Nightshift 60: Main Hallway, 1-West

[toxicspiderman]

[from here]

Even the main hall was deserted. S.T. switched on his flashlight and took a look around. Yeah, it was empty. No roadkill, no other patients. If he ever made it home, he was never bitching at any of the girls who didn't want to do night ops alone again. It was different when you knew there were things out there in the darkness. Things that knew they had the upper hand or just didn't give a fuck.

He whistled something that, if anyone listening could shelve their sense of pitch for long enough to identify it, switched back and forth between the Twilight Zone and Batman themes.

[by your powers combined Team Mental Quest]

Comments

[ninelivesonce]

[from here]

Someone else was out, but not anyone she recognized, so Taura gave a polite nod and loped over to the stairwell door.

[to here]

[lighthearted]

[From here.]

There was just one other person in this hall, which was strange since it got packed pretty fast most nights. Sora wondered if he was making good time or if people were being more cautious about heading out after Landel's warnings. Sora himself wasn't scared of him. He'd been here long enough to at least have some idea of how bad it could get. If he'd made it through so far, then he'd continue to do so.

The one person who was around was actually whistling something, though, which made Sora smile. That was one way to pass the time when you were waiting for teammates to show up. Sora couldn't help directing his smile at the man for a second before he moved on into the next hall.

[To here.]

[tightsofmight]

[From here and presumably either missing Sangamon or just zooming through before he gets there.]

They were meeting in the hall tonight. The basement group. Team Mental Quest, as Scott liked to call it. But Peter wasn't slowing down. If anything, it made him run faster. He didn't want them to see. He had to do this. Alone. And facing one giant stab to the gut was enough for one night, there was no way he was standing in front of a bunch of people who had seen him murder a guy.

Murder Indy. Murder Brainy.

He'd as good as done it himself by leaving him alone the night before, hadn't he? Gotten his powers back but never turned around to get his frigging roommate, who he knew had at least one enemy still kicking around.

He had seen Grell.

He didn't even think about it. He didn't think twice. He had his powers, the whole institute had their powers. So Grell did too. And he had only seen him at the end of the night, when there were already bloody splatters on his fine clothes. Peter had assumed they were from the bird he had sawed in half.

Peter was rocketing up the stairs, wheezing for breath. Praying. Strings seemed to pull his chest taut and punish him for daring to breathe.

[To here.]

[tightsofmight]

[And back from here for Sangamon and Team Mental Quest.]

It was a much quieter, calmer Peter Parker that descended into the Main Hall than the one that had sprinted into it. Pace wasn't the only change, but it was the most immediately noticeable. Or perhaps the second, as Peter spotted Sangamon right away and realized with acute shock that this would be the first time he met the group without his costume on.

Well. Not...entirely. He had seen all of them during the day without his costume (save for Depth Charge), but at night he was always suited up. It was tradition. Breaking that felt like he was breaching some unknown code of conduct. He could run back to his room and change. He could be there and back in five minutes, tops.

"Hey." Or he could just deal with it and approach Sangamon anyway. He didn't want to go back to his room because of Brainy, and he didn't want to put on his costume because...well, these guys. He didn't want to think this was like the last time they met.

And really, at this point who didn't know that Peter was Spider-Man anyway?

Peter gave a little shiver and rubbed at his arms as he stopped by the man's left, scanning the halls for the rest of the group. The hairs on the back of his neck were prickling. "So. This is...not the best idea we've had."

[its-the-mileage.livejournal.com]

[from here (http://damned.livejournal.com/1211205.html?thread=81697349#t81697349)]

"I've had worse," Indy commented as he rounded the corner and stopped by Taylor and an un-costumed Peter. That made half the group here, nice and fast.

Taylor's flashlight gave them just enough light to see by, but even so, Peter seemed somehow subdued. Indy hoped he was still just recovering from the last trauma and not a victim of some fresh one. "Listen--if you're not feeling up to it..." he offered, careful to keep his voice neutral and make it clear he wasn't implying anything about the kid's toughness.

[complicatedliar]

[From here]

Loki stepped out into the much larger hallway. He took a moment to examine the immediate area, then stepped back and to the side. He put his back against the wall a comfortable distance from where the hallways joined. This seemed the best place to wait. And hopefully this was the correct place, since that had sounded to him what Riku was referring to.

