Night 51: Ballroom

[hajike_tobiume]

[from here]The flickering glow of torches seeped up the stairs as Momo lead her group down into the belly of the beast. It was a warmer glow, inviting almost, though the shinigami knew better than to expect such a welcome. On the contrary, the warmth was a warning unto itself

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[per_ardua]

Raine heard Momo's words, but she didn't manage to register them at all; she'd heard about the ballroom but never even imagined it would be this grand. She'd honestly never seen anything like this before--at least, that weren't covered in centuries' worth of dust. She was still holding onto the bag of artifacts as well as her makeshift staff, and she remembered not to touch anything, but she was definitely slipping into Ruins Mode.

Trying to calculate the dimensions of the room, she only concluded that she wasn't sure if a room this large should even be able to fit below the Institute. Was the ceiling's immense height an illusion, or they had entered another dimension? And that chandelier... she stepped forward to get a better look, eyes on the ceiling and seemingly heedless of whatever monsters might lurk within the ballroom.

If the doors in here all suddenly refused to open, trapping them where they were for the rest of the night, Raine wouldn't mind in the slightest.

[witchdetective]

Although Momo revealing the location of the secret passage saved them valuable time... a strange expression rose to Erika's face, one that stayed as they descended down into the depths of the Institute. It looked like annoyance, as if she was irritated that Momo "spoiled" the riddle for her. She would have found that discolored tile if Momo just let her investigate for five more seconds

[itneverwas]

Indeed, a ballroom wasn't among the things one would expect to find beneath a mental institute. But any surprise a man part of an existence may have felt was naturally not experienced by one that was without it. As the Nobody lay eyes upon the grand room before him that was constructed with different shades of marble, there was interest. Interest and curiosity that was given birth by this elegant yet out-of-place room, and he couldn't help but wonder why such a room was hidden beneath a walk-in fridge

[hajike_tobiume]

Erika's change of mood was also noted by the shinigami, but Momo didn't care. There would be ample mysteries for the detective to solve considering once the artifacts were used, Momo had only limited knowledge of what to expect. And she was certain there were other factors she would not be prepared for.

"Sage-sensei." No response. Raine was too engrossed in her surroundings. Momo's voice took on an authoritative tone, that of the vice captain. "Raine Sage. The artifacts, please. The far door." Which was exactly where Momo was approaching.

She then addressed Erika. "I am not entirely certain what to expect beyond this point. You must be armed, Furudo-san. For you own safety." Unstrapping the katana from her back, she offered it to the detective.

[sasuke_of_sound]

[[from here]]

Auditory peace spoke very little to genuine safety, however. Sasuke walked after Aidou with the slide-drop he'd learned to use for stairs, ears strained for anything other than the shuffle of their own movements and breath.

[zack_fair]

So Aidou had only sort of known Gaara, even though they'd been roommates? That probably meant that Gaara hadn't been around for much time before; more than that, it had been a while ago. So this was more or less a clean slate for the redhead. Not that that was necessarily a good thing, but Zack didn't think it was something he should drive himself crazy about, either

[buryyourdemons]

There was much information to be picked apart that were buried within the last minutes. The blond had been his cellmate. Like the boy he was roomed with currently. When Gaara was here last. He could wonder at the interactions, but if the man was the same as he was currently, the Suna-nin couldn't see the conversations going far. So, in that, at least, he shouldn't be concerned about a lack of security

[blood_and_pocky]

Aidou was as pleased as the next person to find the ballroom was also unoccupied--at least by any of Landel’s threats. Company was not ideal, but at least other prisoners were easier to deal with