Night 44: M31-40 Hallway
[M39]When the first intercom sounded, it shook Hart at a mid-line level. It was propaganda and suppression of information flow that the institution wanted now, obviously. They'd all have to be much more careful now with the bulletins, especially if the little pet idea of the 'Evil Club' were to ever get off the ground into anything serious. For the
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Like the woman waiting outside the door, Kakashi's journey to M37 had been quick and painless. Given what had happened last night, only a short distance from Sasuke's door, Kakashi knew that was nothing to take for granted. Yet the hints of his trauma and his worry were hidden just as well as his face. While Kakashi was remarkably good at keeping his presence masked when he wished, he made sure the girl would be able to pick up on his approach. Startling her wasn't how Kakashi wanted to get an idea of her instinctive response.
"Hinamori-san?" Kakashi offered her a friendly smile, one that reached his eyes. He had a hand in his pocket as he walked up, and waved to Momo with the other. "I'm Hatake Kakashi. It's nice to meet you."
That she was standing in the hall was significant, but Kakashi didn't want to assume the worst just yet. He turned to the door, considering the possibilities for a moment. "Shikamaru hasn't answered, I take it? Well, that isn't so unusual." Not for the laziest ninja in the village--though to be fair, Shikamaru had also done a great deal to prove that reputation wrong. Deciding that either way he didn't want to share that with Momo just yet, Kakashi knocked a second time, then opened the door.
"After you, Hinamori-san." If Shikamaru had fallen asleep, then he deserved the awkwardness of a woman barging into his room. Besides, Kakashi could think of nothing that would make the chuunin come to attention faster.
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"Pleasure is mine, Hatake-san," Momo replied. She'd begun to get a little concerned about Shikamaru not answering, wondering if she'd gotten the wrong room, but if this was a fairly normal occurrence, Kakashi would know much better than she.
She raised an eyebrow as the man opened the door, but said nothing. She was there to observe and learn to work with this group, not offer her own opinions unless they were necessary. "Thank you," she replied, stepping inside the room.
In the darkness, the muted flashlight that hung from her sash gave her just enough light for her to note the absence of Shikamaru. This was not good. Not with this being an experimentation night. Not that the brainwashing was any better, but there was something far more potent to the torture than the brainwashing. It was the helplessness.
"I believe Nara-san has been taken," she said quietly.
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"It's possible," Kakashi maintained his calm demeanor, despite how much he didn't want it to be true. Naruto had already been taken; another member of their team falling victim to the Institute that way was the last thing the ninja wanted or needed. "But he might have also had an errand to take care of. Either way, Shikamaru's not the type who would go without leaving something behind." The ninja were better than that, all of them. Whatever the situation, Kakashi knew Shikamaru would have given them some message, be it one to ease their worry, or to ask for help.
The first thing that stood out to the jounin was the notebook on Shikamaru's bed. Kakashi crossed the room and picked up the journal, noting the folded corner almost immediately once he had. Opening it to that page revealed the message Kakashi had been looking for, and confirmed the worst.
"But this time, it looks like you were right." Kakashi dropped the notebook to the bed, leaving the crossed out message exposed for any to see. So far as he knew none of the other ninja were coming by, but if they did, they might be able to figure out the meaning behind the note. "I already know where the hall is."
Kakashi moved over to what had to be Shikamaru's closet, opening the door. The nurses kept it clean, but it wasn't hard to spot Shikamaru's personal touches. More importantly, Kakashi didn't have to look very long to find the boy's stash of scalpels. "Whether or not you come is up to you, Hinamori-san, but the help would be appreciated." Kakashi methodically put the scalpels into his supply pack as he spoke. Either way, he had to move quickly; there was a chance they could get to Shikamaru before the experimentation ended, and somehow spare him from the same brand of agony Naruto had been forced to deal with.
Or so Kakashi hoped.
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"As do I," Momo replied. "I cannot abandon him."
Even if Shikamaru wasn't human, she'd chosen to ally with him. No, she would not leave him to his fate, even though she was aware of the futility. Nor would she leave Kakashi to handle it on his own. "Nor you. Also, I do have the capacity to heal any wounds he may suffer." She paused. "I shall follow your lead."
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Just as important was that she was taking a secondary role in the rescue. That left Kakashi free to take charge, which worked out well, since he'd already started forming a plan. "Okay. I don't want to spend too long down here, since we have no idea what's happening to him, or how long it's going to take." Shikamaru had mentioned Momo's healing abilities, but Kakashi also knew how precious chakra was in this place. Even if Momo had a greater range of ability here, Kakashi wasn't going to take the level of her energy for granted.
"There's another team of ninja meeting in one of the far halls--just outside the male rooms north of the female rooms." The third male block, according to the bulletin Sakura had put up, and the map Kakashi had committed to memory. "The last time we had to go up there, we also had to fight a pair of massive spiders. I want more manpower than just the two of us, in case something like that happens again."
There was more to it than just that, but Kakashi kept those reasons to himself. Sai in particular had felt a huge amount of guilt once he found out about Naruto's experimentation, because he hadn't been there. This might give him an opportunity to atone for that, at least in the boy's own mind. Sakura was also a healer, so if either she or Momo was forced to use their abilities, or if the group had to be split, there would be a greater chance of someone with that skill making it through. And Naruto would want to go because of his own similar experience. Kakashi had a feeling that if the boy were left behind, his guilt would be even worse than Sai's had been.
Once Kakashi had better armed himself, there was no point in lingering. He had told Momo that he wanted to hurry, and now it was up to her to keep up. Kakashi couldn't run as quickly as he would've been able to with his chakra, but he wasn't slow by any means. He broke into a near-run the moment he was out of the room, setting a pace that ensured the shortest time and the least amount of fatigue.
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