Nightshift 24: Entry Room

[transgenix]

( coming from here.)

The hall was dark and quiet as Max led the way deeper into the building and away from the dorms. She could hear the faint murmur of voices coming from... somewhere, but couldn't quite pinpoint a location

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[youthfulrocklee]

"Naruto, it is best to work together on such things," chided Lee. "It would not do if you were to be injured. But do not lose hope. Even if this horrid place tries to break us by weakening our powers, we are still strong as long as we believe in our inner strength."

He walked into the room, studying it. It was rather...cosy. Fighting would be difficult in such an enclosed place, though not entirely impossible. In some ways, such a crowded room was good to fight in, due to the many ways of attacking, but this also became a drawback.

"A fight here would certainly be an interesting experience," he said. It was actually an exciting idea. However, Lee did not hesitate as he broke a lock of one of the files near him with a swift and powerful kick. His body protested, and he noted this in the back of his mind. He certainly would not be able to perform that kick as often as he would like. Later, he would train to strengthen some more.

Approaching the broken file, struggling with it for a few minutes due to it being stuck, and after a few sneezes, Lee opened the drawer. Names...these were the names of the patients, he assumed. Bloody hell...they had all the information about them.

"These names...this is...terrible. What are the beings here after? Why would they bring us here, and strip us of our powers?"

[tte_bayo]

Waving away Lee's worrying, Naruto chuckled lightly as the other Konoha-nin joined him in the small space. "We're both damn tough, no matter what they take away from us," he agreed confidently.

"Say stuff like that and monsters will definitely show up," grinning despite the statement. The grin faded when he remembered the shed with Gaara. He hadn't been able to protect his friend very well then - would he be of any use to Lee if something like that happened again?

Yes, he mentally checked himself and narrowed his eyebrows in determination. I won't let anything happen to him. I won't let anyone get hurt again. The other boy displayed his strength aptly by kicking away one of the locks on the file cabinets, so Naruto chose another one nearby and less graciously made more use of his flashlight. The blunt end was hard enough, though decidedly more scratched up now, and another cabinet got freed up after some applied effort.

Naruto struggled at first with the old handle, then yanked with his might, sending it flying open with a good amount of harsh squeaking. He flipped through more files in sync with Lee, turning his head when the other spoke.

"More of the same over here. Names of all the patients. Information about all of them..." The blond frowned as he perused files on all the unfamiliar sounding people. "Shit, how did they even get all of this information? There's so many different kinds of people here. This must have taken so much work."

[youthfulrocklee]

Lee frowned at the question. It was truly startling to see all of the different names here. All the information of their lives...everything was written here, locked up as if they would never see that old life again.

"We are pawns in their sick game. The lives we hold so precious has been reduced to these files in this room."

It was rare for Lee to allow his anger to show, but this time, he did not mask it as is passed over his face. He had enough control not to take it out on any more files, but the very idea that they were so weakened here and were being harmed made him clench his fists tight.

"People are still coming here...what is the purpose of this place? Are they stealing our powers, or are they simply waiting to see how long it will take to make us break?"

The room was filled with files, and how many more would appear here? It was daunting, and Lee could feel the weight of dread fill him as he stood in that dusty file room.

"The names are in alphabetical order. It will take many nights for us to review everything. Perhaps we should see if we can take back the files of as many of our friends as possible? Or we can take as many as possible and inform others. I fear that there is little hope of us taking all of them."

He looked at the ceiling. There were too many places to go, but they would have to explore the building, a little bit over the nights.

"We will find a way to be free...we must."

[tte_bayo]

Naruto, previously, was holding his flashing under his arm while he flipped through the papers. He had since switched to gripping it like a bone with his teeth, sharp canines clenched around plastic. Hands free, he pulled out a few sheets and examined them at eye-level with a furrowed, inquisitive brow.

Alphabetical order, and late in the alphabet, from the looks of things. There was a lot of dust floating around and Naruto waved a hand in the air before he rifled through the end of the cabinet. Looking up again when Lee spoke, he found that the look of anger did surprise him. It was rare to see the other ninja truly angry, even having witnessed him fight.

