Nightshift 24: Entry Room

[transgenix]

( coming from here.)

The hall was dark and quiet as Max led the way deeper into the building and away from the dorms. She could hear the faint murmur of voices coming from... somewhere, but couldn't quite pinpoint a location

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[is_god]

Susan followed Max as quietly as she could, through the now open door. After a moment of consideration, she pulled it mostly shut behind them. It would still open with just a push, but it wasn't obviously open, so hopefully it wouldn't attract attention.

She used her flashlight to survey what was in the immediate area. So far, it wasn't too promising, but she hadn't expected this to be easy.

[transgenix]

"It looks like a dead end," Max spoke, her voice sounding much louder than she'd intended in the not-so-large room. There were two large desks to either side and what looked like a door ahead of them, though she couldn't see through it to the other side.

Her gaze narrowing, she scanned the room intently, spotting the two doors leading off in opposite directions, then paused as she noted the tow small closet-sized rooms that were positioned behind each desk. Were they closets? Why two? And why there?

Curious, she moved towards one and tried the door, only to find it locked.

[is_god]

Susan moved to the other small room; its door was locked as well. When she let go of the door handle, her hand came away red with rust. She grimaced, wiping it on her pants, then knelt to give the handle a closer inspection. It looked rather decrepit, as locks and handles went, furry with rust. She gave it an experimental, light tap with her flashlight; it wasn't as weak as that, but she thought maybe it gave, just a little.

"I think..." Oh, hell with it. This was a hallucination, after all. She brought the flashlight down on the handle, hard, and was rewarded by the sound of it breaking.

The door would open now.

[transgenix]

Max, who'd been wondering if she would have to start looking for something to use as a lockpick, heard the sharp sound and laughed, moving away from her door to join Susan in front of hers. "I like you. No quibbling about breaking and entering. How's your flashlight?"

[is_god]

[from above]

Susan walked over to the door for - unbeknownst to her - the first waiting room. She grabbed the handle and opened the door; it flew open far faster than it should have, startling her.

She jumped back, flashlight at the ready to bludgeon.

[hajike_tobiume]

(( From here.))

Momo's eyes narrowed as the door opened much, much faster than she'd expected. The shinigami dropped into a defensive stance, low to the ground, ready to attack if necessary.

What met her eyes was a tall woman brandishing a flashlight as if it were a club. Momo quickly took in the grey clothing and that she wasn't armed any further. A further narrowing of her eyes, and the shinigami put forthe the effort to check the woman's spirit threads. It was brief, and increased the shinigami's headache some, but enough to tell this woman was human.

That eased Momo's mind slightly (not her body), but this woman's posture and stance indicated some kind of military training. Just because Momo knew the woman wasn't a monster didn't mean the woman knew the same thing of her.

"Name, rank, division," the shinigami stated in her vice-captain voice.

[is_god]

Susan's eyes narrowed. It was an authoratative voice coming from... a munchkin. Someone very short, and very much younger than her.

But hey, if it was talking, it was probably not a monster. Or rather, it was a figment of her mind that looked like a fluffy bunny, as opposed to a face hugger.

"Commander Susan Ivanova, Earthforce," she said, her tone taking on the hint of dryness that said she was humoring this request. She straightened, easing the flashlight down, though she was ready to go in bashing if necessary. "Name and rank, soldier."

Two could play at this game.

[hajike_tobiume]

Earthforce? Momo had never heard of such a military group, but she'd never heard of the Hellsing organization either. And the odds were Commander Susan Ivanova would not have heard of the Gotei 13.

This shinigami shifted her stance so she was no longer crouching and bowed slightly to Susan. "Vice-captain Hinamori Momo, acting captain of the 5th Division in the Gotei 13," she replied calmly, not phased by the tone Susan was using.

"Well met," Momo continued with a small smile, her tone softening back to normal. "I have not heard of your division before, Commander. And I doubt you've heard of mine, but that is beside the point."

She gestured to the rest of the entryway that Susan was effectively blocking. "May me and mine pass by?"

[youthfulrocklee]

Came running down from here

Quietly, Lee entered the entry room. He noticed that there were other occupants, but at the moment, he ignored them. Now was not the time to socialize with strangers. He would leave that for the light of day. Still, he kept one eye open in case the others decided that it was a good time to fight.

