soul_logs | [Closed] Best Laid Plans

Kanji had been looking forward to this for days. This kishin egg had been marked since the day they came back from here last Sunday, defeated, cold, and shaken. He wouldn't admit to the number of times he checked the Mission Board, making sure that this mission wouldn't be taken by anyone else for the day that they'd both come back and settle the score.

This kishin egg soul was Naoto's. And Kanji would see to that. Only then would his mind be at ease, and what happened in the caverns just days ago would not repeat itself.

Kanji was all right being bait, while Naoto set the trap. If he did his job, there would be no escaping for this thing, no more mistakes. No, they would remain as far from the water as they could.

"Remember me, dickhead!?" He crowed over his shoulder, his fist connecting with the jaw of the sodden kishin egg. With its angered shriek, the Meister took to the woods as fast as he could, the creature hot on his heels. The sturdy branch he'd set on the ground was snatched up without a thought as he heard nothing but the heavy breathing of the amphibious creature, the pounding of his footsteps against the mossy floor.

Jump. Jump. Jump. All he had to remember was to jump over the trap, and everything would fall into place. Kanji searched the floor for the telltale foliage, something he could see but the kishin egg wouldn't notice...

There! Kanji hoisted the branch and closed in, thrusting the limb into the ground and throwing his weight. He sailed through the air for a moment or two, and landed on his feet. Perfect. A cacophony of cracking, snapping branches sounded behind him, followed by a howl of surprise as the creature's weight pulled it right in.

...But Kanji had miscalculated the width of the trap. The ground sunk under his feet, as he stood on the last foot or two of the obscuring foliage. His arms caught on the edge, stopping his momentum.

Naoto peered from her hiding spot, watching Kanji take his leap over the trap. Her eyes narrowed as the Kishin egg stepped upon the fragile ground and disappeared. As predicted, it fell into the pit, but Kanji was not supposed to be caught. Quickly, she darted out and crouched next to him, grabbing hold of his arm.

"Don't allow it any opportunities..." She grunted as she pulled, hoping to give him some help, but without any upper body strength, she doubted she was helping at all. Still, if he didn't get out soon, it could grab one of them and pull them down or climb out.

Kanji was all upper body strength, but the soft earth kept crumbling away under his hands when he tried to get a good grip and start pulling the rest of him up and over. Naoto darted over, and Kanji looked up, was about to shout for her to get away in case he'd made things worse, but she was all ready grabbing on and pulling.

"Wasn't planning on it--" He managed back, before a heat flared in his right calf, moving its way down. He bared his teeth, snarling out in pain as claws raked across his skin, tearing clean through his jeans before grasping his ankle. He wasn't going to be used as a ladder... no, this thing wanted its own payback for that punch, and that suplex from last Sunday.

But Kanji tugged back, pushing down the pain response. Though he'd lose that shoe in the process, it was better than losing his leg or his soul as he finally pulled himself free, and up and over the muddy ledge.

"Let's pump this damn thing... fulla lead!" He growled. He'd had enough.

"Kanji-kun--!"

She didn't miss the Kishin egg ripping into his leg and felt her temper flare. Absolutely not; she was not going to allow this egg to do that. They had a kit, but the first aid would have to wait.

Naoto nearly fell back as Kanji pulled himself out, but stood immediately once she regained her balance. Her fingers slipped into his hand as she shifted to her Weapon form.

"Let's make this quick before it attempts to climb out." Too bad she didn't know if its bones were sturdy or not. Maybe she should have put in spikes or something extra.

Kanji pushed himself to his feet, ignoring that thrumming pain in his leg as Naoto held on and shifted. His soul fumbled in his first two attempts to establish a connection from that irritating stinging sensation, but on the third his aim was true.

Brandishing the Demon Gunblade, he nodded in agreement. They'd waited a long time for this, and they had to seize this opportunity while the getting was good. After taking a moment to try and push everything else down, he worked on boosting his half of the resonance link as he took aim.

"Give it all you got!"

When the resonance took three attempts, Naoto became concerned. His wound was proving to be a distraction, but he managed in the end. She would have to see to his leg after this.

