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

Comments

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

s'all good

[notachick]

Not good, not good, not good, not good. Okita felt the minute pull of the soldier's blade as he shifted his weight, but he hadn't been prepared for a kick to the stomach. The boot connected solidly with his body and it was only due to his reflexes that he didn't get completely knocked down by it. The force of the blow threw him back a foot or two and Okita had to choke down the coughing that threatened to destroy his usefulness. Breathing properly wasn't an option and so Okita instead made a grab at the soldier's ankle as his body tipped forward

[damned_soldiers]

Both attempts connected. Hijikata's sword cut across his opponent's torso, pushing past fabric to break skin and draw blood. Dark stains appeared in the soldier's uniform, and the man couldn't help a shuddered breath and several stumbles back, but overall, he kept steady. He raised his machete in a defensive pose, ready to strike in the event of a subsequent attack.

This time, he would remember the smaller body in the room.

The one against Okita, however, was not so fortunate. The grab offset his balance, and the man tipped backward, leaving his head vulnerable for the following strike. Okita's blade struck deep into the soldier's left eye, a thick, wet sound resulting from the stab. Muscles convulsed for a minute before everything went still.

[terriblehaiku]

Damnit. He should have known that strike wasn't going to be enough to take the soldier down. The sword was just too unfamiliar, and it was too hard to see, even with the effects of that explosion beginning to wear off. But it did, at least, give him an opening.

Okita was still engaged a short distance away, and the weakness in that shout sent a spike of worry through him. But now wasn't the time. He had to have faith in his captain and trust he'd get himself out.

He struck out again, but this strike was more of a feint, cover while he located Asuka and grabbed hold of her arm. He didn't care if she protested the treatment or not--they were getting out, and she didn't look like she'd be moving any other way. "We're going."
And without further comment, he hauled the girl to her feet and started retreating back the way they came, desperately hoping they hadn't been flanked by more enemies while they'd been tied up here, while keeping one eye out in case the soldier he'd been fighting took up pursuit.

[lookitmemama]

The hand that grabbed her chilled the blood in her veins. It was an irrational and violent fear, and for a moment, Asuka was afraid the thing that had her was one of the gunmen who had sneaked around them.

The words didn't help either. She heard them, but nothing registered. Pulled to her feet, the second child finally realized her demise was not oncoming. But it, strangely, didn't stop the whirlwind of emotion that suddenly overtook her. The frustration was sharp and bitter in a way she had never felt. Her foundation--what little was left of it--was beyond repair now that she had seen the truth behind the patients' supposed delusions. And they could do nothing to help themselves. She couldn't do anything!

He couldn't do anything to stop this!

"H-Hey! Let--" Asuka finally came back to reality. Her sudden fascination with Hijikata's impotency (something that so closely paralleled her own) shook her from the catatonic state. "Let go! Ow, let go!"

[notachick]

His sword struck something, but it wasn't the torso or the neck as he was expecting. The weight and the feel of the blade pushing through skin and muscle wasn't right. It felt like he'd hit a smaller, more vulnerable target; a theory backed up by the way the foot he was holding twitched violently before the man fell like a rock. Dead then. He pulled his sword back to avoid breaking off the tip as the body crumpled and released the man's leg. Lucky shot - very lucky.

He could hear his own breathing in his head growing ragged now that the immediate fight was over. A few steps back. A deep breath that turned out to be way too shallow. His chest felt tight, impossibly tight--

Not the time. Not now.Okita flicked his blade through the air to rid it of whatever blood or brain matter still stuck to it and he began to run after his leader, covering his and Asuka's retreat. His vision was coming back to him and he brought his blade up, ready to take down the last soldier who remained in the room. Two more behind him, but those had