soul_logs | Gonna need ALL the damn salt! [CLOSED]

Despite Kanji's desire to keep her dry, the rain had gotten to Naoto quickly. Not that she was bothered. It was more the humidity that annoyed her. Her hair would've been much more frazzled were it not flattened by the weight of the water clinging to it and her hat.

"It won't wash away that quickly..." Naoto replied, kneeling down. She reached forward and picked up some slime, rubbing it between her index finger and thumb. "We should find it soon."

She stood up again and wiped her hand on a tissue from her pocket.

As tolerant as he was, even he drew the line on some of the members of the animal kingdom. Slugs were slimy and they wrecked gardens; gross pests, the lot of them. Okay, so rabbits wrecked gardens, too, but they were at least cute!

Kanji tried hard not to make a face when she knelt down. Naoto, why'd you touch that...?

But they had to press on. The weather conditions, while soggy and unpleasant, were in their favor: What monster slugs there were in the region couldn't exactly burrow up from the dirt to eat anyone, or they would face drowning in the damp earth. All ready, Kanji's shoes were squishing in the moss and mud, and he was gingerly avoiding stepping on the normal slugs and earthworms that fled the soft soil to safety.

It was no wonder that the slime trail was leading toward a cave in the distance, heavily obscured by the jungle foliage. Some of it had been torn away - maybe chewed away - by some means. Glad at least for some form of shelter, even if their target may be inside, he picked up his pace.

"Someplace dry, s'about damn time!"

Naoto had touched worse than slime and he needed to remember that.

She continued along, making sure to stay close enough to benefit from the umbrella, not taking as much care as Kanji was to avoid stepping on the smaller creatures in the soil. Besides, them avoiding Kanji's heavier footfalls just made it difficult when they scattered.

Ready to examine the foliage and determine that their Kishin egg was indeed this way, she had to scrap the idea and hurry after him. If this resulted in an ambush...!

"Slow down, Kanji!"

Point taken, but... eugh.

He looked back as he hurried along. "Huh? Uh... s-sorry!"

He was soaked, she was soaked, and he wondered why on earth she wanted to slow down, just as reckless as ever. But he had to stop at the foliage, parting it with an arm as he peered into the cave. They didn't have the benefit of the luminescent mushrooms here- Kanji couldn't see more than a few feet in.

"...I pack everything but a damn flashlight for the mission. --Hang on. Y'got that badge?" With that and his pocket watch, that might just be enough, he figures.

Catching up with him, she sighed and took a moment to examine the foliage. Yes, this wasn't just a simple tear. Something had chewed this... maybe even dissolved on contact? She waved a hand as it burned slightly.

"Hm? Oh, yes..." She reached into her breast pocket and extracted the badge in question. Immediately, she turned the light on. Unfortunately, it was faint, "I forgot to install new batteries... it should last us long enough though."

His forearm suddenly got warm, and stung a little. It withdrew as he gave a sound in his throat, and held it out into the pouring rain, swiping off whatever the hell that was trying to eat its way through his sleeve. Great- were they gonna deal with another spitting kishin egg?

That light was rather dim. In reply, he retrieved the watch from his pocket and popped it open. The dial was turned in his fingers, and its light joined hers in illuminating the cavern.

"This thing's been nothin' but handy," he added with a shy grin, but then turned to look down the passage, and how the slime seemed to glimmer in the light, leading deeper in. Looked like it sought refuge here to get out of the rain, or maybe even burrowed from here to get to any victims above.

"Looks like we're goin' in. Stay close- I can fire a Soul Descent a helluva lot quicker if I know I'm not blowin' anyone else away." In he goes, emboldened by the light sources. Gotta make this a quick job and secure the region from the kishin egg threat!

She observed his actions and noticed how his sleeve thinned from the digestive liquid. This would have to be wrapped up quickly. Being digested like that was an excruciating way to die.

Naoto gave him a small smile, "Glad to hear that." As quickly as it was there, the smile was gone as she turned towards the cave, peering as far as the lights allowed. Just more slime trails. Something about this was making her skin crawl.

"Understood..." She followed behind him, keeping her eyes out for anything else that might've taken refuge in the cavern.