"Understood."

Her soul wavelength increased as she prepared the bullets. It would take at least two full bullets to take it down with precise aim. She had several prepared in case it somehow escaped her aim.

"Fire when ready."

Locked and loaded. He felt that familiar click as his eyes met with the odd, glassy stare of the kishin egg angrily hissing below, revealing more than one row of triangular teeth. Its tail whipped around, showering it with fresh soil as it looked coiled to lunge.

He fired twice against the sinewy beast who moved like the water from which it was 'born', hunkering and twisting to avoid the shots in its restricted movement space. It immediately started clawing at the soil to try and maintain some sort of foothold, try and climb out.

"STAY DOWN!" He roared, accompanied by a downward punch of his Soul Descent. If he had to pin it down by draining his own soul wavelength using his Meister Ability, so be it. Shortly after that punch, he nudged his aim just a little to the right and fired.

Naoto rolled her eyes, but they narrowed as the Kishin began to claw its way up. Well, now she had its movements in mind and began processing. She prepared a few more bullets as the next shot fired and just nicked the egg. Her wave briefly flared and wrapped around Kanji, sharpening his focus as she took aim this time.

Her eyes focused in on its back, judging where her shot needed to be place to possibly paralyze the egg. Hmmm, was it more human than fish or was it now more fish than human. Several potential points to disable its arms, legs, fins, both, or respiratory functions based on the two animals animal, but she locked onto one and released the next bullet.

He needed that little boost; his injury was only causing his temper to flare, causing his focus to slip. He watched as everything immediately cleared, and a note of gratitude passed from his side of the link as his weapon-holding arm grew lighter.

The shot was fired just a foot from where its hind legs met its back, severing whatever might be called its spine, and with a sharp keen it suddenly couldn't feel the back half of its body; dead weight was now attached below the ribcage. In retaliation, the kishin egg's body inflated as if sucking in a deep breath, an odd steam leaking from between its teeth.

The way it moved was too strange. Kanji hesitated, then moved right when the creature in the pit heaved a torrent of what looked like lake water. The amount of steam that wafted from the dispelled water as it hit the grass was enough to tell him that he definitely didn't want to touch that at all.

"You see any weak spots?" He asked, trying to keep even his voice in resonance even. He'd all ready taken a hit, and wasn't in the mood for a body riddled with scald blisters.

An attack like that would certainly not do. Even if they kept dodging, that would eventually dissolve the ground or... oh, the ground was still hissing. Wonderful.

"It's whole body is considerably weak. However, if we want to end this quickly, we should aim for its back again."

Ability active still, she brought into focus the point in specific. It was small from where they were.

"If you would like to keep it from spitting more scalding water, there's always shooting it in the mouth."

Perhaps the next shot should scatter. No, this was already overkill. Now if it would just accept what was coming to it.

Stopping it from spitting again would buy them some time in case they needed it... but the thing was in a hole, paralyzed from the waist down. This thing was suitably screwed, so Kanji opted for the 'end this quickly' option.

"Gonna put a big punch behind this next shot!" She'd helped him by sharpening his focus. Now it was his turn. Supporting his weight on his good leg, he took the opportunity laid out right in front of them; it'd need some time to build up more of that water, and he wouldn't let it get that second shot.

His wavelength reached outward, gray syncing with blue, and like a shot of adrenaline offered his strength and passed it through the Demon Gunblade. Let's see it last through this one. He took aim, and fired.

"Understood."

The next bullet was ready, but when their wavelengths tangled together and grew in strength, she was able to add his power into it. As troublesome as the Kishin egg was, it wouldn't be able to survive this next shot.

The concentration of their combined energy was released the moment his finger pulled the trigger back. It should be on target...

As Naoto fired, he felt that spark of energy leave him as well. His arm had never been so steady outside of holding a fine needle. For a brief moment, he recalled what Aranea said as the shot struck true. The kishin egg was stunned to a moment of silence; then, a shrill scream.

The energy behind its countless collected innocent souls coalesced, then flared outward in a miniature shockwave when the monster burst into odd, inky black ribbons. They lingered for a breath, then dissolved before the pit was awash in a familiar bright red light.