Naruto mirrored it, looking both determined and pissed off, but mostly ridiculous with the flashlight in his mouth. He shifted papers over to one hand and spat it out, catching it. "It looks like this is late in the alphabet, but the names look like the fake ones they keep giving people. I wonder if we can even trust this information."

For a moment, he had hoped to rifle through the 'U' drawer and find both his own file and Sasuke's first, until he remembered that they were now Frank and - and - Sean. He grimaced. Remembering his nurse, he grimaced harder. "But it couldn't hurt to try," he nodded. "We can at least get the files of people we know. What's your fake name? Ah, damn, I don't really know anyone's except my own."

Even Sasuke was just Sean as far as he knew, and only because his stupid nurse sometimes didn't shut up about Sean. No, she couldn't have been helpful and provided a fake last name at some point. Not that he'd ever asked-- Naruto decided anyway that he was going to murder his nurse one of these days. Displacing that irritation, he gave his friend an encouraging smile.

"Hey, don't worry, Lee. We'll come back if we have to, and there's still lots of other places to look through. They can't keep these many people locked up without someone finding a way out. It's only a matter of time."

[youthfulrocklee]

Taking a deep breath, Lee began to flip through the files as well, looking at the names. the anger was once again gone from his face, leaving only determination. He did nto feel comfortable actually looking in the files themselves. This was not his information, nor anyone else's, except the owners', and it was not their right to review what was not freely given.

"Brian Jones," he said automatically to Naruto when he asked. "Exactly what sort of name is 'Brian Jones?' It seems very odd to be called such names, but I believe that they are attempting to break us in such a way. At least, given the...unique choice of words that the Head Doctor has been spouting at night, it would seem that is part of their goal."

Carefully, he closed the files that he had been flipping through. He thought back to whether he had heard anyone else's names. "I seem to recall...Adam Nakamura, though whether taking that file is a good idea is yet to be seen." He rubbed his forehead. So many names...he was no longer certain anymore if he had been told real names or the ones that were given to them here. "It is a bit nauseating to think that someone has the ability to destroy so many lives. I am uncertain if I know of any other names that are used here. Yet you are correct. There is much here to explore, and we will have to set up some sort of plan for the future."

[tte_bayo]

[OOC: Sorry for the lateness! Had no internet for a little while. ;o;]

After another minute of fruitless flipping through papers and attempting to remember names with little success, Naruto also shut the cabinet with some undue force and a short sigh of frustration. He hoped that Sakura and the others were alright. What was taking Zabuza so long?

"Sick fucks," he agreed, albeit much more crudely. Turning, he leaned his back against the stack of file cabinets and crossed his arms over his chest. A loud snort articulated aptly his thoughts on the name Brian Jones - damn, but these sick fucks were so weird. "Where do they come up with this stuff? And trying to convince us our whole lives are just some lies we made up. What bullshit."

A pause as Naruto tilted his chin and considered Lee briefly, older and taller, someone he hadn't seen for almost three years before now. Or had he? He remembered meeting Sai earlier and what Sasuke had told him with a frown, uncomfortable yet again with the thought of his memories having been possibly displaced.

"Hey, Lee," he started a little uncomfortably, "this might seem kind of weird and it's probably not the best time for these questions, but..."

Naruto rubbed the back of his neck idly and wondered how to put such strange questions into the right words. He didn't want to hold up finding the right files tonight, but it was bugging him so much, and here was someone from Konoha who might be able to clear up something. Anything.

"What was happening back home before you woke up here?"

[youthfulrocklee]

Lee certainly agreed with Naruto's wording of the situation, even if he would never use such terms. The people here were definitely demented. What was worse was the fact that they did not know what the plans of these people were. They were, for lack of a better phrase, just like sitting ducks. It was true that they were able to move during the night, yet it seemed that there was still so much mystery to this place that nobody was getitng closer to finding out the truth.

