Nightshift 31; Courtyard

[small_fortune]

[From here]Climbing up the wall was about as dignified as he'd expected, although it could still have been worse. The garden trowel as a climbing tool actually did help a little, and while he would regret the entire decision to go on this insane mission by morning, for now his muscles weren't aching too badly as he made his way to the top. He did

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[officer_leon]

Leon waited until the others were over the top, keeping a wary eye on the rest of the rec field. His own climb up the wall was a bit less graceful than he'd expected; he'd failed to factor the fact that he was carrying a baseball bat into his equation. Still, he clambered over the wall and stood beside the others, clearly waiting for Rangiku to lead them on.

[fuyunohanabi]

Rangiku grapsed Mark's hand when he neared the top of the wall, helping the man to haul himself up the last couple of feet and onto the top of the wall which was, thankfully, broad enough to stand on without too much trouble, even for a human. Once again, Rangiku had to feel grateful for being a shinigami. Heights lost their terror when you were capable of jumping from roof to roof in the human world.

She waited until Leon was up at the top before turning and looking down at the ground again, checking one last time for anything nasty which might be lurking around. Seeing nothing, she crouched and lowered herself quickly to the ground, dropping almost silently down onto the grass at the other side.

[small_fortune]

The drop to the ground was as controlled as he could manage, and he didn't bruise himself, although he did land with a soft 'oomph.' Not far now, although what they'd find inside the cafeteria was another question. Then kitchen, then freezer, then sumi-e...ing. And why had no maps of the lower levels been distributed yet, anyhow? Too incomplete? Or considered too dangerous to encourage the 'general' population towards? Or perhaps just retaining what knowledge they had and any possible advantages over the other groups' progress.

He paused by the door, expecting one of the others to knock it open. Mark thought he could kick one of the lightly-locked doors down on his own if he had to, but he hadn't had the need yet, and didn't want to waste any more spare energy after the little climb.

[officer_leon]

Leon followed the other two to the ground, landing in a crouch. He instinctively glanced around before straightening up. He followed Mark to the door, and tried the handle. Locked, but it didn't look sturdy. He could probably kick it in. "Want me to knock, or do you have a key?" he asked Rangiku, a faint smirk passing over his face.

[fuyunohanabi]

Well, that hadn't been too terribly traumatic, even if she was still waiting for some kind of proverbial axe to fall, but they made it to the door without mishap, and none of them had damaged anything on the jump down from the wall. She noted the way Leon landed, looking like he'd had practice at it.

She tried the door, making a soft noise of irritation when she found it locked. It shook so it shouldn't take too much effort to break, but still an obstacle.

She smiled at Leon and nodded, gesturing dramatically at the door. "If you would. Or I can blast it with kidou if it comes to it."

[small_fortune]

They were taking too long, others would get there first. Would that be a problem? It depended on who wound up down there, he supposed. And that was supposing there was a clear path. Maybe a bit of lingering wasn't so bad, if it got other patients tangling with the present monsters so their own team could sneak past. Not exactly charitable, are we?

I'm armed with gardening tools. Plenty of people here better suited for fighting off monsters than we are.

He stepped away from the door too, giving Leon room. Economy of work, that was all it was.

[officer_leon]

Leon nodded. He didn't know what kidou was, though he figured he'd probably find out as the night went on. He eyed the door, seriously wishing that he had his combat boots, and aimed a kick just above the door knob. The door creaked unhappily. A couple more blows, and the door swung inwards. "Ladies first," he said, gesturing to the doorway. "I'll watch our backs."

[fuyunohanabi]

Rangiku stepped back alongside Mark to give Leon enough room to break the door without either of them getting in the way. She was glad that she wouldn't have to use kidou so early during the night. She'd prefer to save it for a more desperate situation.

"Thankyou," she replied to Leon, stepping forward towards the gloom. "We don't stop inside," she said. "Just move towards the kitchen."

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