sora had guessed, Kairi did end up taking it to heart that he'd gotten there first. He grinned over at her and shrugged. "Guess I'm just that used to making the trip," he said, though there was definitely a fair share of confidence in his tone.

Even though Kairi always brought that sword with her, Sora had yet to see her use it. He knew that was for the best, though. If she had been with him last night, for instance, she likely would have had to. It wasn't any better that Soma and Neku had been forced to fight, and yet the boy was still relieved. He couldn't help it.

"It was okay," he told her. "After seeing you, I ate lunch with Neku for a bit, and then I tried to join a band! Or... we played a song, at least. Roxas was there, too!" He wasn't sure if Kairi had seen them, but he was sure that she'd like to hear about it either way. It had been a pretty unusual thing to do in this place, after all, and Sora had been grateful for the change of pace.

[kingdomless]

Kairi simply stuck her tongue out at Sora's comment about getting to the meeting spot first, saying nothing after. It was all in good fun, after all.

She was about to ask about lunch with Neku, when suddenly ... "A band?" she asked, her mouth forming an O as her interest appeared on her face. "Really? What did you do? I didn't know you could play an instrument!" She couldn't imagine her friend playing an instrument, to be honest; perhaps it was because she was so used to him being a sword fighter. She saw him as being a fighter, not a musician!

"How is Roxas?" she asked, a small smile forming on her lips. "I haven't seen him since I first was here, before I woke up. I feel bad ... I should find him and talk to him tomorrow."

[damnrudecock]

[ From here]

So far so good. Just a few patience, with no sign of monsters trying to eat anyone just yet. Sanosuke had broken into a run the moment he left his room, despite the fact that it was damn dark out. At least the light stick things still seemed to work the same, and Sanosuke kept his on as he made his way down corridors and around turns. He'd gotten almost halfway there before something pretty important popped into his head, and it brought him to a screeching stop with a curse.

Fuck. He'd completely forgotten to find out if Ninja Girl was still in the same room. Even if there probably wasn't a chance in hell that Yuffie would tell him, he could've found out from Kenshin. Damn it.

Oh well. It wouldn't be the first time Sanosuke had to go hunting for the right door. He'd start with the same place she'd been in before, and work his way down. He just had to move even faster now, to make sure he found her before she had a chance to dart off.

[damnrudecock]

[ To here]