Nightshift 24: Room M33

[usoppsenchou]

[from here]This room had been scarier before he'd stepped outside. Now it was cozy, in a strange way... his roommate's side looked a little ransacked, but he politely ignored that and sat his baskets down on his bed, along with the frying pans. He then unloaded himself of his other burdens... pens, paper, batteries (although he still didn't know

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[usoppsenchou]

Usopp looked over the pile, arms crossed, seemingly in meditation. Then he sighed, and pulled the flour and chili powder out first, putting them beside the notebook.

"The paper's too thick, but it'll work in a pinch. I'll just fold it. That way, I can keep using the rubber band for now... it'll only be good for close-range, but it'll work okay." He mumbled to himself as he looked over his spoils. It didn't matter for the flour, if he was planning on using it as a smoke-screen... but the chili powder would have to be folded just right in the paper to ensure that it exploded when it hit an opponant's face and not before.

Liquid couldn't be carried yet, he'd need to make some better ammunition later... paper maché would work fine, but that took time too. He'd do what he could for now.

At Yuber's apparently sarcastic question, Usopp glanced over at him, then tore off a piece of notebook paper. Taking out a pen, he scribbled a short label on it, then used flour and a bit of spit to glue it to the front of his closet door.

It read "Usopp Factory" and it was a declaration. Of what, he wasn't sure yet.

[face_of_chaos]

When his question went unanswered, the black knight began to wonder if perhaps he’d asked the wrong thing. Either that or his words had the wrong delivery as per usual. If he had to take a guess, Yuber would have put money on the section option. Not that it mattered, he’d allow the humans to see his words as they so desired, it only made them far easier to manipulate to his own cause afterwards.

As his gaze languidly ran over the messily scrawled sign, Yuber couldn’t help but chuckle softly at the display. Pushing himself up from the seat, the knight made his way over towards the bed where Usopp sat. He picked up the odd item that wasn’t in use, inspecting each piece before placing it back on the bed and moving to inspect the next item. Most of them he knew of, even if their designs were different, but there were some that he’d never experienced throughout his life.

Tilting his head to one side, Yuber silently sat there observing his ally as Usopp threw himself into his work. If there was at least one thing going for this human, they seemed to be inventive… even if the display ultimately ended up being nothing more than a show. If not though, then this would be the second inconsistency he’d seen with his companion, and if perhaps he looked past that bout of cowardice he’d noticed, there might be something far more interesting beyond.

“Impress me with your skills.” Yuber eventually murmured. The knight’s gaze lingered for a moment on the few odd items his companion was playing with, before he eventually returned back to the chair he previously occupied. It didn’t bother him if Usopp took his words negatively, but the black knight was finding himself curious to see just what sort of devices his companion could possibly create.

In the meantime, he would have to see what abilities he could access and just how many of them were blocked off by the power behind this establishment.

[usoppsenchou]

Feeling somewhat satisfied but far more pumped up at the raising of his flag, er, placing of his sign, Usopp looked back at the pile of 'stuff' on the bed, then moved the two juice cans into his closet and took out yet another spare pair of pants, flexing them. They were flexible enough to be comfortable to wear, but there wasn't enough give, and the tiny bit of elastic around the top was sewn in so thoroughly that the holes would compromise its strength if he tried to use that. Still, he could find a use for them... pulling the drawstring out of them, he laid it in his pile and put the pants nearby, his bed very nearly covered with items now. Kneeling on the floor and pulling the paper, flour and chili powder over to him, he began the first stage of work.

He made a simple origami-style cup out of the paper, then poured flour with a little bit of chili powder into it, and mixed the two together. Smoke bombs with a bit of a sting could be useful... The flour wouldn't hold up as a cloud as long as his usual choice of chemicals... but the chili powder might get in eyes and nose. Not enough to really overwhelm, just enough to distract and annoy. Annoyed people didn't tend to think straight, after all, and the less caution his enemies showed him, the better for him. I guess the nose and scrawny arms help with that too...

Having worked out his recipe, he began to tear pages into fourths, then very carefully folded one fourth into a weak container, pouring some plain flour inside. He tossed it at the wall, avoiding where Yuber was sitting, and frowned at the release of payload. It leaked while it was in the air too. That'll ruin the trajectory. Um... After two more flour bombs were thrown, rather coating Usopp's bed and a few of the other items on it in flour, he was satisfied with the folds he'd used and made four flour-bomb "Stars" with his flour/chili mix, then two smaller "Stars" out of pure chili powder.

