Nightshift 31: Recreactional Field

[contentincloset]

[from here]Last night he'd only been intent on getting to Fai's room. Tonight was no different, but since he wasn't moving quickly to make up for time, he was able to take a moment when he stepped out into the open air and see just what the place was. An outdoor area, grassy, and completely dark save for what little light the nighttime sky provided

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[i_promised]

[coming from here]

Now he was... somewhere outside. Was this the right place to pass through? With a soft click Zoro turned on his flashlight. Light swept across the grounds and Zoro frowned, unsure if his inability to recognize the landscape was from the fact that he hadn't actually looked at it properly the previous nights or if it was because he was lost.

Well. There were walls at least, that was something familiar-- oh, wait, had that shed been there the last few nights? There'd been something like that when he and Luffy had been out in the daytime but Zoro couldn't be sure if that was even the same place. For all he knew, there were several different fields scattered around the institute and he'd been led to a completely different one that day. The building was just too damn bigAt least, that what it felt like to the lost swordsman

[i_promised]

[coming back in from here]

At least that hadn't been a waste of effort. Already the presence of three weapons gave him a slightly stronger sense of security than when he'd been completely unarmed. Though Zoro was no slouch even without his swords, he had to admit that his fighting style was more efficient when channeled through the proper means.

Now... where was he going again?

[going here]

[charredashes]

[from here]

For once, it finally seemed that luck was on the God-General's side. He had somehow managed to avoid running into anyone, and had even reached his first destination rather quickly. If things continued at this pace, then maybe tonight wouldn't be another waste.

Now he just had to remember why it was he wanted to come out here in the first place. He remembered planning to come here the other night, although certain... circumstances had prevented that at the time.

Regardless, Asch knew there was a reason. He simply needed a moment to remember what that reason was.

[ornateflower]

[From here.]

Despite the silence and darkness that surrounded her, Nia just couldn’t waste the opportunity to breathe in the crisp air. This was truly her first time outdoors ever since she arrived, and she hadn’t really imagined it to be so vast. After all, this was a prison!

However, it was around that time when her flashlight started to flicker wildly. The girl did her best to tend to the tool, frowning when no amount of shaking could fix it. Kittan swore to her that anything could be fixed if one whacked at it hard enough against something, especially if that ‘something’ was a beastman.

Maybe that was why it wasn’t working since there were no beastmen nearby. Nia frowned as she walked, shaking and waving the flashlight as hard as she could. Unfortunately, her grip hadn’t been tight, and so it was inevitable for the thing to slip right out of her hand. She gave a gasp as the thing flew far into the field, running after it in the general direction.

[charredashes]

And it seemed that the luck that had been with him at the beginning of the night had gone elsewhere. Granted, Asch was still fine himself, although he could hear others beginning to shout. That likely meant something had gone on the attack out here. He couldn't see any aggressors, and he certainly wasn't about to use his flashlight and risk drawing attention to himself, but he was willing to bet that's what it was

[ornateflower]

"Wait!" Nia called out as she ran after her flashlight, but knew it was too late the moment she heard it connect with something soft and very much alive. The teen winced, but blinked when the flashlight flickered on after it rolled to a stop in the grass. Nia slowed her pace until she stood before it, picking it up gingerly and pointed the beam at the young man who was rubbing the bump.

"Hello! Are you a beastman...?" She asked curiously before she realized what happened and gasped. "O-oh! I am very sorry to hit you like that! I had not meant to do it, I promise."

She could hear the signs of a struggle from a distance, but she didn't want the redhead to get angry with her. But little did she know...

[clockmongler]

[Being retarded from here]

"To you~," he finished, pushing the door open for the other to go through. It was relatively empty in the field, which X took to his liking. He let out a sigh, enjoying the feel of being out in the open.

Much better than staying in his room all night, however unsafe.

[numberii]

Wasn't it a wonderful feeling? Fresh air, a nice crisp night... yeah, Xigbar enjoyed this far more than any number of Institutes or rooms or stuff. While the walls blocked some of the freedom he wanted, Xigbar was still too giddy to care. He started making his way across the field, heading to the equipment shed. "Let's all congratulate us with another cup of tea..."

He stopped in the middle of the field, and glanced at Luxord with another wide grin. "Just to let you know, looks like my turn's up for getting a weapon. Just need to gather some stuff and I'll get it... ain't that sweet? We'll finally both have what we need."

[clockmongler]

Um, no, was the first thing to pop into the Gambler's mind, his smile fading into a frown once more. Luxord needed out of this asylum. He needed perhaps a nice, small island by himself with naught but a book, a communications device, and personal computer in case there was ever a need. Nothing but the view, no responsibilities and no need for those pesky shadows of stress following him to the grave as they were here. That was what he needed, he thought to himself, more than anything else.

Except he'd most likely hate it.

He pondered this for a moment before shrugging it off and the smirk returned. "And whatever have you pulled me in for, then? Goodness knows I'm not as much help as that little Captain of yours could be."

[numberii]

Xigbar stopped in mid-stride when Luxord said that last part, blinking as he stared at the Gambler. God, someone was putting on a good show of being a jealous girlfriend. Didn't he get at least a few days before that crazy gene kicked in?

He sighed then, shaking his head in disbelief. "Because you, my dear Gambler, are fun to be around sometimes, an' this is only the best night for me since the time we got to swig some booze together. The Cap'n's fun and all, but come on! You an' me, Ten, we're buds. Or," he said with a bit of a teasing grin, "are you seeing red 'cause I put on the charm on him an' not on you?"

[fuyunohanabi]

[From here]

Rangiku stepped warily out onto the Recreational Field, looking around for any sign of monsters and finding only patients for the moment. She turned back when they seemed to be safe and gestured for the others to follow her. "It's clear," she said quietly. "The wall is in this direction," she said, heading off quickly towards it.

[small_fortune]

It wasn't as high as he remembered it, or perhaps he was being optimistic. At any rate, it wasn't a serious obstacle so long as there were no monsters around to be either chasing them back indoors or over the walls with greater speed. Mark glanced over at the other man traveling with them, who had his baseball bat at the ready, and Mark's own hands wandered towards the gardening tools tucked in his pants. The trip had been quick and silent. Like a proper raid. Why did I agree to this, again?

He wasn't sure he wanted to be first over the wall, but he certainly couldn't go last, so he trotted quickly after Rangiku. The real barriers, from what he understood, generally lay past this point. He remembered the map from Arts & Crafts of the first floor (aren't we Arts & Crafts, now?) and how many rooms remained before that oddly-colored, much-desired tile.

[officer_leon]

Leon eyed the wall. It didn't look too terribly challenging; he'd scaled worse in his training. "I can take rear guard," he offered Rangiku. "Make sure nothing follows us."

[fuyunohanabi]

Rangiku nodded to Leon and Mark. "I'll go up first and make sure there's nothing waiting to attack us as soon as we go over and then give the all clear." She slipped her katana from the sash and held it out to Mark. "Could you pass this up to me once I'm at the top?" It would just get in the way if she had to climb, getting stuck in the vines.

She wrapped her hands in the vines and used them to lever herself up a few feet, digging her feet into cracks on the wall and cursing the fact that she couldn't just jump it like she normally could in Soul Society. Finally she reached the top and peered over the wall carefully. She couldn't see anything, but that didn't mean nothing was waiting. At least there were no obvious signs of combat.

She turned back to the two men. "It's clear."