Nightshift 43: Stairwell by Waiting Room/Lobby 1

[whiny-egomaniac.livejournal.com]

[from here]

A sudden wave of fear washed over the Decepticon as his recently-injured foot hit the first step; granted, tonight was, as far as he could tell, no different from any other night here... but the events of the previous evening had had their impact upon him, as it doubtless had on the other patients. Thus, it was with quiet trepidation that he slowly made his way up the two flights of stairs, his back to the inner railing, the flashlight pointed forward with an occasional swing back to the ground floor.

His foot, though no longer in a cast, still ached if he placed too much pressure on it, and though he could walk just fine, he found the branch to serve as an excellent cane in times of particular pain. Perhaps I should fashion this into a proper staff at some point, he mused; it's certainly long enough, and from its heft, it does not appear as if it would break should its mass be decreased to a more manageable amount.

Reaching the top of the stairs after a few tense minutes, Starscream paused, sweeping his light around him. No one here yet, he thought to himself. Rather than stepping into the hall, however, he chose to wait just to the left of the doorway, light shining forward as he slid to a seated position, back to the wall. He held the branch vertically at his side; surely his anonymous companion would not mistake him for someone else now.

Comments

[tostepforward.livejournal.com]

It seemed that Nataku and Okita were kindred spirits of a sort, and Ayumu made a mental note to be cautious around the young man if that was the case. It wasn't as though Okita's pranks were ever malicious or hurtful, but it still took time to clean up all the origami afterward. Or...whatever else was involved that time. She bowed her head slightly to him in acknowledgement of his wave, giving a shy-looking smile in return.

She was mildly surprised by Okita's explanation of her presence, but supposed that right here and now wasn't exactly the best situation for explanations or Homura's inevitable displeasure over it. The fact remained that she'd broken the truce in place, and no matter how Okita tried to gloss over it there would have to be repercussions in the end.

For now, however, she merely stepped up at Okita's gesture, changing none of her outward persona for the sake of any passers-by who might arrive, even if her voice wasn't quite so meek as she seemed to be. "I'm called Sen, Nataku-san," she observed. "Pleased to meet you."

She flicked a brief glance toward Homura and decided to leave it there, allowing Okita to explain any further as he saw fit. If he was taking responsibility for her presence, she'd not argue.

[mitase.livejournal.com]

[tagging along from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/703548.html?thread=58448188#t58448188)]

As if the odd flickers and illusions weren't bad enough, as they entered the stairwell Hanatarou's light decided to shut itself off again as well. He gave a startled little squeak and shook it, remembering that had worked last time, but this time...it didn't. He tried again, a little more desperately, and this time it flickered back to light, albeit dim.

This definitely wasn't good at all.

Before he could dwell on that very long, though, they'd arrived at - well, probably not their destination, since they weren't upstairs quite yet, but apparently they'd found the rest of the group. Nataku and Okita he recognized, but not the other two, and Hanatarou automatically started to shrink back and hide behind Kenren when he realized that the man he didn't know (was that Homura?) was injured.

He gave a worried frown, one hand automatically lifting to the catch holding his healer's bag in place. Did someone else need healing already? He was just starting to feel better after the last time he'd used his abilities, so he could do it, but then he wouldn't be that useful to the group afterwards. He opened his mouth as though about to speak, but shyness overcame him and he instead just glanced up at Kenren to see if he would do the talking for them.

[opposingheaven.livejournal.com]

The sudden darkness was a little startling but didn't last for long when they came across Homura and the others. Nataku was there, and Okita along with a woman that he didn't recognise. She seemed to be with Okita though so he supposed that she was part of History Club as well. He caught the panicked look that Hanatarou sent towards him and gave the kid a reassuring smile before he stepped forward.

"Hey, sorry I'm late I got held up," he said with a faint smirk on his lips. "And I brought reinforcements," he added, stepping aside so that Homura could see Tenpou.

[subtlethreat.livejournal.com]

Tenpou ran his flashlight over the group that their trio approached, trying to get a better look at them, although it was all he could do not to hold his flashlight over Homura's eyes long enough to blind him. Oh my. This was an interesting development, on par with seeing Nataku alive again.

He pulled his flashlight away from Homura's eyes, bowing slightly. "Ah, I'm sorry about that. You must be Homura. Kenren told me I would be able to recognize you once I saw I saw you. And Nataku, it is good to see you again as well."

[stringless-doll.livejournal.com]

Nataku didn't quite understand this prank, if that was what it was supposed to be. There was a lot more going on here than he really understood, that much was certain, but for now he nodded at Sen and Soujirou. He might have said more if the next group hadn't arrived suddenly.

He started to smile at Hanatarou but his attention was caught by Kenren and the man behind him. He was Goku's friend 'Ten-chan'. The first and last time he'd met the man was when he was trying to kill him. It was sort of strange to be told it was good to see him again after that - even for politeness' sake. Still, Kenren looked a lot better now than he had even before the incident in the hallway, and that was definitely something. "It's good you came," Nataku replied, honestly.

He turned to offer Homura a hand up, though his injury didn't have much to do with it. That was just the kind of thing friends did, right? "Is that everyone?" He asked. When he spoke again, he addressed the group in general. "We've got to go around since that way's blocked off by something weird. Maybe we should keep talking on the way?"

He was getting sort of impatient with all of the waiting anyway.

[notachick.livejournal.com]

Reinforcements all around, was it? Okita glanced over his shoulder and then turned around fully when he saw Kenren, Hanatarou, and a stranger approaching. Apparently a stranger that Nataku, Kenren and Homura knew. From the looks of him, he seemed to be of the same sort as the other gods, but there was something notably relaxed about him, putting him more on par with Kenren than any of the others. Bowing his head to the newest additions to the group, he waved good-naturedly at Hanatarou and then straightened.

As Nataku had said, something was up ahead. The sound of the battles above were faint, but they were there and Okita had been listening to them off and on since he arrived. Just as he listened to the strange announcements going on overhead, even as he blocked out the sound of the people moaning in pain. More mind tricks; that's all it was. More of the strangeness that the nightshift brought with it, nothing more. Nothing he could focus on, at least.

With Nataku's suggestion, Okita nodded and decided to leave the unnecessary explanations for later. For now, Ayumu would be Sen and Sen was coming with him just to make sure she didn't go after Himura again. As tempting as it was to let the ninja kill him, Okita knew better than to let his personal grudges get in the way of their work. "Alright. We can finish introductions on the way then, hm?"

[going here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/703548.html?thread=58855996#t58855996)]