Night 51: Main Hallway, 1-Center

[ai_no_minako]

[from here]

The only problem with being punctual was that it left her all alone (hopefully all alone, at least) in a large, echoing hallway with nothing but her imagination. Considering that Minako's imagination was pretty good, especially given the last few years, that wasn't exactly a good thing. She gave the area a careful investigation, making

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[zack_fair]

[From here.]

All in all, his chat with Tifa had been pretty fast. Zack was glad for that; while he would have liked to take some more time to make sure she was taken care of, there were a number of reasons that that was a bad idea. For one thing, he needed to make sure that Sasuke and Aidou didn't have to wait too long. And on top of that, he didn't want to condescend to Tifa like that. If she was injured, then he had to tell himself that she would use her best judgment.

Though the fact that she'd agreed to come along in the first place, when she'd been that hurt, seemed to indicate that she was prone to pushing herself. He'd have to watch out for her nonetheless.

For now, though, he had to make sure he was on task, and so he jogged over to the Sun Room entrance and spotted his two companions for the night. At least he wasn't coming over empty-handed, as he now had the pry bar. It had been generous of Tifa to hand it over; with that and his materia (well, it was one-third Cloud's and one-third Yuffie's, but that was neither here nor there), he'd actually be of some use this time around.

"Sorry for the wait! I hope it wasn't too long." He halted in front of them and smiled, clearly exhilarated and ready for the coming mission.

[buryyourdemons]

Movement was faulty at best, but it was provided, and perhaps he would have crossed paths without knowledge of another had not the other spoken. Quietly and feet away, and yet Gaara would not forget that voice so easily. One who had spoken echoes of a past self, and then went on to move further from it. That one had stopped nearby, watching the door to the main room with another. The Suna-nin's steps shifted, bringing him closer quietly. The cloth hung unobtrusively from his tightened fist. Naruto. Temari. And this one. The meaning of bringing all of them together was not known. And were there more?

Another joined them, greeting warmly, but Gaara only stared at the other shinobi, tone even when he spoke. "Uchiha Sasuke." The one who had fled only recently. Yet, as with Naruto, the Uchiha had grown within the months after the Chuunin exams by a substantial amount. Gaara's eyes narrowed fractionally.

[blood_and_pocky]

“He should be quick.” ‘Should’ not in the sense that he knew Zack was a timely guy, but that they couldn’t be caught standing around for too long. Time was wasting and he knew it well.

Fortunately, Zack seemed to know it too, because he didn’t stop long with the woman. Good, then. They were all set.

Except this was Landel’s, and things went smoothly only on the rarest of nights.

Locking on to the movement, he watched the small figure start toward them from the corner of his eye. Of course he remembered that face. How could he not? But as he’d noted before, this was not the same little eyebrow-less redhead; it added a whole different layer of complication that Aidou neither wanted or needed, and he had no interest in focussing on it. They had somewhere to be--Sasuke included, even if the two were acquainted from home. After all, Sasuke hadn’t said he’d invited anyone else along or had other business along the way…

“We’re busy. Is this important?” Whether Sasuke was in contact with this one again or it was just bad timing, well. Daylight was for chitchat. They had a gaudy ballroom to finally get to.

[sasuke_of_sound]

And speak of the devil: Zack arrived right as Aidou claimed he would, sounding decidedly too cheerful and excited to spend a night groping around in Landel's basement. Was it an effect of being relatively new, or was it just a factor of the man's personality?

Before Sasuke could either make a conclusion or let the subject drop from mind, it was sharply interrupted by a voice that was difficult to forget. He stiffened, a frown cutting into his expression. Someone else who had been here briefly and left. At this rate, Sasuke could expect Lee to reappear any time.

"Sabaku no Gaara," he acknowledged, even as Aidou made his impatient demand. Their voices overlapped, but he continued speaking despite it： "You are new here." It was statement and not question; there was a quality to Gaara's tone that made it clear he hadn't seen Sasuke recently. "We have little time to stand around and talk. If you wish to speak with me, you will have to follow us."

[zack_fair]

Before Zack could say much more - heck, before they could even get into the Sun Room - they were interrupted by yet another person. It seemed like tonight was a night of running into familiar faces, or vice versa. With the way the redheaded kid was saying Sasuke's name, it was pretty clear that the two knew each other.

But this was apparently their first time meeting in the building. Sasuke didn't seem to be willing to waste any time on the reunion, though, which surprised Zack a bit. While it fit the boy's personality (as much as Zack knew of it, at least), it seemed strange that he was so quick to blow someone off. Either the two didn't get along, or he was just that set on getting to the basement.

Still, Zack knew how important these sorts of encounters could be, and so he didn't make a move to rush them toward the door. If someone wanted to push them forward, then it could be Aidou or Sasuke. For the moment, he was willing to wait and see how this little interaction played out.

Of course, staying completely quiet would have been beyond him, and so he nodded to the newcomer in greeting before pointing to the doors that they would probably soon be stepping through. "We're heading that way. I don't mind if you come along." The redhead wasn't injured from the looks of it, so Zack didn't have to feel guilty about allowing him to come when he'd turned Tifa down.

[buryyourdemons]

The blond was ignored without a glance in his direction. The shinobi continued watching the other, as the Uchiha made clear his intentions. Did Gaara have any want to converse with this one? No, nothing so simple. But from the looks of his team, Sasuke had been here for some time at least. Had he came straight here while they had been fighting the Sound ninjas?

Here, again, were too many questions with no answers. The dark haired man that had approached gestured to the doors that they were standing by, and Gaara's mouth twisted slightly, before giving the smallest of nods--passing the group to push open the doors.

[to here]