Nightshift 23 -- Second Floor. Hallway Outside Medical Reference Library/Staff Training Area

[tartaros-avatar.livejournal.com]

[[From here]]

Recluse stopped at the top of the stairs, sufficiently far enough from the flashlight so that he felt a little less jumpy. He scanned the area, trying to make sure there were no unpleasant surprises waiting for him in the dark halls. Satisfied for the moment that the area was safe, he turned to speak quietly to the reporter.

"I haven't been to the chapel before. I assume you know the way?"

Comments

[materianinja.livejournal.com]

Yuffie followed closely behind Jack, though she was hard put not to look over her shoulder at Aidou every few seconds or so. Just to make sure he was still there. Plus, he was like eye candy. Only real. Somehow, she refrained from doing so...for the most part.

She gave Jack an odd look as he began walking down the hall. He was acting like something was going to jump out at them at any moment... And granted, she knew now that there were dangerous things that ran about at night, but she'd totally heard them all coming from a mile away. If you couldn't hear it, it wasn't nearby.

"Come on, gramps," Yuffie complained. "We wanna get to the end of the hallway before the end of the night." She wasn't entirely serious with her words--she often called Cid 'gramps' and he was probably younger than this guy was, but quite often her teasing got her into trouble.

[idolism]

Aidou had never moved so damn slow in his entire life; for someone who could jump a dozen of metres into the air and take to the rooftops if things got too stagnant, it was a test of patience. Rationally, he agreed with Jack's caution, but Aidou wasn't exactly a rational person at the best of times. It would've been fine if he were trapped here in perfect health. But he was weak now. Very weak. No one could find out just how weak, however.

With his arms back to being crossed behind his head, Yuffie's skewed attention between where her feet were going and who was walking behind her didn't go unnoticed by Aidou. He was glad Yuffie had come along. How could he not like someone who liked him? And her 'gramps' comment eased the pain of being royally insulted and undermined by Jack, and being unable to do much about it.

Feeling a whole new range of affection for the little self-proclaimed ninja, he moved closer, maneuvering around the bag she was carrying. Hands lightly touching her shoulders, he leaned in to speak into the shell of her ear. "I agree," he murmured, a smile in his voice. "And take a wild guess who's following us, Yuffie-chan."

Aidou leaned away from her quickly enough. Even before they stepped off the stairs, he had caught the scent of blood - fresh, from more than once source. He barely had the mind to recognize that; the amount escaping Axel in his M-U trial was enough to send a lesser vampire into a frenzy. So much of it, and he'd gone almost a day without a tablet. Forget monsters - since their "deal", Aidou was almost considering giving Jack's defensive stance a fair test and attacking the man himself...

[killing-suzie.livejournal.com]

Jack seemed unbothered by the comments coming from the peanut gallery. "Well," he said, "either we do it my way if I'm on point, or you guys feel free to go charging on ahead and I'll stay back a safe distance while you get your faces eaten. I'm a laid back guy. Either way works for me."

[materianinja.livejournal.com]

Yuffie stuck her tongue out at Jack's comment and grinned, but made no motion to take the lead. Whether he saw the action or not wasn't her problem. She was only teasing anyway. Mostly to make up for the lack of conversation.

When she felt Aidou's touch on her shoulder, his voice next to her ear, she almost shivered. Almost.

Glancing back, Yuffie frowned slightly at the mention of someone following them. "The creepy guy?" So what if she'd kinda forgotten his name already... It wasn't really worth remembering, right? The main point was that they were being followed...and that sucked.

"'K, time to start moving faster. We're in a hurry now," Yuffie announced abruptly. Placing her hands on Jack's back, she pushed, trying to get him to walk faster. She wasn't running away. Not really. She was just...avoiding confrontation. For Aidou's sake.

[idolism]

At the same time Yuffie was sticking out her tongue, Aidou was innocently shaking his head. "No, no, you go right ahead. I think I like it back here. I feel so masculine as the rear guard."

Seeing Yuffie react the way she did to learning Alucard was snuffling along after them was amusing. Creepy guy indeed. He also agreed with speeding the proceedings up a bit; this was not an area he wanted Alucard to appear in. That's not to say his impulses weren't telling him to turn on his heel, track the other down himself, and lacerate the other bit by excruciating bit. He'd rather die than drink from Alucard, but his blood would feel so good on Aidou's hands. Dead or not.

In the end, he just pointed down to the end of the hall, where he had last seen the flash of a wing. "Let's just get it out in the open: the cur Alucard is stalking me. Turn back and he'll be waiting. Keep going and we'll face those killer bats. Or, if you've no interest in either, I suggest leaving now." He returned to his relaxed stance, even while he was alert for any movement. "You know, just to pose the choice."

