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

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[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.

The spaces they passed through on their way to their destination were unremarkable, if not particularly familiar to him. It seemed as though all the danger lay behind that final door. He adjusted his grip on the unfamiliar sword in his hand. The difference in weight from a katana wouldn't pose too much of a problem in a quick skirmish, but he was going to have to try and compensate for the length and shape of it. Thankfully, no one would be judging him on the grace of his swordsmanship. All that mattered here was efficiency.

It was hard to see anything as the door opened, aside from general movement. There was only a split second to make sense of what was actually happening before gunfire--far more rapid than anything he'd ever experienced--broke out. All he had to benefit was instinct and quick reflexes as he reached out to try and pull Okita out of the line of fire as he himself dove to the side of the open doorway.

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.

Instead, she only heard the telltale of gunfire and ran to safety as quickly as possible. She inevitably picked the opposite side of the wall Hijikata had run to. Unsure of the calibur and the velocity speed, Asuka wasn't sure if the bullet would shoot right through the walls like butter. All she could do was curl up in a tight ball and cover her ears from the loud cacophony of gunfire and the eradication of the door frame as it blew off into a cloud of debris. There was no telling what the others were doing past the noise and debris. She knew whatever was in the other room would have to reload eventually and that would be the optimal time to attack or retreat, depending on Okita's orders.

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.

With guns.

The sight of an unfamiliar weapon swinging up at him had been enough warning, but there was a split second delay as his mind tried to jumpstart a new strategy. As the bullets began to bite into the door, Hijikata pulled him away and Okita went with him, feeling the sharp pain of bullets grazing his skin as he did so. The wounds were warm and strange, but they were shallow and hurt no more than being nicked in battle usually did. Okita had never been shot before and he didn't intend to experience that here of all places.

With his back pressed up against the wall, he looked over at Hijikata, his ears ringing from the sound of impossibly fast gunfire within the small room. Eventually those people would have to reload, their bullets would run out... Or they could rush them and try to take the weapons away. With a glance to the side, Okita confirmed that Asuka was safe and also noticed that his flashlight had been broken in the scramble. The light was gone and Okita waited to see how long it would be before the soldiers inside decided to stop firing as he turned his attention to Hijikata again with a look of, "That was unexpected. Now what."

[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.

With sight cleared of any foreign presence, the sound of gunfire dropped to an audible click. The soldier, however, remained as he was, the crossfires fixed on the center point of the doorway. Another set soon joined him, the second man choosing to stand a few steps to the side. Though no word passed between them, both agreed anyone sighted would be shot on the spot.

Meanwhile, the final pair kept to opposing walls and used the shadows to creep silently toward the entrance. Their intentions were far more complicated than the rest: if the intruders would not step out into firing range, they would have to rush in and clear out. Though it was difficult to tell in the dark, an observant individual might catch a glint or two of metal in their hands.

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.

He took a deep breath and surveyed the situation. Souji was bleeding, but the wounds--what he could see of them--were superficial. They could be taken care of. And across the doorway, Asuka looked unharmed. The only real casualty had been the strange lantern Souji had been carrying.

He frowned when Souji spoke, running through their options. They couldn't go back in, clearly. He was certain the shooting would just start again if they did. Which meant they had to wait for the men to come for them. It could work, but it would work better if the two swords were on either side of the door, and he had a feeling they didn't have long to move. He leaned close so he could whisper to Okita without being heard by the men in the room. "I'm going to move. If anyone comes through that doorway, strike." The doorway wasn't wide, and it would take a moment for the man inside to react. Hopefully he'd be able to move across the gap without taking a critical hit. Once he was on the other side, he could give Asuka her orders and, just maybe, they would survive.

And then he saw a glint of metal from inside the room an knew he had no time to waste. Firming his grip on his sword, he made a quick dash across the doorway, aiming for the wall where Asuka was currently taking shelter.

and extra failure from me

[notachick]

[ooc; Sorry for the wait, guys. I missed the note that said Asuka passed. orz]

They 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.

Shifting his grip on the sword, Okita nodded and turned his attention to the doorway. The men were still moving, slowly, but surely they were coming closer and soon enough they would be rushing the area. It was a sound strategy, but one that Okita was hoping for. Pushing himself onto the balls of his feet, Okita was ready to take a stab at anything that came through the doorway as Hijikata made the mad dash across to where Asuka waited.

[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.

That, however, was far from a loss. One detail remained firmly in the soldiers' advantage.

When a form moved across the doorway, one of the approaching two lifted up a free hand and signaled to the gunmen. Neither moved an inch, as if they had been told to stand their ground. A second signal prompted the fourth to reach for his back and produce a curious metal object. Without a word, the pair stopped their movements, just a few steps short of the doorway.

Here, a pin was dislodged, and the metal object slid effortlessly through the open door. As soon as it passed the three on the other end, the object detonated, sending out a blast loud enough to block out hearing and a flash bright enough to trigger all light sensitive cells in the naked eye. For five seconds, those within a ten-foot radius of the flash would lose vision and hearing capabilities.