After a moment of consideration, he flipped off his flashlight. While it would be useful in indicating his location to Riku, it might also attract unwanted attention. He could turn it on easily enough when he heard someone approach.

Loki leaned back comfortably, and listened.

[Waiting for Riku!]

[inherited]

from here]

As he hit the final leg of his stop, Riku saw two faces: a girl and a guy. It was clear right away that it wasn't the girl who was the one waiting for him, so he headed over to the guy. Maybe they should have set this up better, but he wasn't sure about that. If this was the wrong one, if he wasn't waiting for Riku, then he could let him know and Riku would just go find who he was actually looking for.

He headed up to him while, once again, noting how different things were. This time he thought: was it better that it was different? Or worse? The uneasy look on Sora's face the night before made him think it was better. But it also reminded him of the ominous changes warned by Landel. So maybe it was worse.

These thoughts didn't play on his features as he reached the guy. (Then again, they rarely did.) "Are you Lingormr?" he asked. The name came out somewhat slowly, as if he was trying to be sure to say it right. As he waited for his response, Riku noticed how much older this guy was. Well, hopefully he wouldn't have a complex about it.

[madeinthehrl]

[from here]

No sign of Kratos yet, and nobody who might be Sonia. Lingormr was leaning against the wall a short distance away, no doubt waiting for his own Arts and Crafts team, and Soma gave him a small smile and a wave as she, too, settled back to wait.

[spandexorgtfo.livejournal.com]

[from here (http://damned.livejournal.com/1214570.html?thread=81710186#t81710186)]

Without his flashlight and the help of a myriad others in the hall, it was a little harder than usual to locate Soma, but eventually, Kratos picked her out standing against the wall. He headed over briskly, nodding in greeting.

"Evening." No sign of their third team member yet, but hopefully, she wouldn't take long. He held up his radio. "It will be interesting to see if Marc chooses to greet us over this tonight."

[kings_thief]

[From here]

Once Locke hit the main hallway, he paused. This was where everything deviated and the stairs leading to the second floor were supposed to be around here. Mostly, he was thankful he could still remember the map Tolten had shown him the other night and also which way they'd gone to get upstairs before; he didn't need to waste time by wandering around getting lost.

However, since this was the largest hall on this floor, he knew he had to act with a little more caution; who knew what might be going on with the others traveling through here and there were always other threats to consider. Plus, Locke had to remember he was unarmed. If he found himself in some situation now, he'd be hard pressed to get out of it with only minor injuries.

[mateswithnobody.livejournal.com]

Despite having no earthly idea of where she should start to look for the Head Doctor, Donna definitely knew where to go in order to find someone who could help her towards that endeavor. The big hallway, or the first of them in any case. Donna followed the way there by heart, letting her boots kick the floor extra hard as she strut along, full of confidence. It didn't matter that she was, as always, a human and as unarmed as when she'd first arrived; Donna Noble didn't let this place get to her, and she was not going to let anyone see that she was scared.

Coming to the hallway, she sent a look around and found someone travelling alone, a guy by his looks. "Hey," she called, knowing it wouldn't hurt to ask, "Any ideas on where Landel parks his pompous arse around here? I'm looking to get an appointment."

Subtle though her question was, Donna would be fine if the guy didn't have any clue because that would just be too easy.

[witchoftruth]

[ from here ]

When Erika rounded the corner, only to find no trace of the green haired boy (not that he would be waiting around for her to show up, would he?), it was like that was the last straw. No, she was not going to waste time looking for the stupid brat and giving him the satisfaction of having her run around for him like some headless chicken. She had far more better things to do with her time, didn't she?! She didn't need Sync to do anything tonight, and there were plenty of other fish in this damned metaphorical pond to pick from!

"Fine, it'll just be your loss then, Sync-san," Erika grumbled to herself, far too butthurt to admit to herself that the reason she was upset was because she found that she actually required the presence of someone she hated to accomplish things tonight. That alone was enough to make her decide to go against her original plan, and refocus her search in the Institute herself. If everything else failed, she could at least find a more compliant idiot to bring into the basement with her again.

As she fumed, Erika kept a sharp eye out, looking for anyone who even looked like they were lost or otherwise alone and wandering aimlessly. It was time for her to rid herself of green haired pests and get another partner far more suitable to work with her.

[ haay Zero ]

[believein0.livejournal.com]

[From here (http://damned.livejournal.com/1211205.html?thread=81738053#t81738053), and ripe for bothering...]

