Night 54: Special Counseling Final Prep Area

[notachick]

[from hereHe knew this feeling all too well. As his fingers turned the door knob, everything around him seemed to flatten out into a single dimension. Sound intensified to the point where he could hear his own heartbeat, and faintly hear that of the people around him. His senses seemed to heighten when he was about to enter a battlefield and his

Comments

[damned_soldiers]

Or likely didn't expect

[terriblehaiku]

The girl had plenty of confidence in herself, he had to admit. Hopefully she had common sense to go with it. They couldn't afford anyone's ego getting them into trouble. He might have no idea what they were getting into, but Souji's demeanor told him it was going to be serious. The young man wasn't the sort to exaggerate the gravity of the situation

WOW way to not save the little girl (nottalking forevah)

[lookitmemama]

Asuka was lucky to be stuck behind two adults. Out of options, Asuka never fared well in or out of her evangelion in the face of danger. Whether it was shock or pride, perhaps maybe even disbelief, the redhead stayed glued to the spot. Without the tall bodies in front of her to unknowingly shield her from the sight of being targeted by an automatic rifle, the second child would have been turned into a bloody ragdoll

HEY, SHE'S FAST ENOUGH TO DUCK

[notachick]

In the darkness, Okita was able to pick out four people - large, but not as big as the orderlies had been. There was no strange gas or unrecognizable creature lurking in the darkness, just four men

[damned_soldiers]

The bullets picked away tile and plaster, but the institute proved far sturdier in the end. Nothing passed through the walls; only the path through the open doorway remained affected, the area riddled with bullets and filled with the smell of gunpowder. The intruders were lucky to have moved so quickly. Any hesitation might have killed them

Hey, she had them to hide behind!

[terriblehaiku]

That sudden burst of gunfire had thrown whatever plans they'd had right in the trash. Distracting the guards while Asuka raided the room wouldn't work when they could be so easily shredded by bullets. And from Souji's startled reaction, he clearly hasn't been expecting these armed men at all

and extra failure from me

[notachick]

[ooc; Sorry for the wait, guys. I missed the note that said Asuka passed. orzThey were moving into position. Okita could hear the soft sound of their footfalls as they maneuvered to cover the doorway with those guns, and then the sound of the second pair in motion. He couldn't see where they were going and his ears still rang a bit from the sound of the gunfire, but he knew logically what he would do in their position. A quick check to ensure that Asuka was safe was all he needed before Hijikata leaned in to give his orders. The doorway was slight enough that he would be able to make the move before they got more than a few shots off, but the timing would have to be impeccable

[damned_soldiers]

Stealthily, the pair progressed toward the doorway. No doubt the highly observant would have caught their movements; boots against tile in a near-empty hallway made for poor concealment. One would have to wonder if their enemy hadn't known of their intentions by now

[terriblehaiku]

Hijkata had been expecting another burst of that devastating gunfire as he sprinted from Souji's side, across to where Asuka was taking cover. It should have been a relief, but it wasn't, because it meant they were passing up the easy course of action for... something else. Probably a more direct approach, if the sounds of movement that had been coming from the room were any indication.

His plan might still work. But first he had to get Asuka back on her feet and briefed on the situation. He was just leaning in to tell her the plan when there was a noise from the doorway. He started to turn, and the world went white.

Somehow, he managed not to fall. The loud ringing in his ears was irritating, but not nearly as dangerous as the fact that he couldn't see properly. Whatever it was hadn't caught him full on, but it was still enough to render him effectively blind. All he could do was turn towards where he remembered the doorway being and move into a defensive stance. He doubted he'd be able to fool anyone into thinking he hadn't been

[lookitmemama]

Seeing movement in the darkness beside her, Asuka moved back to accommodate a new visitor to her side of the wall. She braced herself for the hail of bullets that would try and clip the taller man--Hijikata then--, but no such noise came. Instead of holding them off, the gunmen were advancing if the rubber squeak of their soles was anything to go by.

Wonderful! Asuka thought bitterly. How could this get any worse

[notachick]

They weren't coming through and there was no gunfire as Hijikata ran across to safety. Okita changed the grip on his sword and felt the tension spread across his back as he realized something was very, very wrong. The men were still advancing, but they weren't reacting to a very obvious

[damned_soldiers]

The masks worn by the soldiers armed with the machetes did well in filtering light and sound, leaving the men relatively capable of manuvering. Not so much, it seemed, for the riflemen. Despite holding their positions quite well, they wouldn't be shooting at anything for at least a minute. That hardly mattered; there were still two capable of eliminating the threat

[terriblehaiku]

His vision was still impaired when the soldier made his move. Apparently, he hadn't expected to encounter the sword like that, or had chosen, for whatever reason, not to strike somewhere more vulnerable. That was fine with him. In close quarters like this, the visual impairment wasn't as much of an issue as it would have been ha the man been further off.

The second strike was an attempt to make him lose ground. Thankfully, his sword was more than up to the task of blocking the machete's blade, and he himself had enough strength to stand his ground as best he could with admittedly less traction than those noisy boots provided the soldier. He couldn't let himself be shoved too far back. Asuka wasn't completely unarmed, but against the weapons these men had, he didn't want to contemplate her chances against them. With a grunt of annoyance, he pushed back against the other man's blade with his own.

[lookitmemama]

Asuka felt more than saw Hijikata begin to move back against her bat. Without Okita`s flashlight illuminating the darkness, her awareness was rather limited to feeling. It was hard to pick up anything faint with her ringing ear, but the low beat of boots tromping across the tile was telling enough. She knew the man in front of him was being pushed back by one of the soldiers, which put her in the worst possible place

[notachick]

While his ears had still not adjusted to the shock of whatever that noise was, the feel of metal striking down at his sword - thick, heavy, not a sword - was enough to kick-start Okita's instincts. As long as the men had blades instead of guns, he could deal with them even with his eyes closed. He just had to read their moves, hope they were as predictable as the samurai back in Kyoto, and he would come out of this with his head still on his shoulders

[damned_soldiers]

Movement from these men spoke of skill and experience. The soldiers understood straightforward maiming may not be possible as it was. Okita proved more active of their enemies, and the soldier against him knew he had to move fast in order to break through. Theoretically, at least. The other had a longer blade and therefore, a longer reach. Eventually, this would work against him.

Thus, the soldier took a chance when he struck metal. He kicked out with one foot, hoping the boot would connect with the other man's body. Catch him off-guard and pull off an open strike.

His partner, on the other hand, took a chance with time. He felt the push in the opposite direction but managed to stand his ground. If he could press Hijikata into a corner, if he could overpower the man, then--

Concentration broke. Something hard struck the back of his leg. Without wanting, the man stumbled forward slightly, his blade momentarily sliding off of Hijikata's.