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Nightshift 19 - Cafeteria/Kitchen

Nov 15, 2006 20:26

The Cafeteria followed the same track record as all the other rooms, quiet and seemingly harmless at first glance. Cliff wasn't sure if he should be relived or disappointed so far that he hadn't noticed anything moving in the shadows. Even the tables and chairs had been arranged neatly for the night as if nothing in the world could be wrong and ( Read more... )

barret, rufus, cliff, reno, cloud, pyramid head, ichigo

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soul_defender November 16 2006, 03:41:46 UTC

Pacing closely behind Cliff, Ichigo kept his eyes to their rear flank, as it were, while his traveling companion was focused on the forefront. As he walked carefully along, the displaced shinigami would turn on his toes and walk backwards for a few steps, making entirely sure that nothing on four legs or two was craftily creeping up from behind ( ... )

thebloodyacacia November 20 2006, 06:06:52 UTC

The silence stretched again, but it was underlaid with a constant screeeeeee, as if the sword that had just rent a hole in the kitchen door was being drawn along the floor again. It stopped very abruptly, and for a few more seconds, silence held sway again ...

Then the sword came crashing back down into the door, from top to bottom, only following a slightly different angle. The new cut crossed the first but didn't stop at the same point; this time, the blade fully bisected the door, and when the wielder jerked it out of the way, half of the door fell inwards and clattered on the ground.

The silhouette of Pyramid Head, knife in front of him and slowly being dragged back as he prepared to make another move (another move that could have been a third slice, or a swipe at the walls, or a movement into the kitchen), could easily be seen in the darkness beyond the doorway.

gotahunch November 20 2006, 16:08:20 UTC

Cliff didn't take the time to adjust to the imposing figure in the doorway. He'd been waiting for that second strike to shatter it, gauging the unnerving lengths of time in between. Now wasn't the time to worry about being turned into chopsuey, right?

He was the first to move away from the cover of the wall, tossing some of the kerosene at the figure with an unceremonious flick of the wrist before he made to take cover again.

"So send him back already!" He shouted at Kurosaki, giving the boy his cue. The radio's hint said that nothing in the night loved fire - they just had to hope it was true. And that the sword didn't get to either of them before the fire did.

soul_defender November 20 2006, 19:51:34 UTC

Sure, it was easy enough for him to say. Though Ichigo didn't have a moment to spare a glance at Cliff, the man's words were ringing in his ears just as loudly as the roar of the creature's weapon as it had come crashing through the doorway ( ... )

thebloodyacacia November 20 2006, 21:41:17 UTC

When the kerosene splashed onto him, Pyramid Head didn't even appear to notice. He continued to draw back his blade, swinging it once to get it behind him, the giant pointed head staring directly into the ruins of the door. He took one step forward, his foot splashing against the now-wet floor, and the blade screeeeeched along behind him ( ... )

gotahunch November 21 2006, 04:07:56 UTC

Cliff cursed, scattering backward quickly but not quickly enough to avoid the blade being swung at random while the creature tried to put itself out. He wasn't normally built for speed, and to top it off his fighting style hadn't adjusted yet. The sword struck his arm as he blocked again just in time but he didn't stop to see or think about how badly he might have been injured ( ... )

soul_defender November 21 2006, 05:01:29 UTC

While the enflamed creature began to wildly thrash its hissing, smoke-drenched body around, Ichigo felt himself nearly caught by one of the unaimed swings of its bloodied blade as he attempted to put as much distance between himself and their assailant. Thrown violently to the ground by the sheer force, the boy's chin and chest hit the solid floor with a flesh-muffled crack.

He wasn't hurt, just lightly stunned; the stench of the kerosene, coupled with the smell of the creature's burning body, was practically overpowering, enough to make bring on a dizzied state.

Ugh...it's still going, dammit. All that fire isn't doing a thing to stop it... Grunting lightly, Ichigo slowly pushed himself off of the floor, then scrambled off to safety ( ... )

thebloodyacacia November 21 2006, 15:41:06 UTC

The flames were crawling higher, and Pyramid Head withdrew his sword from the wall - only to smash it back into yet another wall. But this time, he left it there - somehow, the wall supported it - and now, with his freed hands, he began to smother the flames that had made it too high up to be ignored. (With his hands! There was flesh there! Yellowed and deformed and pockmarked and ruined, but it was still flesh!) Those hands ran down the disgusting apron, crushing any flames they came across, spreading the kerosene that hadn't yet been entirely burned up. Still, though, there were flames - the ones too low for him to reach standing up continued to burn, leaving his legs to suffer and his apron to melt away ( ... )

gotahunch November 21 2006, 22:23:46 UTC

The drawer only seemed to give the creature the second it needed to focus and stop flailing madly. Cliff wasn't sure if this was a good or bad thing now that it had begun advancing again with that treacherous screeeeech, thump sound, still burning. It was doing what they needed it to do, but sooner or later he could see that sword crashing down into the counter that separated them and hacking it to bits like it had the door.

What he wouldn't do for a glass bottle right then. The only thing he still had with him was the bread knife.