[killing-suzie.livejournal.com]

While Jack liked horsing around as much as the next guy, he wasn't so enthused about it when it involved (apparently) killer bats. He let Yuffie push him for a few steps, then spun, almost lazily, to the side. "Your buddy Alucard is pretty much your own problem," he said, shrugging. "I never said anything about going back. I'm just the slow old guy." He smiled at Yuffie. "You're so eager, take the lead. I don't really like getting pushed. It makes me cranky."

He glanced at Aidou again. "Besides, I kind of doubt, even if I were sprinting down the hall like an Olympic runner, I could keep ahead of either you or Alucard. That's your game, not mine."

[materianinja.livejournal.com]

Yuffie yipped slightly when Jack moved to the side, leaving her pushing on air. She stumbled, almost fell, but managed to right herself, though not without throwing a disgruntled look at Jack afterwards. "Well, you could have just said so."

The mention of 'killer bats', though, drove the thought of Jack being a jerk from her mind. Killer bats were not something Yuffie wanted to run into... Of course, Alucard wasn't something, either. But in comparison, he seemed the lesser of two evils.

"I'll go wherever you go," she informed Aidou. She wasn't going to just up and abandon him, though she may have done that to others before. Right now, her only reason for being up here was to stick with Aidou and she wasn't about to change her mind now. Not even for killer bats or a creepy stalker guy.

[idolism]

Pointing at himself, Aidou demanded, "Do I look like the type to roll around on the floor in a mindless scuffle? Give me a break. I'm not going to humour a mongrel." He'd lost his temper once and done something similar, and it wasn't something a respectable noble should do. Really, touching a living corpse was just a sick experience. “I'm going into that hallway and I don't care if there's a grizzly bear the size of a small house stuffed into it. Bats are nothing no matter how big they are - they're photosensitive and helpless on the ground."

That’s your game, not mine.

Exactly right, it was his game. Aidou's gaze flicked from Yuffie, to Jack, and back again.

He loathed Alucard. God knows Aidou wanted to kill him, but priorities were getting tangled, and he didn‘t have the time or energy to waste. In a decision between what had to be dealt with first: the institute and its handicaps, or Alucard, it'd be the former. And yet Alucard was in the way, clutching at Aidou’s coattails as he was.

... Kaname-sama had made the same choice with Kiryu Zero, hadn’t he?

Sighing, he closed his eyes. Ugh. Sometimes he hated being so mature. “Then, you two go on ahead. I’m going to stay and talk with Alucard.” Then he addressed Yuffie. Unlike Jack, she was probably going to put up a fight. “Do me a favour and scope out the hallway - I’ll catch up in a bit. I’m counting on you, all right?”

[killing-suzie.livejournal.com]

Jack flipped Aidou a mocking salute. "Aye, sir," he said. He started down the hallway again, wondering just how long it would take Yuffie to start pushing him again. If she went at all.

It wasn't that he didn't care about Aidou... no, actually, it was exactly that. He didn't feel any real connection to the boy other than as entertainment, and he wasn't about to stand between two monsters wanting to duke it out. He didn't have a vested interest in this fight, and he was very much not interested in getting caught in the crossfire.

[materianinja.livejournal.com]

Yuffie wasn't sure if she agreed with Aidou's statement that 'bats are nothing'. After her tussle with that thing a few nights ago, she wasn't about to trust anything in this building to be 'nothing'. Except maybe the other patients. Like Alucard.

And speaking of Alucard, Yuffie was slightly taken aback by Aidou's suggestion to talk to him by himself. That was...stupid. Just stupid. Why would he want to go off and do that? When he knew that Alucard was out to get him?

"But, I don't-" Yuffie started, but she stopped when she heard Aidou's words to her.

'I'm counting on you, all right?'

The young ninja frowned. She really didn't like this. Really, really. But she was hard put to resist Aidou's request when he put it like that. "Nnnnn..." she groaned softly before sighing heavily. "Fine, ok. But you better not let him take a cheap shot at you! Otherwise, I'm gonna have to come over and kick his face in, 'k?"

She gave Aidou a smile and a very quick peck on the cheek. "For luck," she winked before heading off after Jack. She wasn't entirely at ease though. She was still going to be keeping watch over her shoulder in case Alucard tried to pull something...

[idolism]

That Yuffie continued to advocate on his behalf was charming. After all, she couldn't have known how much more suited to the title of bloodsucking beast he was over the other. But he had no reason to turn that on her. Yet. So he let Yuffie come close and kiss his cheek, before she followed after Jack.

Aidou had to wonder if she'd be so bold if she knew the truth. There were very few people, like Cross Yuki, who could remain comfortable with a known vampire. And not even Yuki-chan was ever completely relaxed.

Stepping back on his heel, he turned back into the darkness and moved towards open ground, rich with blood and the sounds of struggle. Heh. One more confrontation wouldn't go awry.

_{[heading over here]}

[killing-suzie.livejournal.com]

Jack didn't look back; he kept his eyes on the prize and continued down the hall. Yuffie caught up with him quickly enough.

(to here (http://community.livejournal.com/landels_damned/98086.html))