Night 62: Mission #1 [Daemon Sadi and Abarai Renji]

[norainu]

"Are you fucking kidding me?"

Renji stared out over the frozen landscape, shoulders hunching up as the first punch of icy wind hit him. He wasn't a guy that was used to the cold, not like this. It didn't get like this in Soul Society, ever. And that was for the best as far as he was concerned.

Only those complaints fell away an instant later as his hand dropped to his side, fingers wrapping around the hilt of...

Zabimaru.

Renji looked down, not quite willing to believe, with his fingers muffled by gloves. But the sword was there. The missing part of his soul was back. He frowned, though, as he searched through his own feelings, finding the familiar tension of a power limiter. How the hell could these people even do that?

"Hey Daemon... you got your... uh... thingies back too?"

Comments

[thesadist]

Daemon staggered to a halt a moment before he collided with the young woman stopped in front of him. He lifted his head, peering through a swirling gust of snow that momentarily blinded him. "Renji? What is it?" he asked, already probing ahead.

It wasn't hard to miss, once he looked for it. "Hell's Fire," he cursed under his breath. He trudged forward another few steps until he stood beside Miss Ranger, withing hearing distance of the Shinigami. "What is it? Can you see it?" he asked. His magic might be sharp, but he was having trouble picking up any visual sign of whatever-it-was.

[norainu]

"Dunno what it is, other'n big," Renji said. He squinted up the slope, trying to shield his eyes with one hand. "Big as the thing we double teamed a few nights ago."

Which would have been fine, only he couldn't release his bankai, and there were a couple squishy humans to think about too.

"Okay, new plan. You get the lady out of here. I'll keep this thing busy and stab the shit out of it while you do the boring part." Renji grinned at Daemon, but there was a certain amount of grimness in his expression. Now was not the time for arguing, not with another roar sounding over the wind, closer.

"Just make it quick, cause you're gonna have to come back and get me before my dik freezes off. Or else life won't be worth livin'."

He gave Daemon one more grin, feral and determined, then charged up the hill in a spray of snow.

[damned_soldiers]

Whatever the intrusion, it was difficult to see its details in the blizzard. Her eyes fluttered shut as the wind picked up speed, her hearing barely catching the change in plans. Melissa wasn't sure if that was the best course of action, but she was not so willing to expose her unborn child to another danger. There was, however, another aspect to consider.

She called out as clearly as possible, a difficulty with the wind as it was. "Are you sure about this?" she cried. "Shouldn't we look for another way across?"

But it was too late. The red-haired man was gone.

[thesadist]

"Dammit, Renji!"

There was no chance of grabbing the man because the Shinigami took off with a grin that was all too familiar to Daemon. The lady's voice at his side had him cursing again, muttering the words under his breath.

Hefting the unconscious male he held with care, he rested one hand on Miss Ranger's back. "He'll be alright," he answered soothingly, just loud enough to be heard over the wind. He willed his words to be true. "Let's get you home and out of this cold, yes? The rendezvous should be just over that ridge," he added, motioning off in the way they'd been heading.

Be careful, you asshole. I'm going to be severely pissed at you if you start freezing off important bits.

Which was as close to affectionate as the pair of them ever got, really.

[damned_soldiers]

The young woman bit her lip, a feeling of dread washing over her. Her mother had once connected the sensation to women's intuition, the spark of knowledge bestowed to a female who knew the face of a terrible end. Melissa did not know what to think, but the claim seemed about right.

She watched the empty space Renji had composed before turning to Daemon with an uncertain face. "Y-Yes," she said, legs shifting toward the direction. A part, at least, was glad they were close to a safe point, relieved they were almost home.

Almost.

[thesadist]

Daemon kept his thoughts carefully from his expression as he shifted his grip on the unconscious male once more and guided the young woman left in his care up the hill towards where the rendezvous location had been left on his map. All the while, he kept his attention - both physical and magical - on his surroundings, probing for a trap, even as he kept an eye on the Shinigami. Renji had wasted no time in launching into the fight, if the bursts and sparks of power he could feel were any indication. It made him impatient - and nervous - as he pushed the pace with a little more urgency than he normally would.

Topping the rise, he squinted against a gust of snow the kicked up, momentarily blinding him. Were they supposed to meet someone here? Would there be another doorway? The map hadn't indicated what he should be looking for here.

"Do you see anything out of the ordinary?" he called to her over the wind as he rubbed a gloved hand over watering eyes.

[damned_soldiers]

[Sorry for the delay!]

The question prompted Melissa to lift her head, forcing all of her attention on their surroundings. It was difficult to see clearly in the storm; the wind kept throwing snow into her eyes, rendering proper vision near impossible. Still, the young woman tried what she could.

Her attempt soon paid off. In the distance, she caught the ends of something indistinguishable--something resembling closest to a metal pole. "There?" she called back as she pointed toward the object.