He spread some of the kerosene across the blade and threw it at the creature's lower stomach where the nasty scrap of clothing started and the fire was most likely to catch. Cliff was no expert when it came to that kind of weapon though; there were a million things that could have gone wrong with the throw.

soul_defender November 22 2006, 02:26:20 UTC

Ichigo had never wanted anything more in his entire life than for that flesh-seared freak just to take a few steps more. That's all he needed. Whatever the hideous creature was, in all its deathly silence and invulnerable aptitude, it was still too close to their door of escape for them Cliff and himself to safely slip by. Those precious few steps would clear just enough space for a nice, flat-out dash out of the kitchen.

Keeping his back and shoulders firmly wedged against the wooden surface of the counter, Ichigo intently listened for those tell-tale footsteps to approach. He shivered lightly, his face scrunching inward disgustedly; he'd faced some gruesome opponents before, but the prospect of getting anywhere near that flame-kissed body just made his skin crawl.

"Hey!" Ichigo gasped, amazedly watching Cliff raise himself over their makeshift barricade and toss the blade. "We already set him on fire, what the hell is that going to do!?" he barked questioningly.

thebloodyacacia November 22 2006, 02:47:29 UTC

SCREEEEECH thump

Pyramid Head took yet another step into the room, the sword dragging behind it so heavy that it left a trail (and sparks) in the floor. It was still burning, but the flames were flickering and sputtering; either whatever the apron was made out of didn't burn well, or whatever the apron was covered in was flame-resistant. (But if the stains were really what they looked like - dark reddish-brown and fresh bright red and old yellow - then wouldn't they burn just as well? Didn't it burn if it was dry ... ?) His legs stopped burning after a while, mottled flesh darkening and peeling, then falling off.

SCREEEEECH thumpThe blade flew over the counter and lodged itself in Pyramid Head's apron-covered stomach; it tore through the fabric and bit into the covered skin. He jerked to a halt, almost flinching (wincing? flying back?); the blade flamed to life, just for a few moments, and then died down again. The apron caught, though, and he was forced to stop again, using his free hand to knock free the knife and try to smother ( ... )

gotahunch November 22 2006, 23:45:10 UTC

Cliff had, for the most part, blocked the sickening stench of burnt, mottled flesh out of his mind so he could focus. But as the thing screech-thumped its way closer, he was beginning to feel the nausea that came with it. Not so much the thought of getting near, but the mixed disgust, nostalgia and, yes, even fear the smell evoked.

The knife hadn't even distracted it long enough for them to move, but as it paused in its place Cliff inched closer to the side he would be going from. He hated running. But if that was all the effect his so-called weapon had on monsters, he shouldn't have bothered with it to begin with. Too bad for that.

He couldn't seem to break the silence that followed to answer Kurosaki's question. When the knife finally came crashing down it was like the starter pistol from hell. "Go!"

Cliff scrambled to his feet, vaulting over what was left of the counter to make his dash for the door. Yeah, think of it as living to fight another day.

soul_defender November 23 2006, 02:31:43 UTC

In all likelihood, Ichigo had the same level of distaste for such a hasty retreat as Cliff. They'd never know it for sure; at least, not for the moment, while running held much higher priority than talking about pet peeves. He wasn't so proud to stand his ground against something like this, though.

There's a big difference between facing up to a bully, and letting a frickin' streamroller pass by! he swore to himself, pushing himself off of the floor in a crouched runner's start ( ... )

thebloodyacacia November 23 2006, 15:27:32 UTC

The sword was thoroughly embedded in the destroyed counter, and when the two men dashed out from either side of it, Pyramid Head jerked at the blade - only to find it was nearly impossible to remove. He paused for a moment - enough time to let the two men slip out the door behind him - before whirling around (so fast! with a helmet that had to be crushing his very skull, he moved so fast!) and starting to lumber after them.

Unlike before, however, he was now much faster. Possibly because he was no longer dragging the sword behind him, Pyramid Head could now take full, unburdened steps, and for each step he took it was nearly equal to a sprint made by either of the two men. His hands raised, spasming and twitching even as flesh scattered off them (the flames had not been kind to him), as if aiming to sieze the men from behind and drag them back into the kitchen.

thump

thump

thump

gotahunch November 23 2006, 20:19:32 UTC

Cliff wasn't as fast as Kurosaki, but it was amazing what having a 7ft monster behind you could do for speed. He was only a few feet behind the teenager, long legs compensating for whatever his weight took away.

"Considering my options?!" Cliff called back, sparing a glance over his own shoulder. If he thought he could spare the breath, he would have sworn. Something that big should not have been as fast as it was. The again, the thing really was some freak perversion.

But the sword was gone. He could pretend that was a good thing. Cliff turned his eyes forward again and kept running. He could already see the door that led into the Sunroom.

soul_defender November 24 2006, 02:09:41 UTC

Once Kurosaki reached the middle of the road, his fleet footsteps carrying him all the way to the center of the cafeteria, he felt he could let his piston-like breathing settle again. Maybe his heartrate would start to calm itself as well, as his blood was pumping like electricity running through the wires of his body. Maybe, if he was lucky ( ... )

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