The light of the rainy jungle slowly shrunk behind them as they crept deeper into the tunnel. The slime wasn't much help against the damp rock, providing for shaky footing. Guided by blue and white light, Kanji saw fit to rely on his vision in low light; so accustomed he was to running around at night, his eyes were a little better with it than most. His hand moved for the wall for balance in case he slipped, his shoes seeking ground carefully. With the way the tunnel sloped downward, one wrong move may end up turning into a descent all the way to the bottom... or into something they shouldn't.

The stone was cold, hard, and jagged under his fingertips... until they brushed against something small and slimy. It surprised him, and he quickly withdrew his hand, and with a sound of disgust, wiped his hands off on his pants. Whatever that was, he didn't like it.

That was when his shoe caught on a patch of slime, applying a little more weight than it should. He snatched for the wall again and missed, his center of gravity forcing him shoulder-first into the opposing wall as he tipped to his left. After grasping the wall, he found his feet again. And felt something drop onto his head three - no - four times.

Naoto had to shift her weight and tread lightly so she didn't slip. She nearly fell into Kanji because of a few slime rocks outside of the light beams. For several steps, she grabbed the back of his jacket and finally bumped into him when he started stumbling around. She let go and followed his movements.

"Kan... ji..."

Her voice trailed and she remained where she was, staring at him. Sure, her eyes briefly flicked up, but then came down just as swiftly to stare. "Ah..."

Once everything settled down, Kanji breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't want to take that tumble down, much less drag her down with him, and with his feet firmly on the ground he felt like he was back in control of the situation. They just had to keep following the slime until they... they...

...What was she staring at?

Then he felt something moving, and quickly brought his hand up to his hair, closing his fingers over something slimy, wriggly... and it gave a squeak.

"H-HOLY CRA--" He brought both hands up to grab at whatever he could reach and toss the baby slugs away. With a holler in mingled horror and disgust, he didn't care if he was losing ego points, he wanted these things off of him sick sick SICK!

This was definitely not his most masculine moment and that squeak even less so. Still, she wasn't going to point that out when she felt something drop on her head. It squirmed on her damp hat, but she didn't reach to swat it off. Instead, she glanced up at the top of the cave and grimaced.

So many slugs moved over the walls leaving mucous trails behind. More were dangling and threatening to fall. She had to wonder momentarily if they were part of the Kishin egg or just normal slugs before one smacked her on the face.

Disgusting... She picked it off and wiped her face with the tissue from before.

He didn't look up, distracted by his task, though he was sure he'd be hollering a hell of a lot more if he did. Perhaps it was best not to mention they were surrounded by them.

He got the last of them off, whipping it in another direction before he looked at slime-coated hands with a scowl.

"I hate slugs... I freakin' hate slugs, damn it!" He grumped, and sighed. The sooner they found this kishin egg, the sooner they could get out of this horrible cave, that horrible soggy jungle, and he could go take like three showers.

But he felt something plop onto his shoulder and quickly swept it off. His scalp was feeling a little numb- a normal slug's slime was a very mild anesthetic. He started fumbling around for that umbrella. Things couldn't possibly get any more disgusting...

"Duly noted. Let's press on, shall we?"

She removed the slug from her hat and took the lead this time albeit, she remained close enough to Kanji. If their target had sheltered in this cave then she needed her Meister close.

The slime and slugs were making further progression difficult. It seemed like more kept deciding to fall as they headed further in. They were becoming more of a nuisance.

He nodded and followed after. He didn't need to be told twice, that's for sure. As the pathway began to narrow, he finally began to wonder if taking the kishin egg on in here was going to be a little more difficult that they imagined. The unsure footing was probably going to be a trick, too. But he'd come to expect a level of difficulty with every mission... or they wouldn't be put up on Shibusen's board, now would they?

Kanji cringed when he felt more of the damn things plopping onto a shoulder, on his head. Had he a weaker stomach, he would have lost it by now, but he pressed on and tried to think of the target. The cavern was warm and smelled of plant rot and moss... kind of cozy, if you thought about it.

If you were a slug.

