Nightshift 26: M31-40 Hallway

[face_of_chaos]

[ From Here]He’d walked past the bathroom Usopp had introduced him to on the first night, before heading directly towards the last hallway in this particular block. It was rather fortunate that he was placed so close to his ally’s location, and he found it more of just a matter of playing a waiting game as he silently marched down the hallway

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[usoppsenchou]

Usopp cautiously poked his head out of the door, hoping his roommate wouldn't notice and think him terribly odd. Finally he came out.

The sense of dread in the air had only reinforced what he'd already planned for tonight. Like his first night, he wore two shirts and his coat, not to mention two pairs of pants--hell if monster leeches were going to be biting him that easily again! Which was a confident thought, but he was feeling rather shaky as he spotted Yuber and quickened his steps over. He was carrying only his frying pan as a weapon right now.

"Y-Yuber." Usopp gestured for the knight to lean down closer, so that Usopp might whisper confidences in his ear. His eyes glanced over the blades and widened a bit, but he didn't comment. And instead of saying what he'd meant to say, he instead asked, "Do you feel... something weird in the air? Say... l-like we're all gonna die, or something?" It was a reasonable question, he thought. Usopp did get those feelings a lot, but this particular instance seemed a bit different somehow. Usually he at least needed some sort of horrible monster out to kill him before that, or a looming island that could potentially contain horrible monsters out to kill him, or, well, something.

[face_of_chaos]

There was a certain chill in the air around him while he waited for Usopp to emerge, and it distracted the knight enough to attempt to draw his attention to its source. It was definitely a heavy feeling weighing down the atmosphere around him, and it left Yuber pondering just what was behind the cause - although it was a rather refreshing change to feel such a negative energy after the boredom of the daytime.

As the door to Usopp’s room finally opened, Yuber felt a single brow rise up in question as he caught sight of his ally. From what he remembered of the other Usopp was naturally skittish, but it seemed as though tonight it was only enhanced as he caught sight of the double layer of clothing, and the frying pan held within their grasp.

Leaning down wordlessly after Usopp gestured, he didn’t miss the stutter in their voice as he listened to the whispered words. The words spoken to him caused a small amused breath to huff past his lips, and after he’d straightened himself, Yuber shook his head slightly as he murmured. “There is most certainly a heavy atmosphere weighing the air tonight.” Unfolding his arms, one fell gracefully back down to his side while the other moved up to absently brush aside his blonde bangs. “But such an atmosphere will only get to you if you allow it to be so.”

Maybe it was because he was so use to being the one causing such a negative air that the atmosphere wasn’t affecting him too much, but Usopp was already skittish enough without having to add more to the equation.

[usoppsenchou]

"It's probably just nerves," Usopp agreed, though he felt secretly reassured that Yuber also felt 'something' odd in the air. Not going crazy, then, that's good news. If every nightshift feels this depressing from now on, I'm going to just start hiding in my room. He might anyway, once he got some more supplies and the soldering iron to work with.

"Listen, there's something else." Usopp kept his voice down. "The guy I'm rooming with is really... um..." How to put this-- "Orderly. Really orderly. And I somehow convinced him I'm the same way. I even got him to work on some stuff for me." That Usopp had also given said 'stuff' to the roommate for his night explorations wasn't something he thought Yuber would be too impressed with, and so he conveniently edited it out. "Anyway, if you see me around a guy who is calling me 'sir,' you mind playing along?"

Usopp leaned back, his little confession done. "So, what're the blades for?" He had a feeling he knew, but he still wondered if Yuber had anything in particular in mind for them.

[face_of_chaos]

When Usopp seemed to accept his answer, Yuber found no reason to continue on with that question. There was little either of them could do about the situation either way, unless his ally ordered him to enhance it by creating further Chaos.

His attention, however, was brought back to Usopp at the others words. What they were attempting to mumble out was beyond him, but Yuber found that he couldn’t help the narrowing of his gaze when it became obvious that the person Usopp spoke about was aligned with Order. The mere insinuation that they were allies of Order was more than enough for the knight to dislike them. Yet as Usopp continued speaking, the knight was finding himself more amused by his ally’s actions.

“I shall comply, but are you wishing for me to also refer to you in such a way, or to simply accept the fact that they do?” He found himself asking. It didn’t bother him either way what Usopp’s preference was, as Yuber simply summarised it into the category of ‘do anything just to toy with those of Order’.

Toying with the blades in his grasp as attention was drawn to them, Yuber’s gaze flickered down as he brought them up to show to his ally. “I acquired them from another patient earlier,” He murmured, before his gaze rose up to meet with Usopp’s, “and was curious to see if you could make them into anything useable.”

[usoppsenchou]

"It would be really weird to have you call me sir." Usopp observed, raising his eyebrows. "It feels weird enough with the other guy. Just don't say 'hey, my very chaotic and crazy friend who is lying all time time, how are you?' or anything in front of him?" The night air was making him nervous enough to reconsider the ways that his roommate might react to a dose of reality concerning Usopp. There was just no way he could stop lying now. He'd have to avoid his roommate during the day, then endure the awkward nights, that was all. At least he wasn't planning on living in this place forever.