And now that he was out in the larger main hallway, Zero actually had an excuse to stop and get the flashlight out. He flicked the relic on and swept its (forever pitiful) beam of light around the area. From the looks of it, there were still no corpses or monsters yet, thankfully, just some other prisoners. There was one somewhat large group congregating in the middle of the hall, then there were a handful of others standing around, most likely waiting for their allies to show up as none of them looked like they needed any help. No one familiar, though. He considered waiting to see if someone he knew would show up, like Ema or Leanne, but he figured they all had someone with them already. It was probably better if he went exploring on his own, anyway.

Zero then took his maps out of his pocket to give them a look over and actually finally figure out where he was going to go tonight. As if waiting until he'd gotten out into the middle of things would be the best time for that...but whatever. He could go upstairs again, as all he'd seen of that was the storage closet...or he could try returning to that area he'd visited on his first night? The medical ward, which was presumably the area marked "STAFF ONLY" on his map...or else he could go this direction, or...

Hm. Where to go...

[oneman-onekill.livejournal.com]

[from here (http://damned.livejournal.com/1212519.html?thread=81727591#t81727591)]

Well, not that many people around yet. Niikura went up and down the western section of the hall twice just to make sure that he hadn't missed someone standing in the shadows before moving over to the wall himself and settling against it with a sigh. It was stupidly relieving to know that Shiina hadn't been standing out here by herself, although he didn't doubt that someone would've come to help had she been attacked by something. It was just that...that person wouldn't have been him.

Ugh, what was he even thinking? This time, Niikura really did smack himself lightly on the forehead. "Get it together," he hissed under his breath. They were going to be okay. He could keep all of his promises for sure.

[for Shiina and Mike]

[requitedfate.livejournal.com]

[from here (http://damned.livejournal.com/1212519.html?thread=81742951#t81742951)]

Shou was always easy to spot if you knew what to look for; that spiky, white hair was the first give-away. Shiina found herself smiling and relaxing a bit more, skipping up to him in an almost care-free way.

"Hey there, stranger," she greeted, moving the bat from her side to rest up against her shoulder. She could afford to be a little silly now that Shou was around. He could do anything. "Is Mike-san joining us again tonight?"

[vinesofregret]

[From here]

Turning around the corner, Hakkai came out into the main hallway. It had been easy to check for danger in the narrower room block hallways. Out here, however, he was more exposed, and he tensed, slipping into a guard stance without even thinking about it. Ready to fight, if something came. His stomach was in knots, too - he was beginning to think this meeting was a bad idea. Too revealing. He could turn back now, and go wait for Carter. He hadn't given a name. But at the same time - he was curious. Curious to know if this other person had any news of home. And he really did hate to give up, too.

[To here]

[avengingfists.livejournal.com]

[from here (http://damned.livejournal.com/1212519.html?thread=81720679#t81720679)]

"I mostly did my talking with others off the board," Ilia admitted. She set her face grimly, her booted feet making a soft tap against the ground as she marched ahead.

"I haven't heard much because apparently people can't say much. All they can say is that it isn't good." Claude and Anise had weighed in with dark opinions. Something bad was going to happen tonight. She didn't want any part of it, but she was never going to abandon the kids.

[lovecraftcomplex]

"I was drowning in newcomers." She didn't call them n00bs; her linguistic delicacy and affiliation with precision didn't require slang in this instance.

"I've made some notes about it. A bit of a guide, in draft form. If the worst happens, it will stand as verbal witness."

Or it would be carefully excised from existence. It would be an interesting question, albeit one she would never know the answer to.

[nobleman]

[From here.]

This area was just as crowded as usual, but Guy didn't see any sign of Anise even after he looked over the heads of some of the other patients in search of her. It was true that Anise could blend in simply because she was so small, but Guy was pretty certain that she hadn't made it yet. She was usually faster than this, so he hoped that everything was all right.

His mind was still mainly on the issue of Ilia, though, and as he paused and turned to Claude the concern was clear on his face. "You tried to explain to her that it wasn't worth the risk, right? I know that there's not too much that we can say, but..." Claude was her son. Even if Ilia didn't know that, she had to feel some sort of inherent attachment to him, right? If anyone should be able to convince her of something, it would be him, and if he'd failed...

Well, then Ilia might be about to walk into a death trap.