He had to duck a bit to step through an opening ahead into a larger chamber, just as dark as the rest. Aside from a squishing sound, there wasn't much of note in here aside from the slime trails seeming to spread out over the floor. But Kanji was still, casting glances around beyond the limits of their shared light sources.

"...Naoto. Might wanna shift, just in case. Let's get the jump on this Kishin Egg for once."

When the chamber opened, Naoto cast a glance around, badge light glinting back in the multitude of slime trails. Her searching halted when Kanji spoke and she turned back to him, nodding once. "Yes."

Though, getting the so-called 'jump' on the egg, might be difficult with one light source. She clipped her badge onto Kanji's jacket, adjusting it once before being satisfied and taking hold of his hand. A second thought later, she took on her Weapon form and prepared several rounds.

He was still for the badge to be clipped on, and couldn't help the quiet chuckle when she took the time to adjust it. He'd learned the word 'meticulous' once... and that fit her to a T. It was a simple gesture, but one he found endearing, so he couldn't help the small squeeze to her hand before she started to change.

With a clip of the pocket watch to his belt, it freed his other hand to support her Weapon form with both. His aim was always a little better if he took it two-handed.

"Your hand... s'it okay?" He asked quietly, keeping his eyes peeled as he nudged the slime trails with his shoes. This one seemed shinier... fresher. If he was going to find anything, it was down this passage. He took it and kept his ears peeled for any further sounds. He'd heard these things don't let prey go once it grabs hold, and he wasn't about to let either of them become demon food.

She didn't miss the squeeze. It made her heart flutter for a moment.

"It's fine. The feeling is taking its time to come back." She released the usual echo, sharpening the surroundings and bringing to light the surface still secluded in darkness. Slugs and slime briefly echoed their presence. "What about you?"

He gave a brief glance to the reflection in the gunblade's metal, and looked ahead again. For once he wisely chose to be quiet, but heeded her concern.

"Stings... but I'll live. The rainwater helped." He took a moment get himself amped up, ready for anything and his soul followed suit. The squishing was getting louder down this path, and if he played his cards right, this was their target and he'd manage to sneak up on it and get the first shot off.

But it's tough going- a small spark of disgust leaves his soul with every wet plop of a baby slug bouncing off his head, off his coat. If he starts dreaming of slugs after this, he was never going to forgive the Missions Department...!

She nodded back to him and looked ahead once more.

Perhaps this Kishin egg wasn't expecting any agents to come so soon. It wasn't above them as she feared, but it could still be hiding further ahead. At the sound of the squishing, she frowned and focused her power. She sensed Kanji's occasional discomfort at each slug, but didn't say anything, much too preoccupied with trying to discern what the form ahead was.

It was a long, uncomfortable, damp trek through the selected tunnel, but one of those pings was definitely bringing some information back; a mass that had no real shape to it, but was definitely living.

Kanji didn't know what he was getting himself into, hunkering down when the tunnel grew smaller, squeezing between a pair of boulders covered in grime. That incessant squishing was joined by the occasional crunch and low and haggard breathing, sounding too damned close for comfort. As he squinted in the dark, he hadn't realized that the source of the sound was nestled, obscured not 20 yards away in this new chamber, yet he held his breath if only to block himself from breathing in that weird, rancid scent he was picking up since he arrived.

"Think it's in here... if I can just see where it is...!"

Naoto's eyes opened wider, but then narrowed, locked onto the mass. She sent out her wave to sharpen its appearance and its surroundings. Of course; the bones of its victims. That scent of decaying flesh was unmistakably bacteria breaking down any bits remaining. Ugh, this Kishin egg was on par with the sewer rat.

She connected further to Kanji and passed on the information. "Be careful. You're not that far now. Your scent is being covered by the decomposing bodies presently, but it might sense you soon."

In an environment so dark and warm, bacteria was thriving here, especially with so much being dragged down here: This particular beast saw fit to drag people from above down here, burn away what isn't needed and feast on the souls and whatever else it could chew on with its human-like teeth, one of its last remnants of once being human.