Seeing that color, while normally associated with anger, only sent a relief quietly washing through him. It was done. Eye for a goddamn eye.

Naoto stared, but then changed back, silently watching the soul emerge. Well, this dilemma she really hadn't thought through. The hole was deep enough to confine the Kishin egg so reaching the soul was another story.

"... Lend me a hand please."

"Huh?" He broke out of his thoughts when she spoke, then peered into the pit. Ohhh yeah, he hadn't thought about getting the soul out of this hole. Kanji scratched his head and tried to come up with a plan.

He spotted the branch he'd used to vault over the hole, and gingerly stepped his way back over it, not putting as much weight on the other leg. He sought a second, and passed it to her.

"Take this n' stand on the other side." It was a good plan. Couldn't fail. Neither of them could very well jump in, or things will get... tricky.

Then he stood on the edge, and lowered the branch into the pit. "We pick the soul out like that last grain of rice in the bowl!"

Naoto accepted the stick and listened to Kanji explain the plan. For some reason, she doubted this would work. If it did at all, it was going to be a little difficult.

"Fine... Once we get the egg out, I'm going to treat your leg." That was a statement.

She lowered the branch into the hole and proceeded to lining up her stick to pick it out.

"Mm." Please don't mention it again, Naoto. It hurts enough as it is and he was doing such a good job ignoring it.

She lined up her stick, so he lined up his, poking the end into the squishy ball of light floating around in the pit.

"A'right... gonna start movin' up. Slow n' easy!" Yup, they were totally gonna get this thing out for sure. There was a reason people didn't hold one chopstick in each hand, but SCREW THAT, they were gonna get this thing. Up he goes, lifting from his end.

Naoto lifted her half slowly as he did, keeping it close so the soul wouldn't fall. This might waste more of their time than luring out the Kishin egg had, but they couldn't just leave it here to attract more Kishin eggs to Scotland.

Steady, steady... man, this pit was deep. But with each yard up, the closer they were to their goal.

"...Think they'll find somethin' out with those Emitter pieces they brought back?" Something that had been on his mind ever since his head cleared of Madness that day. Really, they hadn't talked in a while, and he wanted to pick her brain. She always had a better perspective of things.

"I'm sure they will. However, it will take time to disassemble and understand how they work."

She would know about that sort of thing, but right now, she was concentrating. The soul was getting much closer; they would set it to the side once it was high enough.

"Gotta wonder what they run on. Don't imagine they run on, I dunno, batteries...? Nuclear power?" And there was the soul, out of the pit. He supported it from the bottom before helping to set it to the side.

Once it was secure, he pulled the stick back and turned away, used the branch for support as he started for Ziodyne parked some distance away.

"Gonna go get the stuff," he called back without turning. He knew a statement and definitely not a suggestion when he heard one.

"I doubt nuclear power is a first choice when it comes to power sources..."

She would be surprised if they were only running on Souls. She lowered her stick when it was out and walked around, picking it up.

When Kanji stated he was going to Ziodyne, she was about to call out to him, but sighed. She would just catch up. Naoto raised the soul to her mouth and ate it while he was turned away. Yes, there was a spoiled fish after taste.

Yummy.

It wouldn't take much for Naoto to catch up to him, considering the pace he was setting. The usual 'get everywhere as soon as possible', long-striding habit of his was taking a bit of a break.

"I got some stuff to get the taste outta your mouth, too," he remarked. He really could only imagine what those things tasted like.

Naoto approached him quietly, humming in answer to something to remove the fishy taste. That was good. Having to let the taste linger around dampened her mood quite a bit.

Joining him at Ziodyne, she managed to get the first aid kit out quickly. "Grab what you need. We'll sit down in the shade."

Kanji nodded, taking a glance around for a shady spot before he went through the saddlebag and pulled out a pair of boxes he'd prepared earlier that morning. The pickled ginger he'd added to the side was really an afterthought, but in a way he chalked it up to a rare moment of forward-thinking.

"There good?" He asked, pointing the branch out to a nearby big birch tree. It wasn't too far, he could make it no problem.

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