[full-score.livejournal.com]

"Of course I tried," Claude abruptly answered, his tone a little sharper than he'd meant to sound. "--Sorry, I..." Taking in a deep breath, he shook his head. "I just hate that we can't talk about what happened."

He was pretty certain more groups had gone down there after their own horrible experiences, and yet Claude hadn't been able to adequately warn anyone. Even writing down notes did zero good.

"She does get that it's not worth it, I think, but..." As Claude spoke, part of him tried to keep a sharper eye out for Anise, but it was hard not to let himself get distracted when he was talking about his mother's safety. "The problem is that her group is made up of her and a couple of kids. She's afraid that if she backs out now, those children will head down there on their own anyway. It sounds like she feels obligated to see things through with them, especially now that they've got both the sword and shield."

Which meant that, in a coliseum battle, it was pretty obvious what her stance would be if one of them needed to die. Claude couldn't blame her, of course, and he didn't exactly wish death on her companions, either.

The thought still made his stomach turn, though.

[monkeyboy]

[From here]

It was hard to differentiate the smells between the patients. Surrounded by a forest of people, Goku's nose was working overtime to track down his female friend. He found that the best way was to keep to the walls, away from the bulk of the horde, as he followed the scents.

[monkeyboy]

[To here]

[melodists.livejournal.com]

[From here (http://damned.livejournal.com/1212519.html?thread=81775719#t81775719).]

Nothing existed here aside from patients and conversations. Among what remained, Tear could not recognize an ally, and for a brief instance, she wondered if the others had managed to step out of their rooms. It was perhaps a demonstration in a lack of faith; to the soldier, however, she only found concern. There were many reasons as to why someone couldn't step outside. Her teammates were sometimes careless (some more than others), but they would not forget their own needs.

She could deal with the possibility later. Right now, Tear had to reach her goal and hope for the best. With an ear and an eye to the atmosphere, she continued to the center hall.

[To here (http://damned.livejournal.com/1217969.html?thread=81777585#t81777585).]

[falseblack]

[From here.]

His chest flared with each step, and there appeared no room for adequate breathing. It was a terrible start to a routine night; if not for the pain, the child might have pressed his thoughts to more interesting matters. The Head Doctor's attitude, for instance. Previous flutters through the link, for another example. Instead, he was held together by nerves and endings.

Just forget it, he murmured in silence. As if Nigredo could, as if he could continue pressing aspects away.

[To here.]

[idolism]

_{[from here]}

Landel’s intercom announcement was yet another thing about that night that was pissing him off. His smugness was exactly what Aidou didn’t need; it left a bad taste in the back of his throat, like sour fruit.

That Landel was upset about losing “her” was a small consolation next to having to tolerate his merriment. If that bastard wanted to bait Aidou by threatening that nothing would change so long as he lived, so be it! Aidou would wait as long as he had to to hunt Landel down and break every bone in his body. Him and Aguilar! All of their subordinates would pay the same price as well, even the so-called traitors who were running around like errant children, causing mischief that ultimately changed very little about the prisoners’ situation.

Going over Landel’s words while he walked made it difficult for the noble to keep a lid on his anger. It was a struggle to focus on figuring out the important questions, like who Landel had lost, and what other changes he was planning to make. By the time Aidou had made it halfway to the female cell block, he hadn’t really succeeded at either.

_{[to here]}

[ofthemotions]

[from here]

There were a few in the halls by the time Mikado made it to them and he tightened his grip on his flashlight nervously. Even with the decision to move forward firmly in mind, Mikado was very aware of his own limitations in a set-up like this. If there was just someone that could--

No, thinking that way would only set him back. For now, he needed to concentrate on finding a person by that description. Female, with long brown hair and blue eyes. Enough that she would have stood out in Ikebukuro, and here, as well, though for different reasons. Strange hairstyles seemed to be considered normal, it seemed....

Trying to be unobtrusive and still look for someone turned out to be tricky. By the time Mikado saw someone that could fit the description, she was already walking off. He swallowed, and nodded to himself, before following.

[to here]

[she-is-ruin.livejournal.com]

_{[from here (http://damned.livejournal.com/1211996.html?thread=81745244#t81745244)]}

It wasn’t her school uniform, of course, but her night time outfit had become something of a familiarity after so many nights fighting, investigating, and generally mucking around in it. That night, though, Yomi had switched her sweat pants for the military slacks. They added a little professionalism to the look, right? Hopefully her team would be impressed.