He couldn't help but cringe - and could anyone blame him - as the information was passed on. The stench of decay was well enough to mask him completely, especially after walking through torrential rain and mud. Clenching his teeth, her scanning allowed him just to see that slimy gray mass moving along, long tongue lapping at the rocks to gather up what else it could find. Its hands seemed to grab at whatever it could reach, slowly dragging it along... could it not see anything?

Tch... something to think about later. Soul wavelengths beginning to sync, he moved a little closer and lifted the Gunblade, supported in both hands as his finger only lay against the trigger.

"Then let's kick this thing's ass. First strike's all yours!" And with an added punch of his own soul's energy, he saw fit to augment Naoto's ammunition. If they were getting the jump on this thing, might as well give it your all!

A sightless egg would use its other senses. Fortunately, they wouldn't have to worry about the light giving them away; however, Kanji would have to take more precaution moving around in the tight area. She sensed the tongue and hands searching for more in its already decent-sized pile, glowering. Time to pay for its crimes.

She felt Kanji's strength and imbued it within the several rounds prepared, locking on. With his permission, she fired at the mass, focused on its center.

So intent on its meal of half-liquefied flesh and bone to hold it over until the next soul, it hadn't so much as noticed that something else was there. The staccato sound was what caught its attention first, the brief flash of light from the discharged shots missed completely. Naoto's shots hit their target, slamming into the soft, slimy hide of the creature, inciting a half-human scream that echoed through the chamber and made the Meister cringe.

Even in the poor lighting, he could see that the surprise was over and spindly hands were reaching around, that slimy body making its way quickly across the floor. Though his own footing was unsure, Kanji moved and half-slid to avoid being seized, eyes focused on that set of humanoid teeth glistening as they angrily gnashed, more than a little sore from having its meal interrupted... yet excited that something fresh had come along.

What followed was a retching sound, something bubbling up...

"Shit, that's comin' from this thing!"

"What?"

She scanned and pulled back. That was absolutely disgusting and the sounds it made were not any more pleasant. She was already striking up stronger bullets to end this confrontation sooner. Her sonar pinged, keeping track of its movements and sending the information via resonance.

The retching continued as he moved, and heard something splash against the stone behind him. Whatever it was, it hissed and added to the rancid air. Unable to hold his breath for much longer, Kanji was forced to breathe in. And promptly coughed from the olfactory overload.

The slug turned what passed for its head, and shrieked at the sound. There it was! Claws scraped against the ground, emitting sparks as it moved. But Kanji was starting to struggle in the dark now that he knew he'd been marked by his coughing, an upper arm brought up to stifle his mouth as he tried to stop. He just needed a minute, and maybe he could get a Soul Descent off or something...

But the demon was pissed now, and was picking up its pace. It had a bead on him.

"Kanji!"

Naoto sent a surge of energy towards him, eyes turning on the charging slug. If it got Kanji, it wasn't going to let go. At the rate it was coming, he wasn't going to recover in time to defend himself. She felt the power she had drawn from previous souls begin to surge as her eyes narrowed. There had been enough people lost in this conflict. Like hell she was going to lose him.

Her soul flared. "Get back!"

It was too much, another spasm in his now-aching throat driving another sharp cough out of him. But he felt an odd surge of energy running through his body, and his name rang through his head. N-naoto...?

He felt the wind from a swiped claw and poured on the adrenaline, pulling away from the kishin egg and skidding mildly on what was left of some poor tourist from a week earlier. But he was riding on that strange feeling and decided to risk it, turning his whole body and squinting in the dark to find the slug. When he saw some shape moving in the low light, he focused and just managed to fire that Soul Descent. It wasn't his strongest, but it was enough to veer it into a stalagmite in the cavern and stun it.

His heart was pounding, but he let himself reach within. There was an immense light inside, something blue... w-was that her? He reached for it quickly, but felt a brief jolt and flinched, the 'locks' on his soul wavelength rattling. Kanji released a breath, lifted the Gunblade, and made his decision. He shouldn't be afraid any more.

When he was with her, there wasn't a damn thing he couldn't do.

The walls were thrown down, and he reached again. His hands felt like they were buzzing, and his body felt lighter than air. He took everything, his strengths and his faults, and used them to finally resonate and match those waves she was giving off. He could see the slug clearly for the first time. He wouldn't miss.