He couldn't work on a ketchup star yet, the liquid would seep through the paper... he'd work on paper maché at another time, when he wasn't being watched by someone so very manly.

The next step was taking apart the first basket. Mostly wicker woven together... he could make a lazy catapult out of the springy wood, but it'd break if he used too much pressure, and with his luck he'd get his ammunition plus splinters in his eyes. No thanks. Instead, he took the handle (which was matching wood, but round strands woven together for an artistic and more study effect) and carefully detached it from the rest of the wood. Then, putting it on the floor and putting his foot roughly at the center, he strained until he could snap it in half. Placing the two halves back on the bed, he finally took out the blade he'd caged off of Yuber and sliced the pants on the bed, tearing strips that he used to tie the handle back together in a "Y" position, the tops curled back and down slightly. Still not so different from his old slingshot... it should be sturdy enough to take at least the short-range shots he was planning on. Now if he only had...

Inspiration hit like a thunderstorm. He actually started giggling as he dug through his desk, then moved on to check the dresser between his side and his roomie's. The top two drawers seemed undisturbed, the bottom was Kazuo's then? He triumphantly pulled out a pair of underwear from his own drawers (so to speak) and held it up like a price.

"Elastic!"

[face_of_chaos]

As Usopp began to tinker with the items sprawled out over his bed, Yuber found his attentions waning on the display, and instead the black knight’s gaze dropped down to regard the outfit he wore. It was rather tasteless to say the least, and not to mention the fact that grey really wasn’t his colour. This would have to be the first time in his entire lifespan that he’d worn something other than black. The ridiculously yellow face on the front was rather unappealing as well, Yuber silently noted before his attentions shifted over to his hands.

Relaxing into the chair, he brought one leg up to half cross over the other before his slippered food comfortably made itself home on the edge of the desk. His fingers tentatively ran over the tattooed mark of his True Rune, and though he knew he wouldn’t be able to hear anything, Yuber found that small bout of foolish hope inside that it would respond to him. Nothing came from his attempts though, and as the rune mark remained unresponsive, the black knight found his gaze narrowing in annoyance. He could hardly be as productive in his duties if the majority of his abilities were sealed off from him. It seemed though that whoever summoned him would have been more than well aware of the situation here.

The sudden explosion of powder against the room drew the knights attention away from his musing, and as he quietly regarded the actions for a few moments, Yuber couldn’t help but chuckle lightly as he recognised the use of flour. Usopp did seem rather inventive when it came to random materials, and it left the knight wondering if his ally’s outlook on battles would change if Usopp had these weapons on him. As another bomb was being thrown, Yuber found his amusement disappearing and instead frowning slightly at the display; all the while brushing off the few specks of powder which saw fit to disturb him. It was one thing to be Chaotic yes, but to have to come back and clean up this mess was certainly something not to look forward to.

The slight crease to his brow smoothed a moment afterwards, and as his gaze returned back to normal, Yuber began to wonder if perhaps Pesmerga had somehow found the way to summon him while thinking that it would be amusing to put him in such an environment. Ye the moment that thought went through his mind Yuber had already dismissed it. He doubted that the other black knight could have conjured up such an elaborate plan, not with their sense of foolish Order. No, such an idea would only have come from somebody who was obviously on the side of Chaos if these night creatures were anything to go by.

Turning his attention over to his other hand, his gaze slowly began trailing the lightning pattern tattooed on the pale skin. He hadn’t paid any attention to his Thunder rune since he’d arrived, not when his connection to his Eightfold rune was far more significant and important. Running the tips of his fingers over the area, Yuber found his brows knitting together in thought as he felt the slightly raised areas that outlined the lightning image.

Watching briefly as Usopp sudden began moving around the messy room, Yuber’s focus returned back down to his left hand as slowly his lips began to curve up into a satisfied smile. Although it was weak, there still seemed to be a slight hint of power circulating around the tattoo. It was weak yes, but if there was even a hint of power there, then perhaps the Thunder rune could still be somewhat accessed?

About to test his theory correct or not, Yuber found himself distracted by the sudden loud calling of ‘elastic’ by his companion. Finding the disruption to be over nothing but what appeared to be a pair of undergarments, it was difficult not to find himself slightly irritated. He had found what he was looking for, and it was only that reason that held Yuber back from testing his Thunder runes capabilities on his companion.