Carefully, Lee made his way to another file drawer, breaking it open and beginning to search through them for Naoe's information. A part of him was truly tempted to actually read the information in there, but he would not do so. It crossed his mind to give it to Takaya, but then...something made him hesitate with that as well. This information, whether they knew each other or not, was Naoe's, and he would be the one to chose who to read through it or not.

As he pulled out the file, he turned to Naruto, studying him after he had asked the question. He was not sure exactly what had happened, but from the way that Naruto was asking, it seemed that he was loath to ask about memories that he seemed to be lacking.

"You are missing some memories then? That is nothing to fear, Naruto-kun. If the monsters here are able to suppress powers and to hurt us in such ways, it does not seem unlikely that they would be able to twist our memories as well."

He looked at the ground, lost in thought for several seconds before saying, "The very last thing was that Gaara-sama had been kidnapped by Akatsuki, and we were sent to rescue him..."

Lee had been frightened for Gaara at that time, knowing that he did not wish to lose another person he had considered a friend, even if their friendship had started off a bit rocky. But Gaara was here, somewhere. A part of him really wanted to make sure that Gaara was truly safe.

[tte_bayo]

Watching Lee while he retrieved the file he needed, Naruto's gaze followed his movements. If he was overeager for information, well, he had never been very good at hiding his true feelings. He leaned forward a small amount before Lee answered him.

And leaned back with a disgruntled noise when the confirmation came. It was the most reasonable explanation, he just didn't want to believe it. If Landel's had the power to do these kinds of things, what else couldn't he trust about his own self? If he couldn't trust himself, what good was he? A lot of his strength came simply from his confidence.

"Damn, it's so frustrating." Naruto said with a small, tired laugh. But when Lee spoke again his attention was on the fellow Konoha-nin intently, information about Gaara peaking his interest tenfold. Yet Lee didn't know about about the outcome of Gaara's kidnapping-- Naruto's face fell very visibly.

"Gaara is here," he mentioned, not knowing whether Lee had met with him yet or not. "He's not so sure, but I don't believe he's dead. There's no way." The end was spoken with utter defiance. He frowned hard. "I- we would never let that happen. If we set out to rescue him, we definitely rescued him."

[youthfulrocklee]

The idea that they had not been able to save Gaara was absurd to Lee. It simply had never crossed his mind that they would fail in anything. He could tell that Naruto was not thrilled with what he had been told. Really, that was no surprise.

"It is frustrating," he agreed. These people had unknown gifts, and they had merely seen a few of them. What else was in store for them here.

But as he heard Naruto talk about Gaara, he suddenly felt sick. His face became very pale as the words echoed in his mind.

"Naruto-kun...I...when I spoke to Boss-san earlier...she asked me how I had died. She seemed to think that we had all died in some form or other. Is it possible that this Hell...that we have truly perished?"

Saying it outloud made him even more sick to his stomach. It felt like he had accidently drunk a whole bottle of alcohol again, but that he was having a completely different reaction. "No, it is not possible. We would have known if we had been killed..."

[tte_bayo]

The knowledge that Landel's was no form of intricate genjutsu was more frightening than if it had been. This was all too real, too bizarre a circumstance. Of course, he would continue to insist that they would find a way out and that they could take whatever Landel's dished out-- but he could feel the edges of doubt begin to curl out.

Naruto acted a certain way all the time, but was human. In the face of all this, he would start to wonder.

What Lee said next made his jaw drop very slightly. Unable to mask his initial reaction, he glanced worriedly at the other ninja, having never considered that before. What if that was true?

"No," he agreed with Lee after a moment, though his voice had lost some of its previous strength. Still a defiant no. "She, she must have the wrong idea. Maybe she'd only met people who died so far. So many people we know are here- we can't all be... dead."

The thought made him equally ill. So many people he cared about were stuck here. There was no way he'd failed all those people! A determined crease in his brow formed as he repeated the words inwardly. No way-- even if he wasn't able to help Sasuke-- even if...

