Night 52: Entry Room

[repelling]

[from here]The door opened onto darkness. Either the lights had switched off, or they'd all burst; sweeping the flashlight's beam over the floor evinced the glitter of broken glass. The latter, then. He hoped the brown of that carpet looked less repulsive in the daylight. As Uryuu walked into the room, he was almost glad of the darkness. The light

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[toobothersome]

Sometimes Shikamaru wondered why he wasted energy on so many pointless things--things like saying "wait, this is a bad idea" to people like Gaara and Temari. He raised his hand to grab her shoulder but quickly reconsidered the idea, still winded from her punch a few moments earlier.

The intercom crackled again and he paused just long enough to listen. The tone of the woman's voice made him queasy, but it couldn't rival the spark of near-panic he felt at her actual words.

The instability that permeated all three of their shadows felt stronger, and if the past held true, the institute wouldn't be content with a bit of flickering.

"Wait."

It was a better idea to grab Temari's arm than Gaara's...she'd probably interpret the latter as an attack on her brother. Shikamaru released her almost immediately and retreated several steps, intending to keep as much distance between them as possible.

"You don't understand. Some nights this place does things..." He trailed off briefly, remembering the details that he'd left out of his notes and wishing he'd been more forthright. "Things you can't fight, like genjutsu that actually warps reality. They start like this, and then they get worse. Deadly." Another several steps back, then to the side. He ignored the headache. There'd be plenty of time for that later, when no one's safety depended on him. "If he's using shadows I might be able to do something, but you need to listen to me."

Shikamaru knew that he didn't have much chakra, and as determined as he was to ignore it, the pain behind his eyes sharpened as his thoughts fanned out in search of solutions.

[buryyourdemons]

He would have continued walking, content to answer his sister's query while moving. The sooner he had more available to him, the more assured he would be. But before he was allowed that option, the Konoha shinobi made his move--quickly grabbing Temari, then speaking briefly. Gaara followed the act with narrowed eyes but did not deign to comment on it. He would keep that for another time. The other's words made sense, as much as they were able. And even as he spoke, the shadows around them seemed to worsen, growing seemingly solid in the half-light. That made his mind all the more made up.

"Fine," he answered levelly as he moved to the door. "Tell us while we move."

[to here]