Kanji bared his teeth and took the shot.

Wave after wave, she felt Kanji balance himself and pull off a Soul Descent. She didn't relent though, letting the power continue to course. It seemed to be helping and this was all she could do to make sure he survived.

"...!"

His own soul had begun to react and Naoto turned, eyes widening slightly. What was this feeling? His soul wavelength was somehow tuning to hers and everything she was seeing was relaying much faster than before. The darkness was coming to light; she felt warmer.

The gunblade hummed and began to flash as she released the next shot, watching it tear again into the slug's hide. Naoto didn't know what precisely was going on, but she felt... it almost felt like her Persona was there. Whatever it was, this egg wasn't to survive what she was preparing.

His guess was as good as hers, so unaccustomed to levels of Soul Resonance like this that he hadn't thought of doing any sort of looking into what could be considered perfect...

Instead he rode what felt like a second wind. The stench of the chamber, his sodden, slime-dotted clothing, all discomfort was gone, replaced by that overwhelming strength and desire to wipe another potential Kishin off the face of this world. The slug was coming around and was oozing a black ichor from the injury inflicted upon it. The Madness, its hunger drove it to fight onward, kill or be killed no matter the cost. There was no shred of humanity left, and it was stupid to assume they'd find any in the first place.

Something more welled deep in him, that heightening willpower he felt when he called the Emperor seal card and was ready to call Takeji Zaiten. The slug came at him but his eyes grew steely. He took a deliberate step forward and an immense Soul Descent seemed to rattle the entire chamber, crumbling stalagmites and sending the kishin egg careening back, presumably into the far wall.

He won't even let it get that far.

"All you, Naoto!" He roared aloud, and adjusted his aim.

"I won't miss!"

It seemed like their energy was twisting as she finalized the last shot. Power continued to hum between them, sparking, but then melding into something white-hot. It blinded her for a moment.

Her Weapon form shifted and seemed to try changing to curl around Kanji's arm. The change halted at his elbow, the glowing barrel wider and charging. Naoto wasn't aware of the shift; just that a good deal of her power was going into this next shot. Locked, ready, and aimed.

The bullet wasn't so much of one when she fired, but a ball of light that hummed. The moment it struck the slug in the face, it exploded.

He felt the Weapon form, light as a feather in his hand, begin to twist and change. A light crawled up his arm, but stopped at his elbow. Whatever darkness they struggled with was gone now, the radiance from the Demon Gunblade enough to paint every corner of the chamber in a light that would have made the kishin egg slug cringe were it not hurtling face first from that Soul Descent.

His arm moved on its own, planting itself atop the arm cannon to keep it steady before a single shot erupted from the barrel. That ball of humming light that fired away rang bells of familiarity in his head, and that explosion of light and smoke even more so. "Megidolaon...?"

That sure as hell wasn't a term he ever thought he'd hear. He heard the sound of the slug's shriek, and felt the resulting burst of energy released from so many devoured souls distracted him. Even in the face of the glowing red soul, he still wasn't paying it any heed, instead staring at this new implement over his arm.

"Naoto... Naoto, you okay??" He'd never seen anything like this before, but a Weapon's alternate form reflected their real body, didn't it? What happened to her? His soul was all ready sparking a bit with concern, a feather-light brush here and there over that radiant blue sphere.

Naoto's brows knitted as her eyes closed, her breathing heavy. As her energy died, the form molded back to the usual gun shape. Reflected in the metal, she appeared exhausted after such expenditure. She took comfort in the concern and managed to open her eyes as his soul brushed against hers.

"I-I'm... fine..." She panted, desiring to change back into human form, but she didn't know how long she could fight her fatigue if she did. Still, she didn't sense the Kishin egg anymore, noticing the soul hovering there much later than she usually would. "What exactly just happened?"

The light died down, and so too did that energy, receding from its current heights. As the cannon shifted back, he pulled his own soul wavelength back, reeling everything back as the Weapon form started feeling a little heavy in his hand.

"Your guess is as good as mine," he admitted breathlessly, his heart still racing, his hands still buzzing. That was definitely that Almighty spell she could use back home, there was no mistaking it! Did strong resonance bring back old powers? ...But he was still using Soul Descent...