"Do you think they're alright? They're taking so long," Naruto asked Lee a bit suddenly. It shouldn't take this long for Zabuza and Haku to show up and to move forward. What was happening back there?

[youthfulrocklee]

If only they could be certain of that...if only Lee could say with complete certainty that The Boss was wrong...

But he could tell that even Naruto was disturbed by the possibility. If they were dead, did that mean they were all sent to Hell? No, it was not possible. Many of the people here did not deserve such a fate.

And he was being a fool as well. He was the one who often spouted out silly phrases to keep the mood light, and here he was, dragging Naruto down. No, this would not do at all.

Pushing back his dreary thoughts, he went over and slapped Naruto on the back. "Everything will be all right, my friend! We are falling into their trap and beginning to doubt ourselves, and we must remain ever vigilant for these moments. I cannot speak for everyone in this place, but we are flesh and blood, and alive. As long as we have hope and caring friends, we shall prevail over the evils of this hospital!"

He grinned at Naruto, and gave him a thumbs up. "I know that the others will be all right! They are strong, with or without the addition of chakra! We must keep our hopes strong!"

[tte_bayo]

Lee's slap on the back jolted Naruto out of his worried state of mind - he switched his gaze from the door to settling it on the other ninja. It took the blond a moment to absorb the words and process them. What he said made sense and sounded right, but he had to rattle away the dregs of doubt first.

And he did. No matter the situation, he was usually the one to rush headfirst into it and expect the best outcome. Time spent doubting and over-thinking was time wasted.

So a smile formed on his face after the moment passed, the fear in his eyes slowly falling away. His friend was right. Naruto's smile turned to a big grin at the 'Nice Guy' pose Lee gave him, his eyes squinting closed and canines flashing.

"Is that a warm promise from Rock Lee?" He asked cheerfully in the spirit of Team Gai's style.

[youthfulrocklee]

"Of course," said Lee, still grinning. "Do not doubt me now, my friend!"

Now that was more the spirit, and more the Naruto that he knew. Such sorrowful expressions appeared out of place on the faces of his friends.

"Now that we are once more in our youthful natures, we must decide what our next step may be. Do we wait for our dear friends, or do we go in search of them? If we leave, there is the possibility that we shall somehow pass them, but if we stay, then we may be spending valuable time on nothing. Hm, it is rather an intriguing dilemma."

[tte_bayo]

"Thanks," Naruto chuckled. "I won't!"

Lee was, he had to admit, even brighter than him during this dark time. He did an even better job of focusing on what was important. Naruto had a penchant for being egotistical even when he was trying to do the right thing, and Lee seemed miles away from that at times like these.

Even though he knew the other ninja was just as worried and had just as many things on his mind. He would have to remember to be as focused and to do just as well!

Youthful natures - he smirked and stood straight, and cracked his fist with his other hand, glancing darkly at the file room's exit.

"The night can't last that much longer. If they haven't showed up by now, I'm not sure if they're going to at all. We should move out and try to check on them, or else stay close while investigating other areas."

[youthfulrocklee]

Lee nodded. Hopefully, this dreadful night would be over soon. In some ways, it was the night that made him feel even more like himself, but during the day, he did not need to worry about dangers to his friends. It was certainly a problem.

"I am not sure where else to go this night, so will you lead this time, Naruto-kun? I shall do my best to help you fight anything that stops us in our path to justice!"

He cracked his knuckles, the sound appearing much louder since it seemed so quiet in the relatively small, stuffed room.

[tte_bayo]

"Alright!" The blond nodded and pumped a fist in an overeager display of his new leadership position. There was nothing of use to him in these file rooms, since he couldn't remember anyone's fake name.

"Yeah, there's nothing to be afraid of! We'll protect each other. Let's go!!" It was easy for Naruto to get carried away normally, but with Lee it was that much easier. He hastened a quick exit out of the small dusty room.

The Entry room was a little more full than it had been before. Naruto left it, trusting that Lee would follow.

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