Nightshift 39: West Wing, South Hall 1-B

[mind_the_sukima]

[From here]

Yukari peered up and down the hallway, deciding against shining her flashlight this way and that; she didn't particularly want to attract any monstrous attention. Mentally going over the maps, she tried to remember where she was going. Ritsuka had said M35, right? So that was the next block over... she'd have to go through the West

Comments

[toobothersome]

[from here]

When he opened the door to the first hall of the women's block, Shikamaru wasn't surprised to see Sakura already waiting. He wasn't known for his tardiness (not like Kakashi, at any rate) but his punctuality wasn't much to brag about either. There was no way she'd believe the real reason behind his lateness, so instead, he yawned and stretched his arms behind his head, unperturbed and seemingly indifferent to the moments she'd probably spent waiting. One hand slid into his pocket as he leaned against the wall beside her, and the beam of yellowish-white light painted a circle on the floor a few inches ahead of his slippered feet. "Who else are we waiting on, Naruto?" Kakashi hadn't left a note on the bulletin, and Sakura seemed to be of the (quite likely) opinion that Jiraiya would rather chase skirts than monsters, though where he'd find skirts in this place was anyone's guess. Sai'd claimed to be busy, which was somewhat of a relief. Although extensive training and experience had made the four-person team structure almost second nature to him, in a situation where so little could be depended on, Shikamaru preferred to work with people who held his unwavering trust.

[see_my_back]

Sakura passed Shikamaru a couple of scalpels and a razorblade. That still left her with a few to use and hopefully meant their team would be well-equipped. Or at least as well-equipped as they could hope to be. If they were in a real tight pinch she might not be able to punch as hard as she could with her chakra behind it, but she could still pack a wallop. She hadn't seen much of Shikamaru's taijutsu, but she assumed it was good enough, since he was one of the first jounins in their age group.

That just left Naruto. Sakura had known his abilities pretty well before they'd parted ways and found out about a lot of his new ones since meeting up again, but here, who could say?

"Yeah. I told him to meet us in front of the Sun Room. It's the most direct route to the basement. You have everything you need?"

[toobothersome]

"Yeah." Shikamaru accepted the razor blade and scalpels, testing the weight of the latter by balancing it between his fingers. They certainly weren't made to be used as weapons, but they'd suffice. They had to, anyway. "I need to know exactly what you and Naruto can still do," he said as he reached to tuck the scalpels into the band that should have been around his right leg. It wasn't. Shikamaru was newly reminded of the inconvenience of these uniforms. Instead, he slid the weapons into his pocket, angling the blades upward and making a note to use caution when reaching for them. It still seemed like a terrible idea, and he was mildly concerned for the future generations of the Nara clan.

"The Sun Room's usually the most dangerous, right?" he asked. The primer had said something to the effect, and if that was the case, they shouldn't leave Naruto waiting. "Let's go."

[to here]