Nightshift 24: Recreational Field

[radiant-howl.livejournal.com]

[from here]

Something told Luke that he really shouldn't have followed Masaru. It was that little voice, the little voice that told you not to touch that button, or pull that lever, or use that Fonic Arte when Tear was trying to sing a Hymn and possibly interrupt and doom your party to a loss, but Luke was still uncertain of this place. He had but a few newfound friends to place his trust in, and Luke knew that he couldn't go alone.

That said, Masaru looked so confident in knowing where the Sun Room was that Luke didn't think he could possibly be wrong. So Luke followed, like a good sheep, to the door that Masaru was leading them too.

Opening it, Luke was expecting to see Larsa and That One Girl, awaiting them with news of what would happen next. Instead, he was greeted by darkness. His eyes eventually adjusted to the weak moonlight to show a field.

"Uh, Masaru? Are you sure this is the Sun Room...?" Luke asked, sounding very worried. Now that he thought about it, that shed in the corner seemed kind of... familiar...

... Because this was the same field that they were in just hours ago!

"MASARU! I THOUGHT YOU KNEW WHERE YOU WERE GOING!!!"

Comments

[unseenlmages.livejournal.com]

At the sight of the creature bearing down on Aidou's form, D made a dash towards the two, hoping he wasn't already too late. It was with a small bit relief that he saw Aidou roll to avoid most of the damage, even if his shoulder had been torn open. It didn't seem nearly as serious as it could have been, considering how vicious it seemed. But still, Aidou didn't appear to be moving towards the door just yet.

As far as sprinting went, D could easily outpace most normal people if he had a desire to. Even Leon had a hard time keeping up with him a few times. Still, in the few seconds it took to reach Aidou, the creature was already turned around and lunging for the vampire once more. Grabbing Aidou's uninjured arm, he jerked the boy out of the way, in the direction of the door, trying to get him to run.

"Come on," D insisted, nearly hissing the words, but only out of concern. He knew perfectly well how prideful vampires could be, especially in the event of being assaulted. But pride was no reason to fight a battle that you were sure to lose.

[idolism]

If only, if only, if only. To be brought so low that he couldn't safely face opponents he should have been able to defeat easily. It was a humiliation. For someone like him to have allow himself to reach this condition was a humiliation.

Not just for himself, but his family. They'd raised him better than this - to surpass situations like this. Hadn't they?

Aidou wasn't sure who he more loathed - the institute, himself, the creature charging at him, the stranger suddenly at his side. D grabbed at him only milliseconds before he would have dodged on his own, and so when D pulled, he moved along. It didn't stop him from trying to shake off the clinging hand.

"What are you even still doing here?" Aidou snapped. "Once again, you're making yourself a target for no reason!"

[intoindra.livejournal.com]

It was obvious that D was making himself a target, and soon he would pay the price for getting between Indra and its chosen prey. The great lance was embedded in the ground, the sharp points having sunk into the earth as though it was made of butter. And yet Indra didn't bother tearing its weapon out of the ground quite yet.

Instead, a massive hand was raised to point at D, coarse and blunt inhuman fingers splayed out as though reaching for the protector of the natural order. Then, in a single brutal motion, that hand was clenched, so tightly that the razor sharp discs cut into the demon's palm.

Heavenly light surrounded D as the blood began to flow. As a single drop began falling to the ground, what seemed to be mystic ofuda, slips of prayer with blasphemous prayers written on them, swirled around the man like leaves blown by the wind. They glowed with power, with a might stolen- or was it granted?- by the heavens, and even a creature like D would be seared by their divine power.

As soon as the drop of blood fell to the earth, so to would the cleansing light fall upon the ancient foe.

[unseenlmages.livejournal.com]

D was glad that Aidou had intended to dodge in the first place. It made pulling him out of the way that much easier. As far as Aidou's remark went, D wasn't too fazed. "And you expect me to leave you out here? I know how your kind hates to retreat, but I would imagine your life would be more important than your pride."

D had no intention of making himself a target. His initial goal was to grab Aidou and run, but a vampire's stubbornness wasn't easy to overcome. From his own experience, their one weakness was being too firmly set in their own opinions. It led to Alexander's downfall, as well as Norma's broken heart.

But D's grip on Aidou's arm released at the onslaught of the sudden brightness, surprise evident in his expression. This was an unfortunate turn of events... one he wasn't sure how to respond to, having never been faced with it before.

[idolism]

So now it was about his kind and their ways? This Count D may have been able to pick him out of a crowd, but what did that really entail? Nothing. What could he possibly know of vampire kind? What pride they held was no one's business but their own.

Clutching the gouge in his shoulder with a free hand, he made to shove D further aside. The ragged material of his shirt was sticking to the wound; he wanted to cast it off as quickly as possible, before he ended up having to rip it out. "If you valued your own life, then of course," he said. Whatever abilities this thing had, they were as wide and varied as Aidou had hoped they wouldn't be. A creature that utilized lightning was one thing entirely. Going through a repertoire of attacks wasn't high on his list of priorities.

And so Aidou knew better than to combat the creature, obviously. He had not come out to this area seeking a fight, and wasn't going to leave it while in the middle of one either.

It was at that point Indra cast his blood to the ground - blood power - and Aidou bring the line of his forearm up into D's stomach, casting him away with as much strength as possible. The more he tried to 'help', the more he made Aidou cover for him! He didn't stop to consider the rest; he was an instinctual creature, too.

The water vapour was scarce after Indra's earlier onslaughts, but Aidou dragged at whatever he could, using the excess to help in rapidly freezing the expanse of Indra's face. What blood he had drawn earlier crystallized in the wounds.

All that really mattered was preventing that ofuda from reaching its pinnacle...