Usopp took one of the blades, grinning a little despite his worries as he looked it over. "These are nice, where'd you get 'em? I could make something out of them, sure. You want them to be like swords? I can sharpen the edges, then add a grip at the center near that hole or a hilt at the bottom, which do you prefer? This is great timing, I just got the best thing for this sort of work last night. It'll take a little time, though, I won't be able to get it to you tonight. Metal is fine for the handles, right? I wonder where I can get some leather--well, I can tie spare cloth around the grips instead if I need to."

Obviously, Usopp was getting into the possibilities. Though it was for his ally, he couldn't help thinking of possible uses of his own for the blades... a spinning thrown weapon, like a ninja shuriken? His muscles couldn't send it with the force it'd need, but he could build a device to fling it as well--no, no, not his. He could go get his own later.

[face_of_chaos]

Yuber didn’t stop the smirk from curving on his lips at their response, but he said nothing in return to the ‘sir’ comment and instead inclined his head subtly. “Then I’ll make certain to keep such information to myself.” He murmured in return. Lying wasn’t something that he did very often -if at all- for he much preferred to withhold the truth by telling others only part of the story, or the sections of it that he knew they wanted to hear. It always made those he worked for all the easier to lead into further Chaos with.

“I was told it was some form of mowing device.” Allowing one of the blades to be taken, Yuber remained silent for the moment as Usopp began pondering the possibilities of what they could be made into. He thought over the question asked of him, and while he was one to typically use a sword in battle, he was entirely uncertain if Cloud also used a similar type of weapon. Yuber inwardly snorted at the thought and decided that either way it didn’t matter. If these blades were produced in a fashion that appealed to him, he would lay claim on one of them - which meant that despite where Cloud’s preference ended it didn’t matter so long as Yuber got what he wanted. “Grips at the bottom would be preferable for I’d like them as sword like as possible and metal is fine for a handle.”

It came as no surprise that the blades wouldn’t be finished anytime tonight, and it was something that didn’t bother the knight in the slightest. “It is better to get them done properly so time is of no concern for the moment.” If he wanted any sort of decent weapon Yuber was willing to wait to have the job done properly. Offering the other blade towards his ally, Yuber found himself murmuring. “Will you be in need of something in order to finish off this task other than leather?”

He wasn’t entirely certain where he’d be able to come across such a thing, but he’d yet to properly search the entire building yet or run into a creature that would be suitable to create the needed item. Yuber found it a pity that he was unable to properly access his Eightfold Rune, for it would have been the perfect method to obtain some variation of leather from.

[usoppsenchou]

"Ahh, leather would be nice..." Usopp paused, looking up from the blade for a moment as though raising his eyes in respect to the idea of having leather. Leather for body armor, leather for grips, leather for any number of tasks. Cloth was nice, and all, but something tougher would be great. As he pondered, the realization that he didn't have leather, and if he had leather he would still be trapped in an insane asylum with monsters that were probably going to wind up killing and eating him, caused him to then lower his head with a wistful sigh. Why did the air have to be so dang heavy tonight?

"I'm going out in search of some metals for projects like this. This was off a lawnmower, I'll bet, in the gardening shed--that's on my short list of places to raid." Usopp gave a firm nod, despite his mood-swings of a moment earlier. "But spare metal in the sort of shape you'd like to hold your hand around would be good, in case you find a better potential hilt than I do. Oh, if you can find a rasp, that'll make my job ten times easier too." Usopp looked over the blade one more time. "It's not very well balanced for holding from the bottom, even I can tell that. I'll try to make sure the hilt's in a good spot to help control the weight, though. If you come across any other blades like this, or better yet, any smaller knives, get one for me?" This blade would be even harder to work with than the tiny pilfered one in his closet, but it'd be easier to sharpen.

[face_of_chaos]

Inclining his head slightly as he agreed to the leather issue, Yuber considered the material to be well worth the effort of obtaining it if he managed to come across the right creature. Although any creature could have a potential use for him if he managed to pay attention to them after he’d killed them, and he made a note to scour any carcases he’d come across this evening. It was messy work yes, but the rewards for such things could potentially be rather rewarding.

“Then I will keep an eye out for such instruments during my search,” Yuber murmured thoughtfully as he considered which direction he needed to go. Yet as he was reminded of Usopp’s direction to search the lower floors, the knight decided it would be best if he turned his attention to the upper level. He’d yet to properly search that location yet, and from what he could tell, the basement that apparently existed would probably be best avoided for the time being. “If you’ll be searching this level, I’ll turn my attention to the upper floor.”

He had enough faith in Usopp’s ability though that he held little doubt that his ally would be able to make a suitable weapon out of those blades, and he held little problem with searching for any items Usopp would be in need of. “I shall keep my eye out for any possible blades.” After all whatever benefited his ally would ultimately keep him in a better position.

