Watching Sasuke and Fugaku's professional evaluation of the building and its potential dangers, Harry had to admit whatever else his impressions of the two Uchiha they definitely knew their stuff when it came to recon work. Add in Riza's own talents as a sniper, and Harry's confidence in this team he had assembled was growing. Sure there were a few kinks to iron out, but it was nice to at least be with people who knew how to pay attention to something other than what was right in front of them.
The order with which they were entering the building made sense, so Harry didn't contest it. Riza would need a clean line of fire if anything was to attack, and Sasuke seemed like he could handle an attack from the rear. Fugaku would probably be fast enough to cover wherever they needed him, and Harry's position in the middle would allow him to put up a shield if necessary. Plus, as much as he hated to admit it, with his hand mangled the way it was, he would probably be the weak link in a fight.
Now the only thing he had to worry about was putting Fugaku and Sasuke next to one another. Ah the joys of brotherhood.
He nodded to Fugaku when the older teen indicated the coast was clear for the moment. "Okay, I'm sure I don't have to tell you to keep your ears open for any attack. It looks like what we want is on the second floor, but still, if the building looks like its going down, we get out pronto. If all else fails, we go out the window. At that height the fall shouldn't kill us."
Moving behind Riza, Harry followed her into the building, leaving the other two to take the rear. Inside the entrance was a small lobby covered in dust and rubble, looking as if no one had touched it since the first attack. Flicking the light switch confirmed the building had lost all power, which proved to be a problem when they got to the dark narrow stairwell that led to the upper levels. Harry focused more of his will into the pendant, causing its glow to brighten just enough to allow the group to see a few feet ahead of them.
More than anything, it was the utter silence of the building that really unsettled Harry.
Going out the window was hardly a problem for a shinobi, even without the luxury of being able to spare a bit of chakra for cushioning the landing. The question was more one of whether Riza could handle it (although she seemed accustomed enough to combat), or, more dubiously, whether Harry could handle it with his injury.
If worse came to worse, though, Sasuke was fairly sure he could handle carrying at least one, and Fugaku was proving loyal enough to whomever was giving orders to be accountable for the other.
Of course with luck they'd find what they were here for quickly, or at least be attacked on the ground floor. Sasuke waited for Fugaku to enter before following, keeping careful track of the exact sound of their footsteps and anything even slightly different from them in the darkness behind.
He smelled the rot immediately, though maybe the others didn’t. They said nothing. It was old, more than a week. Just an after-thought, really. Nothing they should notice, but he did because he was too familiar with corpses. Fugaku narrowed his eyes, disliking something about the building immediately upon entering it. “There’s something dead in here,” he said sharply, scanning the battered walls made of concrete and marked with spray-paint.
The taggers had come in here, too. It seemed they came to many places, though the marks on the building seemed older. Most of them were illegible.
Why the place had to be so damn tight, Fugaku didn’t know. He blamed crazy builders who didn’t know half as much as they thought they did.
Damn his claustrophobia. It was stupid and irrational and he fucking hated that it never went away.
He knelt down, and eyed the ground. No blood, but there were stairs, and that was probably where it was coming from. “Down one level. About a week old, maybe more. I suggest ignoring it.”
Whoever, or whatever it was, it was dead. Gone. Nothing to be done.
Fugaku just informed the others because it was tactical to know everything about a situation that you could. Assumptions that people knew what you did got them killed.
The order with which they were entering the building made sense, so Harry didn't contest it. Riza would need a clean line of fire if anything was to attack, and Sasuke seemed like he could handle an attack from the rear. Fugaku would probably be fast enough to cover wherever they needed him, and Harry's position in the middle would allow him to put up a shield if necessary. Plus, as much as he hated to admit it, with his hand mangled the way it was, he would probably be the weak link in a fight.
Now the only thing he had to worry about was putting Fugaku and Sasuke next to one another. Ah the joys of brotherhood.
He nodded to Fugaku when the older teen indicated the coast was clear for the moment. "Okay, I'm sure I don't have to tell you to keep your ears open for any attack. It looks like what we want is on the second floor, but still, if the building looks like its going down, we get out pronto. If all else fails, we go out the window. At that height the fall shouldn't kill us."
Moving behind Riza, Harry followed her into the building, leaving the other two to take the rear. Inside the entrance was a small lobby covered in dust and rubble, looking as if no one had touched it since the first attack. Flicking the light switch confirmed the building had lost all power, which proved to be a problem when they got to the dark narrow stairwell that led to the upper levels. Harry focused more of his will into the pendant, causing its glow to brighten just enough to allow the group to see a few feet ahead of them.
More than anything, it was the utter silence of the building that really unsettled Harry.
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Going out the window was hardly a problem for a shinobi, even without the luxury of being able to spare a bit of chakra for cushioning the landing. The question was more one of whether Riza could handle it (although she seemed accustomed enough to combat), or, more dubiously, whether Harry could handle it with his injury.
If worse came to worse, though, Sasuke was fairly sure he could handle carrying at least one, and Fugaku was proving loyal enough to whomever was giving orders to be accountable for the other.
Of course with luck they'd find what they were here for quickly, or at least be attacked on the ground floor. Sasuke waited for Fugaku to enter before following, keeping careful track of the exact sound of their footsteps and anything even slightly different from them in the darkness behind.
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The taggers had come in here, too. It seemed they came to many places, though the marks on the building seemed older. Most of them were illegible.
Why the place had to be so damn tight, Fugaku didn’t know. He blamed crazy builders who didn’t know half as much as they thought they did.
Damn his claustrophobia. It was stupid and irrational and he fucking hated that it never went away.
He knelt down, and eyed the ground. No blood, but there were stairs, and that was probably where it was coming from. “Down one level. About a week old, maybe more. I suggest ignoring it.”
Whoever, or whatever it was, it was dead. Gone. Nothing to be done.
Fugaku just informed the others because it was tactical to know everything about a situation that you could. Assumptions that people knew what you did got them killed.
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