Haha.

The pants’ dark color was certainly more suited to moving covertly in the dark, and to improve her chances of moving about without interruption, Yomi picked her way toward the stairwell without the aid of her flashlight. Memory and repetition had done wonders to help her find her way around.

_{[to here (http://damned.livejournal.com/1212900.html?thread=81799652#t81799652)]}

[zanuff]

[ from here ]

Once they got to the main hallway, Chipp did a quick sweep with his light to see if the Gear girl was already here. Seeing as how the place was still in one piece and no one was dead/maimed/running in fear of becoming dead or maimed, he took that as a no. Which was very good, and why he felt the need to review the plan over with Luke (was he still there?). They were dealing with a Gear, so even Chipp had to take some sort of caution when dealing with her.

"Okay, the only other hallway is over there," Chipp pointed to the hallway that lead to the female patient blocks, which he didn't know about. "We didn't see her in the other one, so she has to be coming out here, right? We're just gonna wait and them ambush her. We're not gonna hurt her, just talk to her a bit. I need to figure out why she's here."

Yep, the best plan, assuming that a Gear would be open to talks. Chipp was silent for a moment, contemplating a Plan B. This was very rare, but he had Luke to worry about and he didn't want this guy's blood on his hands.

"... If talks fail, then I hold her, you punch." He turned around to get ready to begin the plan, but paused. Hm, that didn't sound right.

"Actually, you hold her, and I'll punch."

Ah, diplomacy.

[ to here ]

[bitpartgod.livejournal.com]

Something had made him pause in the hallway; maybe it was more shame, stirring unpleasantly in the back of his mind, at the idea that he was the one who needed fresh air when Peter's closest friends were the ones grieving tonight because of him. Sort of a punishment. The other part of him, though, suspected it was the thought that he should have been better than that. If he needed to gasp and gag every time someone died, what good was he as a fighter? What he needed was to toughen up and show some resolve. He had no right to wear his uniform ever again if he was just going to soothe his own spirits every night rather than try and make amends.

Maybe. Or maybe that was an excuse.

At any rate, that something propelled him back down the hallways, padding cautiously through the dark in his flimsy Institute sneakers towards the stairs. His gut wrenched at the thought of returning to the scene of the crime- to that hallway- but what good was it if he couldn't ever get past that place again? The therapy hallway was only just beyond it, and he needed to get there. Didn't he?

He put a foot on the bottom step and then hesitated. What good could he do alone, with his healing powers limited again? He could barely manage a papercut without feeling dizzy.

[ham_fisted]

[from here]

Okay! He could do one of two things: go and gather more medical supplies, or look into finding ingredients for the fingerprint powder. The detective still hadn't made up his mind when he arrived at the main hallway, and his thoughts scattered as he gazed at the floor, remembering the amount of blood it had been coated in. Once he made sure nothing was about to jump out at him, he stepped into the middle of the hall and did a cursory examination of the area.

It was completely spotless! Man. It must have taken them a really long time to get this place mopped up. How had they gotten their hands on that much cleaning fluid? He doubted a few bottles of the stuff would have been enough to make all of it disappear.

"Ah!" The hand on his chin twitched and fell back to his side the minute he noticed movement near the stairs... and he released a breath he hadn't realized he was holding when he took note of the flashlight in the figure's hand. He pointed his own flashlight at them out of curiosity and to his surprise, saw a familiar face.

"Oh, it's you!" he said by way of greeting, inviting himself over on impulse. The younger man hadn't called to him or anything, but he did look a bit anxious standing there all by himself. Was the guy just as creeped out walking up those stairs as Gumshoe was? He always had to take a deep breath before going up them, himself. "Are you lost, pal?" The question came out without a second thought. Hey, it was possible, wasn't it?

[pullstrung.livejournal.com]

((From here (http://damned.livejournal.com/1211205.html?thread=81854021#t81854021).))

Holding onto his clothes rod with a white-knuckled grip, Woody peered into the next hall as his flashlight beam illuminated the path in front of them.

"Mack?" he hissed into the dark. "Helloooo? Mack, you around?"

The lack of response wasn't too promising, but he did his best to keep a cool head for Jesse's sake. Glancing at the man, he whispered, "See him anywhere?"