[usoppsenchou]

"Good! We make a great team. Together, our alliance will bring this place into extreme Chaos!" Usopp put a fist up as though enthused. "And in the meantime, we can at least take things apart and steal things. That's chaotic enough."

He lowered his fist and sighed. What is with my mood tonight? Stupid atmosphere. "But it's too bad Luffy isn't up yet. Maybe you can meet with him another time." Usopp glanced at the doorway he knew led to Luffy's room. "I'll put these blades away for now, then be heading out. Does that sound good?"

[face_of_chaos]

Yuber found himself regarding Usopp carefully at his ally’s comment, and he found that no matter how hard he tried to consider things any other way, the knight couldn’t help but find the others actions to be rather amusing. This was the first time that his services has been under the direct influence of such a temperament, and it left Yuber curious to know just how this little contract between them will turn out.

“Fortunately our work should go largely unnoticed considering everything going on around us.” He murmured thoughtfully after a moment of consideration. It always ended up this way no matter which world he was summoned to, and those who would be affected by the Chaos he brought never knew of its existence until it was far too late. “What we are able to ultimately achieve will remain relatively safe until time is at hand.”

Nodding his head at Usopp’s words, Yuber turned his attention down the hallway for a moment before his gaze drifted back to his ally. “That is fine with me,” He murmured, “shall we meet back up later in the evening, or wait until tomorrow to show the spoils we managed to find?”

[usoppsenchou]

That was true, though Yuber made it sound so dark. Keeping his head down a bit was for the best, especially if he did succeed in some of the weapons he hoped to make. Usopp risked having them stolen by a stronger patient, or even made off with in the night. That idea was almost enough to make him shudder, or maybe it was the air of darkness. At any rate, he'd genuinely tried working with Order, considering Colonel Roy Mustang seemed pretty orderly, and while he didn't dislike the guy in any way it hadn't been very satisfying either. Vague comments, suggestions of forming orderly groups and going out under directions. He might do some of it anyway, since Luffy had agreed and since he did like Roy personally. That'd be a side-job, though, behind his important job. What we are able to ultimately achieve... until time is at hand. No, Yuber had it exactly right. Quiet building. Quiet construction of the instruments of Chaos. Mice destroying the maze.

"I'll try to head back here if I have the time tonight, so I can work on your swords." Usopp answered. "It'll be hard to be sure, though, considering how abruptly night can end. Let's say we'll work on meeting back here if we have the time after gathering supplies. If not, we can meet tomorrow night."

Secret meetings in the dark. Exchanges of materials. A slow gathering of power. Was Yuber's darkness wearing off on him? Was it the oppressive air that made even him want to fight back? He felt more like a Captain now than in any of his conversations with Sousuke. Chaos was also freedom, and freedom was what a pirate went out to sea in search of. A path that wasn't directed by anything but the whims of the man, the wind and the sea. Finding and smashing the invisible walls in this place, ignoring the visible decoys...

Chaos, yes. He felt weird, warm and powerful, dizzy. Maybe this was a little of how Luffy felt all the time, living without a thought of other's constraints.

[face_of_chaos]

“Then we’ll meet first this tomorrow night if we’re unable to this evening.” Nodding his head in acceptance, Yuber remained in silent thought for a moment as he tilted his head to one side. “If you’re to maintain fooling this roommate with yours, one of power can hardly be seen with their heads bowed so submissively in front of another.” He lightly commented as he half turned his attention away from Usopp. “Those who lead must do so with confidence.”

“Oh and I’m sure I don’t need to remind you to keep our little dealings between only a select few - the least people who know of our actions the better.” Yuber mentioned in what appeared to be an afterthought - yet all who knew the knight knew that nothing he said was ever by mere happenstance. “And it would assistance us greatly if you keep an ear out for any information that could benefit our goals.”

There was much information out there, but unlike his information network back in his realm; Yuber didn’t have such a luxury here. Yet that was something he could work on, and then use such information in order to adjust their plans accordingly.

[usoppsenchou]

"I'm full of confidence! I'm crazy with confidence!" Usopp asserted at that comment, stiffening his back. "People used to call me, 'Captain Usopp the Confident!'"

As Yuber turned to leave, Usopp let out a little sigh--not an unhappy sigh, but maybe a touch tired. "I wouldn't tell anybody I thought you wouldn't get along with." Which was a simple enough way to divide persons; Roy was probably not on the list. Luffy liked anyone if they didn't do anything overly rotten to someone else Luffy liked. Sousuke, his roommate? It was just another little thing to lie about; not even lie. Omitting was easier than lying, but it also lacked art. A really good lie had power.

"See you later!" As Yuber left, Usopp hurried back into his room to secret away the blades at the bottom of his closet, under the torn shirts and the "Warning: Poison!!" sign. After that, he headed for Luffy's room, hoping that the other pirate was awake already and just waiting.

[Just moving downthread a bit]

[face_of_chaos]

Contented with Usopp’s response the knight left shortly after he gave his ally a short sharp nod. Without any further attention given to their situation, Yuber turned back down the hallway, and began to make his way over towards his meeting place with Cloud.

moved out to here.