Frankly, he hoped it wouldn't come to that. The last thing he wanted at the moment was to wake up again in his room, empty handed. No, he owed it to Takaya to at least get something of value this night.

"This is as far as we got before night became day," he said softly, not bothering to see if Naruto was there or not. He knew that the blonde would be able to keep up with him, but it was not that important that Naruto knew about his first night. He prayed that Sakura, Usagi, and Relena were well. He also hoped that Takaya was all right. He had been through enough. If it were possible, Lee would willingly take Takaya's place if the demons here wished to harm him more.

He entered further into the room.

[tte_bayo]

What other kinds of things went down at Landel's? There was a panging guilt in the back of him mind that continually reminded him of Sasuke, but he didn't have the heart to abandon this group. At least Sasuke was safe locked away somewhere, probably safer than he would be roaming around and letting his great big fat ego get him into trouble

[youthfulrocklee]

"Naruto, it is best to work together on such things," chided Lee. "It would not do if you were to be injured. But do not lose hope. Even if this horrid place tries to break us by weakening our powers, we are still strong as long as we believe in our inner strength

[tte_bayo]

Waving away Lee's worrying, Naruto chuckled lightly as the other Konoha-nin joined him in the small space. "We're both damn tough, no matter what they take away from us," he agreed confidently.

"Say stuff like that and monsters will definitely show up," grinning despite the statement. The grin faded when he remembered the shed with Gaara. He hadn't been able to protect his friend very well then - would he be of any use to Lee if something like that happened again?

Yes, he mentally checked himself and narrowed his eyebrows in determination. I won't let anything happen to him. I won't let anyone get hurt again. The other boy displayed his strength aptly by kicking away one of the locks on the file cabinets, so Naruto chose another one nearby and less graciously made more use of his flashlight. The blunt end was hard enough, though decidedly more scratched up now, and another cabinet got freed up after some applied effort

[muted_flame]

[ From here. ]

As usual, the Entry Room was crowded... And yet it looked like no one had actually gotten through the main door. He was one of the only people that had the key to it, then, though he was fairly certain another copy was floating around. Hopefully, he would be the first one to open the door and figure out where it led - for no other reason than he would have an advantage over the other patients, along with some bragging rights.

Then again, everyone in the room was going to see him open the door and would be able to follow them out, but there wasn't much he could do about that. He slowly trudged inside, glancing around cautiously. Was there no antagonist here? That was odd - usually there was something guarding the Entry Room.

Well, he wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. Glancing back at the three who had come with him (would it turn out their help would not be needed?), he started toward the other side of the room where the door in question was located, ignoring the other patients there.

[haiiro_no_chou]

Rukia nodded at the Colonel's answer, staying close to him as they went into the entry room. She had never been in here before, but it almost seemed too easy that they could simply walk out the front door. She would have to be extra cautious.

Glancing around, she noted the other patients, then froze. Was that Vice Captain Hinamori??? She simply stared for a long moment before calling out softly, "Vice Captain Hinamori?"

[hajike_tobiume]

Momo slowly approached and stopped when she could easily see the details of Rukia's face, but did not get too close. The shinigami glanced briefly at the other three with Rukia, but paid them little attention.

"Kuchiki-san... So the Sokyoku got its blood after all," Momo said quietly. "I had hoped the ryoka would..." She bowed her head as she fought the tears again, refusing to cry.

"I am sorry, Rukia."

[broken_exorcist]

Allen nodded, but said nothing at the Colonel's refusal. It wasn't his place after all. It wasn't, but-

Allen's gaze darted through the dark room as Rukia called out a name. Another one. His jaw tightened, but he said nothing about the new "shinigami." If Rukia knew her, she was one of those, right? Though he couldn't help the glow from his left eye at the sight of them. But he'd keep his word. Even if it wasn't easy.

He glanced around the room, torn between unease and skepticism. This was the way out? All they'd needed was a key to the front door? It all seemed terribly simple. He kept a careful watch on the shinigami, though he managed to watch the way they'd come in as well. Just in case some awful monsters had decided to follow. Or better than that, if Ravi had decided to tag along. He was probably out looking for his Innocence. They'd still have to find that before entertaining any thoughts of return, he knew.