Day 26: Cafeteria, Lunch

[right_handed]

Scar felt cold and sick, though more the latter than the former. As he rose from his bed, he didn't quite know which way was up, and the artificial light coming from overhead seemed as hot and as blinding as the Ishbal sun

Comments

[usoppsenchou]

"I got them from the doctor I had therapy with, when I showed him my injuries. I faked being mostly convinced about the Mr. Housman stuff, so he said I was making progress and could be trusted with a little bit of self-care." Usopp stuffed another bite of spaghetti in his mouth, chewing and swallowing quickly. Without Luffy around, he didn't have to be quite as defensive of his food, but eating fast had become a bit of a habit, especially when he had other things on his mind (and was thus less likely to catch hands stretching over to grab from his plate.) "It's not a lot... if you're in any pain, these are supposed to be painkillers. I don't mind giving you one, but I need most of these for the other two guys I was with last night. They probably are pretty weak, though, since he thought I could be trusted with them. He had them in his desk--but that seems like an obvious place. Sorry I can't help you with any real supply ideas."

He took a sip of his juice. "So, uh, about the weapons..?" He paused, waiting for Roy to encourage or direct him. He had his ideas sketched out here, but he also wanted to know what Roy himself was hoping to hear before he began pitching any ideas.

[muted_flame]

From his doctor, huh? No wonder he was carrying them around, then - he must have come straight here from his doctor's office. Roy had to wonder if he could try the same thing with Stegman, but he didn't have much faith in that idea. His doctor was pretty strict, or that was what he had gathered from the few sessions he'd had with him.

Worth a shot, though, at the very least. "Oh, that's fine, I don't need any." While whatever Ashton had given him the other night had helped, it wasn't like he required it to function, and if Usopp knew other people that needed it more, Roy didn't want to deprive him. "But I'm curious to know who your doctor is. And yes, weapons, though I had a few things I wanted to ask you before we get into that, if that's all right."

[usoppsenchou]

Usopp scratched the back of his head, trying to remember. "Dr... Sohma. Sohma Hatori. He had a really bad headache and was dosing himself with some painkillers too, while I was in session with him. He had his hair over one eye, kinda looked like someone I knew from home, but the doctor's hair was dark instead of blond. He seemed to be genuinely worried about me, and clueless about all the stuff that goes on here."

Usopp at least had the sense, after these questions and looks, to quietly move his pill bottle and ointment to the side of his tray, where they were partially hidden from any random patient passers-by. He'd have liked to put them away, if only the stupid outfit had pockets on it. Sew pockets on the pants. Right, he needed more stuff to work on, as though he didn't have enough already.

He blinked at Roy's putting off the weapons, but didn't argue. "Well, sure, okay. What did you want to know?" Folding his notebook shut, he put it down beside his tray on the other side of the medicine. He hoped it wouldn't be any questions about his illustrious pirate career, as he'd been lying hard all day and was frankly just the tiniest bit lied out.

[muted_flame]

The name didn't ring any bells, but he would commit it to memory. It wasn't like he would be able to get a transfer or anything like that, but if someone he knew a little better was assigned to him, he could at least let them know that he gave things out. While Roy felt slightly guilty about taking advantage of the doctors (as Usopp had pointed out, they weren't really involved in the bigger picture here), at this point, he was ready to do whatever it took to survive.

But enough of that. To get to the point... Well, first Roy took a bite of his food, as he knew he could get distracted and then end up not eating a thing. "Well, first of all, Luffy mentioned that the two of you found a... soldiering iron last night? I was curious about what that does, exactly, and he seemed to think you would know." He was a tad bit jealous that people had beaten him to it, but at least it (whatever it was) was in good hands.

[usoppsenchou]

"Soldiering...? Oh. No. Soldering iron," Usopp corrected with a small sigh. "I was probably mumbling when I told Luffy the name... we were kind of waist-deep in leeches at the time. He tends to latch onto mishearings like that."

And here he'd been trying to be coy all day about what they'd found. Well, they did say that two people could keep a secret so long as neither of them were Luffy. At least, they should say that. To be fair to Luffy, it wasn't as though Usopp had remembered to ask him to keep it under his hat for a while. Heh. 'Under his hat.'

He'd been planning on telling Roy anyhow, no sense in being upset. "It's a device that melts down metal so it can be used to make a powerful bond or seal. It's a really useful tool. The one we found last night was hand-held, and it looked like it probably used some kind of fuel for power, but I didn't get a chance to really examine it. If it's working right, though, it'll be a big boon to me when I try to make anything." Maybe something that melted metal would be no big deal to an alchemist, especially one who, according to Luffy, could make fire. For Usopp, though, it was a priceless upgrade to Usopp Factory.

[muted_flame]

Oh, he had been pronouncing it wrong? Well, that was more than a little embarrassing, and didn't exactly give Usopp the best first impression, but it sounded like Luffy tended to mix up words. Roy would just have to make sure to say it the right way from now on, and that was that.

Well, that sounded helpful, but Roy did have an affinity for anything that had to do with heat. Though from the sound of it, the soldering iron would do more helpful in Usopp's hands. After all, Roy could already use alchemy to make weapons - had he found the item instead, he probably would have just used it to singe the monsters. Considering he could already do that on his own, maybe it was for the best that Usopp had found it.

"That's certainly convenient. It's rather lucky that you managed to get your hands on it, hmm?" And it made him that much more useful - which brought him to the next question. "I already asked Luffy about this, and he seemed certain you would agree as well, but I wanted to know if the two of you wanted to be part of the Cooking group. Basically, I would send you on assignments each night, whether it be gathering materials to make weapons or looking for supplies or... whatever else, really. Are you interested?"

[usoppsenchou]

"It wasn't luck!" Flustered by the request, Usopp instead protested the choice of words at first. "We fought like hell to get to that thing, and Sai's still weak today from it... you can see the shape I'm in too. It wasn't luck at all!" Okay, seeing the bathroom and having the memory of repairing toilets and dealing with ball cock systems triggered was somewhat luck, but that wasn't the point. "We earned our treasure!"

That little protest out of the way, he couldn't put off answering Roy's other question any longer. If Luffy agreed, then helping Roy was what they'd be doing, even if Usopp hadn't already talked about it with Roy on the bulletin board... that was just the way things worked, whether Usopp liked it or not sometimes. But Luffy was also not exactly the cagiest negotiator in the world, and what Roy was describing sounded a little uncomfortably like becoming a go-fer.

"Uh, well. About the Cooking group. I sort of already had been planning on gathering some materials myself tonight, with Luffy and Sai... I still need some more equipment and with the soldering iron, I should be able to make a better weapon to defend myself with. That's kind of important to me. It's not that I mind helping out, though. I agree that it'll be a lot easier to find a way out of this place if we're all working together instead of separately. But getting assignments and going out on them every night sounds kind of... limiting, too." After all, they were pirates, not Marines. "If it's something like helping make weapons, I definitely wouldn't mind doing that, and I have a couple of good maps now too for the first and second floor if that helps." Although Roy probably had a better one for the second floor, or at least the same one, considering how it had been posted on the bulletin board and all. He realized how wishy-washy he sounded, and asked, "What kind of input would I get into the assignments?"

[muted_flame]

"I didn't mean to offend," Roy responded, a little taken aback that he had gotten such a strong response. He honestly hadn't meant any harm by it, though now that he thought about it, he could see how his comment could have been taken the wrong way. It was the sort of thing that might have bothered him, had he been on the receiving end of it, so he could understand. "What I meant was that it was a convenient item to find, considering your skills. Most people wouldn't be able to make much use of it, but it sounds like it will be a big help to you."

Roy was not one to ignore good skill, and from what he had gathered, Usopp would be quite the asset. He was willing to give credit where it was due, but he would prefer to see for himself what the boy was capable of. He didn't expect for anyone to believe in his skills until they saw them with his own eyes, so he was just holding that same standard for others.

The colonel was willing to hear the other patient out. He realized that not everyone was as ready to blindly follow orders as some, so he could understand Usopp's reservations to a certain extent. "I'm not unreasonable. I'm willing to check each day via bulletin board to see who is up for lending a hand each night. I understand that sometimes there are prior engagements, or simply other priorities. So, whenever you are willing to help, I suppose. And if there are certain things you would rather not do, that's fine as well. Of course, we need all the help with making weapons that we can get, so if that's what you want to focus on, I have no reason to argue." He actually did need maps, and badly, but he would get back to that once they had hammered out these details.

[usoppsenchou]

"Oh. All right, then." Still more than a bit flustered, Usopp took the apology with a little bit of embarrassment. It didn't sound so bad, when Roy put it that way, although taking orders from someone other than Luffy felt wrong. Okay, someone other than Luffy or Nami. "Making weapons is what I figured I'd be able to do... although to be honest, it's not like I can make swords, and it practically seems like all anyone ever asks you for are swords, looking at the board. I know swords are important to some people, but Ashton told me it was really draining for you, and it seems like a big waste of your abilities to just make swords every night when there's already ways to make sharp objects around here without alchemy. Or other dangerous objects. Plus, I don't know how effective swords are against some of the creatures around here."

Deciding to push forward, Usopp opened his notebook to a page where he'd drawn some preliminary notes and designs, placing it on the table so it was visible. "I was thinking, what we really need are two kinds of weapons here... weapons for the animal creatures that sometimes attack in large numbers and weapons for the human-shaped creatures that are a problem. Swords are great and all, but I think maybe some more variety'd be more useful in the long run...?"

The most obvious design was for a net weighted at the edges, the least obvious a series of tubes that connected to some sort of tank and a barrel. "That's what I wanted to talk to you about the most. Especially after that thread on the board about the different kinds of monsters people have dealt with... We should be taking advantage of observed or possible weaknesses, not just carrying sharp and heavy things and hoping that'll work against whatever we face that night." He'd learned that lesson the hard way.

[muted_flame]

Wait, he couldn't make swords? Well, that definitely put a damper on things. It was true that almost everyone wanted one, which Roy couldn't say he understood either. He had had some training using a blade, but a gun was a lot more useful in this day and age - unless you were King Bradley, anyway. That man had proved how swords could be much more of a threat than a gun ever could. Then again, Roy had gotten shot that day as well, and he couldn't say he necessarily "preferred" one over the other.

It was draining to make blades, but they were one of the simpler weapons that people asked for, so in a way, it was a good thing that so many people wanted them. Though it did get a little boring, so the more unique requests were sometimes almost appreciated. And really, he was going to end up drained no matter what he made; that was how things worked in this place.

When Usopp set his journal down to be looked at, Roy leaned in his seat and glanced it over. The ideas were certainly interesting, but he didn't know how willing people would be to use them. "You have a point. We should hit where it hurts, and work based off of our enemy's weakness. That's what strategy is all about, but... I'm not sure what people will think of this. In a place like this, where everything is foreign, I get the feeling most people want something familiar, so they're asking for weapons they're accustomed to. It's what they want, it's what they're good at using, and I'm not sure they would want anything else, even if it might actually be a more efficient weapon."

He hadn't meant to shoot down Usopp's plans, and he realized how discouraging that might sound. "Still, there must be some people who would see the wisdom in this, so I would suggest you post to the bulletin board about this and see who would be interested in having these made. Though," and he peered down at the sketches with a frown, "what is this?" He pointed out the tank-barrel contraption.

[usoppsenchou]

Fortunately, it put no damper on Usopp's mood, as he'd already thought the same thing. He might be an idiot at times, but this qualified under a general rule even he knew, the fact that People are Stupid. And Usopp had known some very dedicated swordsmen... hell, when Zoro fought barehanded, he called it 'no-sword style.' Every one of those people couldn't be like that, though.

Just like everybody can't be like you, and grab anything and everything at hand on the off hand it'll be useful, he admitted reasonably to himself. Some of the weapons weren't so great anyhow... brainstorming didn't automatically come up with genius every time, and he was trying to only think of things that could be made with supplies he could get himself.

"Yeah, I don't know about in your world, but in my world, making swords takes weeks or months, and it involves melting metal over and over on itself, then hammering it into shape at a forge. Even if I were a blacksmith, and even if you could just alchemy me up a forge to hide in my closet or under my bed, I don't really think we have the time for swords the traditional way. I don't mind helping alter blades that are already around, at least the non-blade parts." In fact, that sounded like what Yuber was going to ask for already. "And I could try carving swords, if they don't mind wooden ones. I noticed someone wanted throwing needles, I don't see why those couldn't be sturdy wood or maybe from some of the plastic around here." Frankly, he didn't see why those couldn't be self-made, but people seemed to have latched onto the idea of an alchemist who could magic up the perfect weapon. Even he'd thought like that at first, wishing for gunpowder. Poor Roy.

As Roy pointed at the contraption, Usopp's face broke into a grin, and he waved his finger at the ceiling, leaning forward so the conversation wasn't too obvious to those surrounding. "You have a good eye! This, if I can get it to work, is a pump system for spraying burnable liquids past a small flame while avoiding allowing the flame to back up into the device. It is called... a flamethrower." He'd made one once, as a kid, when he'd just been getting into his inventive phase. It had been smaller, but when Pepper had accidentally gotten burned, he'd abandoned the device. Here, though, it seemed as though destruction on a larger level would be quite useful. "The tank at the back is to hold the flammable liquid. Right now, I'm thinking alcohol... I have some cans of juice I could open and let spoil, and even if they aren't drinkable they'd catch fire well. I could only get a few good blasts per can, and of course it'd be dangerous as anything, but that's the idea of a weapon, right?" Even a room full of leeches ought to step back at flame-throwin' Usopp. He'd planned on incorporating the Breath Dial to do the same effect using gas on his secret in-development new weapon Kabuto, but this was the heart of invention; improvisation. "This is also something that couldn't be made without the soldering iron; the seals need to be absolutely perfect, or else the fire'll back up into the tank and it'll explode. I'd still need some more supplies for this... mostly the tubes. I think I'll be raiding the kitchen appliances, and if that doesn't work, the gardener's shed ought to have what I need. Especially if they have any trouble with weeds around here." He sat back, almost insufferably pleased with himself. A step up from flour smokescreens, but better supplies meant better weapons--that was just obvious. And he wasn't about to abandon the usefulness of flour either.

[muted_flame]

That did sound like a horribly tedious way to make weapons, especially when they could be mass-produced so easily in Amestris. Then again, that might have been why it ended up as a military state that engaged in war far more than peace. Making a sword wouldn't have tired Roy in the slightest back home. If he'd had the materials, he could have done it all day. While that sort of ability had been abused, it would have done a world of good here.

Except there were always people who couldn't be trusted, and he hardly had the time to figure out who those people were, so he was just handing out weapons to anyone who wanted them. It made him a bit nervous, but there wasn't much else he could do about it. Some of the people honestly needed them, and he wasn't going to deprive them just because of some reservations.

Roy almost wanted to cut in to explain that the forge idea didn't make much sense, it would take too much time, especially when Usopp was already in the belief that that wasn't an option. "Once again, I think you'll just need to post to the bulletin board with what you're capable of. I'm sure some people will require your services." Maybe not as much as an alchemist's, but that was probably to Usopp's benefit. Sure, Roy got a lot of attention, but it was mainly due to people wanting to use him, which got tiresome after a while. It was a rarity for someone to come up to him just to chat these days.

Apparently he had asked the right question. When Usopp leaned forward, Roy did as well, examining the sketch once again before listening to the boy's explanation. It sounded like his type of weapon, and Roy's face lit up slightly as he continued to listen. Though it did make him a bit homesick. Here, his firepower was pitiful, and he usually didn't even have the strength to use it because he was always worn out from making a weapon for someone. He wanted to see this flamethrower in action, if only to be reminded of what a real blast of fire should look like.

"I'm impressed. That sounds helpful, though it also seems like it's going to take a lot of work to put it together. I would suggest trying it at least once, though, just to see if the amount of work it takes is worth it for the end product." He smirked at Usopp - he'd done good.

[usoppsenchou]

"Well, of course I'm going to try it!" Usopp was pleased at Roy's reaction. "Even if nobody's interested in using weapons that aren't swords for whatever reason I don't understand, it's not going to stop me from equipping myself as best I can! I'll probably want to come up with a remote trigger puller for the first trial shot, though." He didn't really like the idea of his jury-rigged flamethrower exploding beside his face or under his arm. Wait, that was an excellent idea. Bombs. He started scribbling something down on the notebook as he spoke.

"Maybe I will post on the bulletin board. Cooking seemed like the most weapon-making-oriented group, that's why I wanted to talk to you. What does Arts and Crafts do, anyway? It's hard to understand with all the weird codewords, but I thought they were training people to fight or something." Usopp had no interest in that; he'd seen people training, and quickly come to the realization that it was just plain not for him. His pride was still a little bit stung, even though he couldn't really blame Roy; Roy had clearly been hoping for someone to take some of that sword-making burden off of him, and Usopp had disappointed on that front. Maybe he'd form his own group. He could call it, The Group of People Who Make More Than One Recipe.

C'mon, don't be petty. Roy's a nice guy.

"Anyway, I don't mind helping you get supplies or something if I'm not already busy. So... to go back to the start, sure. If Luffy wants to help the Cooking Group, then I'll be helping too."

[muted_flame]

"From what I can tell, they mainly focus on searching out materials and training those who need it, like you mentioned. But really, it's for whatever needs to get done, to make sure it's done efficiently. Sometimes they work on mapping as well." Roy agreed with what the shinigami were doing. If there was one thing he couldn't stand, it was wasting resources. With so many patients around, there was no reason why they shouldn't band together to get things done quickly.

"I do appreciate the help, for when you can offer it." Though he wasn't quite certain what Usopp was capable of as far as combat went, he had managed to fight those leeches alongside Luffy in order to get the soldering iron, so it seemed like they could at least take care of themselves. "I assume you and Luffy will always want to be grouped together?" Something like what Ashton had said about himself and Dias - they worked well with each other, so why separate them?

"Also, you'll have to let me know when you get that flamethrower made," he added with a smirk. "I'd like to see it in action."

[usoppsenchou]

"It'd be kind of weird if we weren't paired together, we are crewmates." Usopp answered. "Anyway, Luffy hasn't got a great sense of direction, so giving him orders without someone to help him get around wouldn't do a lot of good." Granted, there was no reason that someone absolutely had to be Usopp, but, well... it just made sense for them to be together. They were already a team.

When Roy added the comment about the flamethrower, Usopp grinned back. He knew he remembered Luffy saying something about the guy shooting flames. "Sure, you bet. I'll be sure to let you know. We'll probably want to test it outside."

Folding up his notebook, he started to finish eating with more speed, speaking between swallowed bites. "I wanna try to see Luffy and Sai during lunch too if I can. Do you think we need to talk about anything else?"

[muted_flame]

Crewmates? That was a weird way to put it, though now that Roy thought about it, hadn't Luffy once mentioned that he was a pirate? Something like that. It was a little hard for the alchemist to fathom, seeing how his home country of Amestris was landlocked. It wasn't like he was a big fan of water, anyway.

"I'll keep you together, then. And yes, outside would be best. I think scorching other patients might put us in a bit of trouble," he joked. Even with his apparent popularity, he wasn't certain he could talk his way out of something like that.

At Usopp's question, he offered a quick nod. "Oh, of course." Far be it from him to keep the boy from his friends. They had more or less finished their discussion, and it would be best if he found Hughes, anyway. He didn't know who Sai was, but he felt a little guilty for only being able to wonder if he would be willing to help as well.

It was all for a larger cause, wasn't it? He wasn't being completely selfish.