[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 blinded by the weapon, but he'd take the chance.

[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?

Well a flash bomb was a good start. The instrument flashed behind Hijikata, and Asuka's pupils burned from the sudden surplus of light. The loud pop came a moment after, leaving the second child startled, deaf, and blind. Scared, too. It wasn't so easy to stand your ground without 12,000 plates of fortified armor. But she had no interest in dying tonight, or any night to come for that matter. There weren't heroes in this world. Shinji couldn't save her. It was up to her alone, because who would sacrifice themselves for a stranger? The eva pilot knew she wouldn't.

Clinging to the wall behind her, Asuka kept her bat firmly between her hands so that if anything got close, she'd be ready to wail on it. Hopefully that something wouldn't be Hijikata. The redhead wouldn't be earning any brownie points from the history club by beating a comrade like a stuffed piñata.

Okita and Hijikata were better armed than she. If Asuka could just keep low to the ground, let them keep the soldier's attention, it was possible she could slip into the other room and grab something a bit more sharp.

[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--

Something came through the door and clinked across the ground - metallic, cylindrical. For a split second, Okita's attention chased after it and then the world exploded into light and sound that drowned out everything else. It was so sudden and so unexpected that Okita actually lost his footing and felt his back hit the wall. His vision and hearing were shot and Okita knew now why the men hadn't shot at Hijikata as he ran across. The soldiers knew their positions and now they were deaf and blind and at a distinct disadvantage.

He knew the others wouldn't hear whatever orders he shouted and so Okita remained silent and trusted that Hijikata to do what was smart and stay back. The men would be coming through the door now that their enemy was blinded - and that was exactly what Okita wanted.

With his back to the wall, he squeezed his eyes shut and took a stab at the doorway and at whatever might be running through it.

[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.

Four seconds after the initial detonation, they struck, and the first of the men--the one who had released the stun gernade--flew through the door.

To be met with a sword through his left side, the tip gouging into skin. Okita had been smart to stick to movements; the soldiers had expected them to maintain a defensive stance at the most. The offense, therefore, was unexpected. Unexpected but hardly unmanagable.

Ignoring the pain, the soldier stepped back. The hand holding the machet swiped down and across in an attempt to knock the blade aside. To then sweep upward in an attempt to cut into the other man. Meantime, the second soldier reached Hijikata and cut his machete through the air in a downward movement. Metal hit metal; the soldier had to attempt a second strike. With what strength was available to him, he moved to push Hijikata back.

[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.

Keeping low, Asuka moved away from the wall to step as quietly as she could around the two and hopefully ambush their enemy. The redhead could only hope that the soldier`s attention was focused completely on Hijikata and that maybe they had not spotted a third intruder. Surprise was all she had, so she needed to use it now. She couldn`t hesitate. Holding her bat tightly in her hand, Asuka did her best to deduce where the man`s leg was and swung as hard as she could. She was only a little girl with a bat, but Asuka knew that she could wreck a man`s--maybe a creature was a better term--balance with a good whack to the back of the knee.

[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.

He'd missed his initial thrust, but now he knew approximately where the man was. When the blade jumped in his hands, Okita slid his foot back and brought the sword up again to protect his body. He had no way of knowing if this was the right move, but it was the one he would take. Knock the opponent's blade away and then cut across the body. The soldier had a shorter sword, not unlike the thing he'd given away a few nights ago. He would be more maneuverable.

This wasn't going to end well.

When the short sword connected to Okita's blade, he pushed back and grit his teeth. They needed to get out of here, no matter how much he didn't want to admit it.

[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.

[terriblehaiku]

They needed to leave. This wasn't a fight they could win, and sending Asuka into that room was a plan that had evaporated the moment those guns had started firing. No weapon was worth someone's life, not when they could retreat and return at a later time, hopefully with more manpower and better prepared to deal with the security.

The solider was trying to corner him. In the open, Hijikata knew he had a longer reach with his blade as compared to the shorter, sturdier weapon the soldier was using. Cornered, however, the length of his blade became a hindrance rather than an asset, so he had to keep himself in the open and wait for a good opportunity to retaliate.

That moment came sooner than expected, as the soldier unexpectedly stumbled, blade slipping from Hijikata's own. That must have been Asuka's work--he'd been aware of her moving, but hadn't been able to track exactly what she'd been doing. It was good to see she really was capable of independent action, and wasn't simply full of empty ambition.

He used the moment of distraction to his advantage, making a quick side-step and bringing the sword around in a quick sweep, hoping to connect with the soldier's body before he could bring his weapon up again to defend himself. He could barely make out a scuffle going on on the other side of the doorway, but wasn't able to make out who currently had the upper hand. He would just have to trust in Souji's sill, even against an unfamiliar opponent.

"We need to go." He didn't know if the others would be able to hear him, or if the soldiers heard him as well. Their plan had completely fallen to pieces, and retreat was the only logical option left to them.