[blowfishing.livejournal.com]

If Jesse could make it to the meeting spot, being new and being a screw-up in general, it made him nervous to wonder why Mack couldn't. Though there wasn't any evidence yet of foul play, it was just as unsettling to be met with silence and darkness for each step that they took. He'd barged forward at first on an impulse (damn dude better not be dead) but now he was sticking close to Woody again, hovering by his side and breathing a little shakily.

The beam from Jesse's flashlight swung around back when Woody peered forward, just in case anything wanted to jump out from behind them. He turned back around and shook his head.

"Nah," he decided. There were a few other stragglers in this hall but none of them looked like Mack. What if they did find him and whatever got him got them too? Jesse had a healthy sense of paranoia; drug use, withdrawal, and repeat aside, he'd cultivated it just to survive. "I got a bad feeling about this, man."

[scarefaux]

[From here.]

They entered the main hallway, which was as populated as it ever had been at night... well, on ordinary nights, anyway. It was a lot less chaotic than it had been only one evening before- no monsters or witches in sight.

The Scarecrow smiled, relief washing over him. Despite his usually optimistic attitude, he'd expected it to be a mess by the time he'd returned for a second crossing, and to find it looking as dark and dreary as it was normally was a blessing.

[a_sin_for_him]

"How do they have that power?"

To command someone's mind and being, and then simply put them back to rights after a night? That manner of power was beyond Lust's knowledge and experience and that frightened her. So far she had encountered nothing that she couldn't relate to something from her former life.

Now this.

Lust followed after Frank, her arms wrapped around herself and her boots clicking on the floor. What if they tried to do it to her? What would happen?

"How can they possibly do something like that?"

[sortaheadstrong.livejournal.com]

The larger hallway was emptier than she remembered, even without comparing to the piles of animal remains that had littered it the night prior. Few patients were out, and Celty frowned at the lack of others about. She hadn't considered it with the day, but given how gruesome everything had been last night, it stood that a number of the patients had met the same fate as the monster pieces she'd crossed. It was a sad reality of the place that only the night would reveal.

Celty paused, lowering her head a moment as though respecting whoever might have died, before she lifted it and stepped off again. She might have felt for any fallen patients, but she wasn't dead - couldn't die, probably - and had to keep going. Landel couldn't keep them there forever, and he couldn't keep her from getting the answers she wanted. Not if she had anything to say about it!

[tasteoftruth.livejournal.com]

[To here. (http://damned.livejournal.com/1215395.html?thread=81904547#t81904547)]

As much as paranoia sat on his shoulders with its claws deep into its skull, it was good to have Byrne at his back. God forbid he be caught smiling for more than five seconds at a stretch, but darkness hid a lot.

[corvus-veritas.livejournal.com]

Mention the walls bleeding? That he could do. Telling Badd he'll hurt him if he thinks the old guy's going wacko? Never. Byrne already swore to himself that he wouldn't say anything more about that, so he was going to just ignore that little part and reply to Badd's other statement instead.

"Yeah, but then if I'm the only one who sees it, then what?" Though he felt that comment was kind of useless after he'd said it. It's not like he'd be ashamed to admit to seeing any weird stuff. He'd rather Badd know and risk looking crazy than keep it to himself and start feeling paranoid. Oh well, maybe Badd had something useful to say about it anyway.

Speaking of Badd, he may or may not be thankful that his partner was too busy squinting at his maps in the dark and trying to find the nearest stairwell to look back at him and possibly notice any brief smiling. If Byrne did notice, he probably would've teased him for it.

Wait, probably? No no, most definitely. Ahh, there're the stairs.

[To here (http://damned.livejournal.com/1212900.html?thread=81905124#t81905124).]

[thesadist]

[Coming from here.]

Daemon stepped out into the main hallway, pausing to make sure the area was clear and that there were no predators looming in the immediate vicinity. His senses weren't as good tonight as they should be - last night had spoiled him more than he'd realized - but he could sense nothing beyond himself and the man at his side.

"Looks like it's much quieter tonight," he observed idly as he turned in the direction of the stairs.

[norainu]

"Yeah, I'm no fucking expert at running away either. But least I can back it up." Renji smirked. "And you can, you know, almost back it up. What you lack in skill you make up for in prettiness."

He paused, listening for a moment, and nodded. "I got the impression that they kind of shit themselves and pulled out all the stops last night. Probably for the best we're not getting everything thrown at us right now. I'm all for stabbing eyeballs, but it'd take forever to get anywhere."