Glancing over to the bed, Yuber sighted the oddly shaped wooden item. Currently he wasn’t certain what the significance of it all was, but if it had anything to do with this elastic material, he wondered if it was to create a form of projectile weapon. Gaze flickering back over to Usopp, a slender brow rose up in question as he asked. “And is this where I congratulate you?”

[usoppsenchou]

Usopp raised both his eyebrows, grinning with triumph still. "No! But you can if you want to."

The little blade made short work of underwear, and soon Usopp had two strings of elastic, still attached to equally stretchy underwear cloth. Not the coolest look... but he would work on that later. Stringing each around the metal ring he'd found in his desk earlier, he then began winding the other end of the elastic around his 'wooden device,' before also tying that in place with strands of torn pants. He finished it by wrapping the soft cloth from the pants over the central ring, holding it in place by tucking the ends into the keyring's band. It was a slingshot, all right, and would work fairly well if Usopp's experience was any indicator... though it looked terribly uncool, as a whole set.

"I wish I had some dye or something." Usopp commented, out loud and without expecting Yuber to offer an answer. "... We could use the juices, but that'll stink before long. It's not important, I guess..."

Glancing over at Yuber, he also offered, "By the way... no offense, I'm not a swordmaker or anything like that, but I think those blades you put in the spoon are gonna crack the wood as soon as you get any pressure pushing them in the wrong direction. Tying the cloth around the 'handles' and where the wood meets the metal might help sturdy it a little, you want to try? I should have some spare material."

He didn't think anything of what seemed to be Yuber scratching his hands.

[face_of_chaos]

Shaking his head at Usopp’s reply, Yuber eventually pushed himself up to stand. Ignoring the new level of mess this room was now in, the knight found the fact that his companion talked to themselves to be a common theme. In the few humans he’d witnessed doing such similar traits, he’d often seen that it was merely to help their thought patterns. He was certain the same could be said for Usopp if his ally’s words were anything to go by. “Best not to use something that would maintain a stench others could detect.”

He had known that the job he’d currently done on his weapons was rather poor at best, but given the situation, there was little choice. Pulling them out to display them, his movement’s spoke of the ease the knight handled bladed weapons as he flipped them around until the he took hold of the metal part of the weapons. Offering the handles to Usopp, the black knight found himself smirking in amusement as he murmured. “Then perhaps you should fix the problem for me hmm?”

[usoppsenchou]

"That's why I suggested it." Usopp gave Yuber an odd look for the strange smirk he had... like he thought he was getting away with something by getting Usopp to do this for him. "I owe you for the extra blade, anyhow." He took the weapons without too much flare, although he did consider how picky Zoro could be about his swords and resolved not to be too casual with them.

He wrapped the cloth around each 'sword' firmly, and also put a bit down below where the blade went to work as a 'grip,' tying it all in place with well-placed knots. Again, not the most elegant weapon design... but functional. He handed them back the way Yuber had handed them over, handles-out.

"There's another project I wanna work on, but I'm going to clean up a bit first," Usopp explained to Yuber, before cleaning all of his supplies off the bed and placing them carefully either in the closet or on the floor. He very carefully reached around the edges of the bed to undo the sheets, and then pulled them together into a bag, before dragging it to the front door and dumping all the flour outside, where presumably Usopp didn't consider it his own problem anymore.

[face_of_chaos]

Taking back the weapons after they’d been offered, the knight didn’t give his thanks for Usopp’s work, and instead watched in amusement when it seemed that his ally was dumping the majority of the mess out in the hallway for somebody else to clean up. The potential displayed just before could have even rivalled some of the human craftsmen in his own realm, Yuber silently noted as he inspected Usopp’s work on the blade. Although it was crude work, the work was still done to the best of his companion’s abilities. Such a trait could be useful in the future.

“And what project might that be?” Yuber murmured, finding himself mildly curious to see what his companion was thinking of next. If the project was worth while, he would delay moving out in search of further ventures until Usopp had completed the task.

[usoppsenchou]

"You remember that lady from the room with the demon? Maybe you didn't get a good look at her... she went at the guy with her hands all curled up like she was gonna claw at him." Usopp pantomimed for emphasis, then sat down on the ground and took out his blade and the two spoons he'd stolen. "I thought... maybe I could make her some claws. Even if she doesn't want them, they could be useful for something."

And with that, he started whittling at the wood, sculpting the gentle curve of wooden spoon slowly into sharp, jagged edges. "It might take a little while, though. I wanna sharpen the plastic stuff I picked up in the Game Room too. You have anything you wanted?" He felt generous, like taking requests.