The consequences at using his powers came just as he knew it would, and Aidou staggered, both hands flying up to clutch at his head, smearing more blood on his china white skin.

[intoindra.livejournal.com]

The brilliant light cast Indra's inhuman features in sharp relief; gore-stained teeth yet gleamed in the heavenly glow, their edges sharp and serrated to better tear flesh from bone. Its attention was focused on D, its power trained on the foe that had once more attempted to deprive it of a meal. Once the holy power had weakened D, then Indra could feed, it could tear, it could rend and satiate its never-ending hunger...

...but then something changed. Cold creeped up the demon's face, and suddenly the blood froze, the wounds froze, and despite the lack of features beneath its mask, Indra howled as it staggered back.

The instant that the demon's concentration faltered, the ofuda fluttered to the ground like autumn leaves, glimmering on the ground for an instant before dissipating into nothingness, the brilliant light dying just as quickly. God-like rage filled Indra's voice as it roared, blindly swiping with its left arm as it back treaded. And yet, for the moment, it seemed that Indra was unable to direct its aim or its hatred...

[unseenlmages.livejournal.com]

Caught unaware by Aidou, D stumbled back from the shove he was given, loosing his footing and hitting the ground. He was even more surprised when ice began covering the creature's face. All this was laid aside, though, as Aidou clutched at his head, looking as if he might drop.

With the creature's attack halted for the moment and the creature itself moving back, D scrambled to his feet and grabbed Aidou around the waist, trying to support the young vampire before he could fall to the ground. "Now would not be the best time to collapse..." he muttered, taking one of Aidou's hands away from his head and pulling it across D's shoulders to help better support the boy. Luckily for him, Aidou was lighter than most other beings his size, and much easier to support. And with the creature distracted, it would give them time to move around it.

It was with an uncomfortable sense of deja vu that D headed with Aidou for the closest door. Hadn't he just done this with Leon...yesterday, wasn't it? Though the detective had been far heavier than this. And the distance to travel had been much longer. Still, there was a substantial difference in the danger of a raging fire and the danger of this creature's wrath.

[idolism]

Aidou in no way enjoyed being drawn away by D; he wasn't in a position to register much more than that, however. Gods, this place! Pain was simple enough to cope with. He was not used to it by any means, but it was a harder thing to accept, that such puny use of his power debilitated him so much.

Indra's roaring drowned out his hiss as D pulled one of his hands away; he had a goddamned migraine, jeez. He tried to wriggle away, not wanting to be stuck leaning on the line of D's shoulders, but it was a fairly weak attempt; at the very least, the guy was leading him in the right direction.

Still, those claws at his waist... He really didn't want any strange people's claws near his vulnerable areas. "Look," he muttered. "I don't know who you are, or what interest you have in my survival, but you can repay my saving your life by getting off me." He brought his other hand down long enough to squint, wince, and try to extricate himself from D. "You're giving me a headache."

Haha, honestly. Aidou just wanted to curl up in his own bed and not have cold sweat beading the small of his back.

[intoindra.livejournal.com]

The demon snarled in its rage and pain, its mounting rage only becoming more black, more filled with hatred, with every moment. Its weapons sliced the air with furious yet blind power, the attacks lethal if only they had been given something to hit.

But finally it stopped giving voice to its fury, and when it did it heard its prey. It would not go hungry, it would not let another meal escape, it would not let a blasphemer and an ancient foe think that they could escape its holy fangs!

As the ice began to melt, once more the demon raised its hand to the heavens. This time, the heavenly light which emanated from its outstretched fingers bathed only Indra, and before their very eyes the wounds that Indra had suffered began to knit closed, to mend in mere moments. And once it was healed, it would regain its power by consuming those who had opposed it...

[unseenlmages.livejournal.com]

"Your headache is the very least of our problems right now," D replied coolly, trying not to let his agitation show through. "If you don't want to be eaten, I suggest you keep your mouth shut and hang on." Not that D really trusted Aidou to listen to him. Which was why he tightened his grip on both the vampire's arm and waist. He wasn't going to let Aidou struggle out of his grasp. Not with that thing raging behind them.

And speaking of the creature, D glanced briefly behind them to see what it was doing. The image of that light surrounding the demon, healing its wounds...was not a comforting one. If they didn't move quickly, it would be upon them again in no time.

Reaching the door, though, D was forced to let go of Aidou's arm for a brief moment. Just long enough to reach for the knob and open the door. It was anyone's guess where it actually led, but it was undoubtedly better than waiting to be mauled out here.

[idolism]

What was this one's defect? Aidou would be fine. If nothing else, his chances for survival, in comparison to D's, were much higher by the looks of it. The guy was treating Aidou like a little duckling he had to protect at all costs.

It had been annoying before, but now it was starting to go beyond simply not wanting to see someone as young and beautiful as Aidou get squished by a giant monster. In what way did D relate to vampires.

When he looked over his shoulder, he saw the creature was healing. Actually healing itself, as though it deserved to get away after all it'd done. The gouge from Indra's teeth was still bleeding because of all the jostling; it seemed like his blood was smeared on just about everything. Aidou cursed. He knew every single wound that had been inflicted on his body, and who had caused them, and this case was no different. He had Indra's scent, and that was enough. He wouldn't be forgetting the debt he owed the creature anytime soon.

But now, he had to get out of range. Anymore unnecessary damage, and he'd be in more trouble then he'd like to admit.

"We don't have problems," Aidou said to D. As soon as the other opened the door, Aidou forcibly pulled his arm away. He wasn't so weak that he couldn't keep his own feet. "I can practically smell your exhaustion. Stop being all self-sacrificing; it's not becoming."

At least being near the cell blocks, there was (relatively) clean linens to be used. Aidou pushed through the doorway. Damn, but he was getting sick of pain.

_{[moves here]}