"Right," Niikura said breathlessly as Mike ran off into the darkness. They could do this. The distance was manageable, and they were armed if it came down to a confrontation. Don't panic. Don't be distracted. He gripped Shiina's hand a little tighter and tried to pick up the speed as they ran, eyes fixed purely on the faint gleam of the institute in the distance.

The sound of the bird's enormous wings beating the air around them dogged them down the field, but he could see the door that they had come through now. They were going to make it in safely. No one was going to get--

Niikura shoved Shiina out of the way just as the bird swooped down, talons outstretched. One of them, razor-sharp and nearly the length of his hand, grazed his shoulder as it went past, and he gasped in pain, briefly letting go of Shiina's hand as his feet slid on the mud and he went down on one knee, free hand gripping his shoulder. "Damn it...!" He spared a glance upward, wiping the rain and the hair out of his eyes again. The bird was coming back around for round two, but there was no way that he was letting it finish the job, not when they were not more than a few steps away from the door.

He jumped to his feet (Shou's had always had remarkable stamina and endurance, and really, this was just a scratch.) and took Shiina by the hand again. "C'mon, let's go!" No time to even think about things. Just get inside and worry about it there.