Nightshift 37: Main Hallway, 1-Center

[shallweplay]

[From here]Ophelia slowed to a stop when she saw more moonlight streaming down into the area on her left. She grinned wider, able to make out the features of the Sun Room in that dim light. And to her right, there were other doors as well, which she had vaguely noticed earlier in the day but paid no mind to. Oh decisions, decisions. Should she

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[see_my_back]

[Waiting for Sauce]

No sign of anyone yet. No Naruto, no Sasuke, no Sai, and not even the always-late Kakashi had shown up. Sakura turned her light back off, letting her eyes adjust to the darkness as she waited.

Just where were they anyway? If they had all ditched her, someone was gonna pay!

[sasuke_of_sound]

[[from here]]

Apparently it was later in the night than Sasuke had thought. Perhaps because the smell was different, Sasuke didn't detect any traces of blood until he'd stepped in it -- or at least he thought it was blood. It was a little too viscous (mixed with something?) but whatever the case, it was clear there had already been conflict here.

Unlike two nights ago, though, Sasuke didn't flinch. He lowered the sword briefly and prodded out until he found the body of whatever had been killed here. Tracing the contours with the tip of the blade, he determined that it wasn't human, frowning.

A monster killed already. Sasuke was probably the late one.

He sure as hell wasn't looking forward to hearing Naruto's taunts on the subject. With irritation, he resumed walking along the hall towards the door. If they were here, it'd be impossible for them to ignore him anyway, predictable as they were.

[see_my_back]

A figure walked past her and it took her a moment to realize who it was in the darkness. Sasuke was kneeling down to touch the body of the creature by the time she padded over.

"Sasuke-kun," she said quietly, not wishing to startle him. She would have loved to say that she was the one that had taken out the monster, that she could be useful, but she'd only been there to collect the reward after. She'd killed a similar beast last night, all on her own, but it did little good now.

"No one else has come yet," she let him know, hoping that he wouldn't be upset by her help. "I read on the bulletin, that creature... it's blood has healing properties. I collected some. I don't need it, but if you want, I thought it might be useful." Useful. That word again. As much as she hated the thought of only being useful, she was just as frightened that she wouldn't be useful at all, and that would be even worse.

[lostonlifesroad]

[ From here]

It seemed that there was little end to the surprises, though the monster Kakashi saw dead in the distance wasn't nearly so disgusting as the one he'd left behind. More importantly were the two people standing by it, and the fact that there were only two. Being late was Kakashi's habit, not Naruto's. It was a little concerning, since he doubted anything would stop Naruto from meeting up with Sasuke.

For now, he kept his distance, staying near the wall where he could overhear, but not immediately be detected. He didn't want his presence to impact how the others acted, since the whole point of his absence was to force Naruto and Sakura to decide for themselves just how to deal with Sasuke's attitude.

[sasuke_of_sound]

It was only Sakura? Sasuke turned to face her, frowning. If he was as late as he apparently was, it was definitely strange that Naruto hadn't made it. If Kakashi were the one they were waiting for, that would make sense, but the man had said he had other plans, so there was no chance that Naruto was caught up waiting for him.

"Keep it," he said absently, straightening and wiping his sword absently on his pants leg. He didn't think he'd pierced skin, but there was no point not being safe. "We'll give Naruto ten more minutes."

And then he'd have to consider the possibility that something might have happened to him. The nurse had announced sleep studies tonight, as usual -- was it possible ...

[see_my_back]

She had plenty of sharp answers when he refused her, but most of them died on her tongue, and it was a lucky thing he couldn't see her scowl. Ungrateful Uchiha bastard.

"Don't be dumb," she said finally, unscrewing her first pen, filled as much as she could with the liquid, and thrusting it into Sasuke's hand. "Just drink it. I have more. It'll be a pain if you slow us down because of your injuries, that's all." Her words might've been cold, but she couldn't deny the flutter in her stomach as her fingers brushed his. It wasn't like she meant them, she she wanted him to take the damn medicine.

"Besides, what else are you going to do if we're just waiting around?" She crossed her arms over her chest, glancing around to be ready for other foes, but there weren't any other glowy monsters in sight.

[lostonlifesroad]

Kakashi kept his chuckle to himself as Sakura insisted on Sasuke's cooperation, and put it in terms the Uchiha might be most likely to accept as he was. There was a bit of pride there too, at the forethought and stubbornness alike. He'd known that both Naruto and Sakura would find their own ways to deal with Sasuke, and that they wouldn't be beaten back by him. It was just pleasant to be able to see it for himself, even in small ways

[sasuke_of_sound]

Sasuke didn't make a habit of indebting himself to others, especially in ways that were difficult to pay off. So when Sakura shoved whatever it was she thought was useful (had she put the stuff in a pen?) at Sasuke, his first instinct was to simply shove it back at her and ignore anything else she might say. The problem was that she had a point -- as annoying as it was, taking on a debt for a bit of healing blood from a monster was less of a liability than having to be rescued in battle

[see_my_back]

Even if he might be upset about it, he'd taken it, which was honestly more than she might have expected. Acting all huffy about it and doing it anyway, that was more like the Sasuke she remembered. A hint of a smile appeared as she took the pen back. Though he made a point of saying it was just business, that he 'owed' her for it, it was still one tiny string that tied them together, that made him see that his team-mates were useful. She might wish that he would simply rely on them instead of owing them back, but she had little intention of holding him to his debt. Himura just might have been right

[lostonlifesroad]

In the end, Sasuke hadn't been able to fight back Sakura's logic, though he still tried to distance himself from it. Kakashi knew there would be more of the same for awhile, with the Uchiha doing his best to deny anything Naruto or Sakura might mean to him. But in the end, it'd come down to a matter of wills, to see who could overcome the other's stubbornness first

[sasuke_of_sound]

If Sasuke remembered correctly, they hadn't called the experiments 'sleep studies' when he'd been taken for them. Landel had been more blunt back then; Sasuke had to wonder if the change in terminology meant anything or if it was just a coincidence

[see_my_back]

Just thinking of one of her friends being made an experiment was enough to give her chills. They'd been waiting out here how long now? It didn't seem long enough for someone to complete a procedure, but it depended on what it was and how extensive. She didn't want to arrive too late to do anything. It'd happened once with Gaara and with all the potential things they might do to Naruto, she didn't doubt that they might try exactly what Akatsuki had tried. If they were too late this time, there wouldn't be anyone here to give out second chances.

"Right. Let's go." She had to set her jaw for a moment to keep from getting emotional when Sasuke was the one to take charge and lead the way to rescue the other member of their team. Maybe she'd misjudged him at lunch. Maybe time really had changed him. She hoped that Himura was right, that over time they'd be able to make a difference in him, but for now she simply nodded, giving a quick "Mm!" to show that she understood and that she would follow.

[[to here]]