[face_of_chaos]

“I see.” There was a vague memory of someone along those lines, but the knight had hardly paid attention to such unimportant matters. It seemed like a rather… kind… gesture on his ally’s part, but Yuber kept himself quiet on such matters. If this was a trait which would continue to occur, then he’d have to begin considering other options. Until then though, he would continue to wait patiently and observe.

“There is nothing I’m currently in need of.” Yuber murmured. Moving himself until he was able to lean against the cupboard, Yuber gazed down quietly as Usopp began his work. He thought in the meantime he could always test out the limitations he had on his Thunder rune. All that he needed now was a possible target. Unfortunately though there seemed to be a distinct lack of living participants, and for now he would divert his attention away from testing his rune on his ally.

A chair would have to do for now. “I would suggest not taking the entire evening in order to do such work; my patience will not stretch to that length of time.” The knight warned offhandedly.

[usoppsenchou]

"If there's nothing, you're better off than I am," Usopp observed, although not ill-temperedly. "I would about kill for some gunpowder and some goggles now."

But gunpowder wasn't something he could make out of the kitchen's supplies, and goggles were not exactly easy to prepare either... so instead he focused on his carving. "I won't take all night--if you want to take off, it's not like you're chained up in here or anything. I'll be done soon."

As he worked, he had an itchy feeling on the back of his neck... and by the time he was on the second spoon, came out of his focus enough to notice flashing out of the corner of his eye and some sort of strange noise. He glanced over, expecting to see Yuber playing with the flashlight, but instead his ally was... what was he doing?

"You're not setting fire to my chair, are you?" Usopp sounded a bit alarmed. "I'm practically done already; I can do the caltrops tomorrow, if you're that bored!"

[face_of_chaos]

Gunpowder? It was an item he wasn’t entirely familiar with, and although there was one group of humans who used such weapons, they didn’t need such items as powder in order to get the weapon to work; the runes were the key behind that little aspect.

Standing there quietly as Usopp worked, Yuber found his attentions drifting over towards the single chair in the room. Focusing his attention onto the object, the knight activated the rune, but by the near-silent chime given off in response, Yuber already had his answer. A dim light lit up above him as he cast the first spell over towards the chair, and as it crackled with a few snaking bolts of electricity, no actual damage could be found to the chair itself.

It worked at least and though he still had to test it on a live subject, the knight was at least pleased to see that he had access to his rune… even if it was somewhat limited. Forgetting that he was in the company of another, the knight activated his rune twice more before he found Usopp’s alarmed voice breaking his concentration.

Raising a slender brow in question, Yuber’s attention focused onto his ally as he replied. “Unfortunately you chair seems to be fine.” Exhaling a small breath, the thought of venturing back out into the institution seemed like a welcome distraction from the failures his runes were so far representing. Not to mention the fact that he could possible test out his rune on a more living subject. “But if you’re finished for now then it’s best we return to our search.”

[usoppsenchou]

".... what do you have against my chair?" It was an honest question, as Usopp didn't have any personal attachment to the chair, but it seemed to be perfectly fine enough a chair to him. Usopp wasn't sure what Yuber was doing, but it was becoming clear that Yuber wasn't any ordinary person--maybe a new Devil Fruit eater, still getting the hang of his powers?

"Don't be impatient, I'll be done in a sec! In a sec! Just one more second!" It actually took a few minutes, but Usopp finished the last bit of claw on the second spoon, then put everything in the closet with the exception of some key items. The spoons were tucked into his pants' waistband, and the slingshot, newly made ammo, one banana, a frying pan and a flashlight were placed in the undemolished basket before Usopp tucked it around his arm. Usopp's last act was to cover his small pile of 'goodies' in the closet with the bits of shredded pants and a small sign that read "Warning! Poison!"

"Okay, I'm ready to go! Let's go search for--whatever it is we're looking for!"

[face_of_chaos]

Yuber didn’t bother responding to Usopp’s rather useless question involving the chair. It was unharmed and that was enough to signify the fact that his Thunder rune was also being affected by this institution. Nothing else mattered.

That second his companion asked for took far longer than what was specified, but considering this was a human he was in the company of, it didn’t surprise the black knight at all. He stood there while patiently waiting as Usopp finished off the final parts of the claws he was making. It was rather good workmanship, and he couldn’t find any fault in the design given the materials used.

After his companion cleared up the currently unwanted items, the knight simply walked past Usopp as he murmured. “Then let’s go.”

ventures back out to here with Usopp