His curiosities, however, were overridden with how fatigued she sounded, and his own winded soul moved to balance hers. "H-hey... stay in that form if ya can, a'right? I'll grab the soul and we'll get the hell outta here and take care of it later."

As slippery as the floor was, he didn't need to worry about something nipping at his heels. He closed the distance and seized the squishy, weightless soul before making a move for the exit back into that long, winding tunnel. He had to hurry...

"I'll try..."

Her lashes fluttered as she did her best to stay awake, but this was becoming difficult. She noted him grabbing the soul for her and turned away. Her vision was spotty, but there were brief flickers of rocks, light, and small slugs as he climbed out of the cave.

The weapon was glowing again, but not in a good note. She was losing her ability to maintain her form.

Her energy was fading a lot quicker than he'd thought. He put a little more effort into finding sure footing, trying to get out of the tunnel quicker while guided by the badge, the watch, and the red light of the kishin egg soul.

But footing was still getting the best of him. Sometimes his foot hit a slimy patch and he had to slow, and each time he swore, eyes focused on the light at the end of the tunnel, back to the rainy jungle. But his eyes were always straying to the gun in one hand, the way it seemed to be bathed in light now and again, as if ready to transform. She was trying to hang on with everything she had... so he had to keep going, keep bringing them one step closer to the end!

But even he was beginning to tire a little as well. The slime, the mud was making the going rough, slowing him down. He had to stop once or twice just to catch his breath.

"I'll... I'll get us out, damn it...!" He was a Meister...!

"I know you will..."

Her voice was dropping and sleep continued to beckon her. Kanji's stumbles didn't exactly register in her mind. All she could do was will herself to remain awake at least until they got out of the cave. Naoto could do that much... at least, she hoped so. Even the harmless thought of just curling up against Kanji was becoming dangerous.

It was that last leg of the climb out of the tunnel that was the worst; he hadn't realized just how steep the slope was. Though on a couple of occasions he had to loop an arm around a stalagmite for support and pull himself up, he listened to the rushing sound of rain, a white noise that seemed to relax just a few of the worries that had been bubbling up in his mind.

It did nothing to energize him, however. Once at the top, his legs threatened to give, but he refused. Instead, he did as he was promised and brought hands scuffed and scratched from their contact with the rocks adjust his grip upon the Gunblade. It was only growing heavier in his hands, and at the rate things were going, exhaustion would cause a painful rejection. With a small, affectionate brush of a thumb against the metal, he nodded.

"...S'okay now... I gotcha." He shrugged his shoulders, and let his coat sink to the cavern floor as he lowered to a knee, in part to rest a little, and in part to support her for when she changed back. There was still a long trek through the jungle to go, and he wouldn't exhaust her any longer.

He cast a glance to the foliage ahead, and took a moment to briefly regain his bearings.

Naoto glanced up at him and nodded weakly, allowing her eyes to fall closed. Kanji's preparations were on the mark as she couldn't hold her form anymore. Once unconscious, her weapon form melted away and left her once again human. Her breathing was even and she tried tucking herself into a small ball, leaning her head against him as she wanted to earlier.

When she awakened later, she would apologize profusely for leaving him to carry her like this. She really should have at least left enough energy to make it back to Death City Heights on her own. In the future, she would have to remember as much.

The light overtook the Gunblade again and his arms moved, supporting the glowing form as she changed back. It wasn't until after he'd taken his jacket and wrapped her up in it, blocking her from what would be a long trek in the rain that he lay a knuckle against her throat to check her pulse, listened to her breathing. He was relieved to know she was just tired, and held her close and rose back onto his feet. The Kishin Egg Soul could be nestled into a pocket for now.

He knew she'd apologize or even protest later when she awoke, but he wouldn't have any of it- he never minded carrying her, and would simply be glad she got to rest. As for what happened in that cavern, that required a bit of testing to see if they could make it happen and - more importantly - figure out how to do it and not feel completely drained afterward.

But for now, his walk through the rain was silent, and he'd sneak a kiss to her forehead and be glad she was in one piece.

Gonna need ALL the damn salt! [CLOSED]

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject