EVENT: Battle Against the Kishin Adachi

[soul_mods]

Characters: Anyone who signed up for Mission 254
Location: Matsue City, Japan
Rating: PG13
Time: September 11th
Description: It's time to bring down the Kishin Adachi, once and for all!



Matsue was once a lovely city and a nice place for tourists to visit.

It is now a ghost town.

Some lucky citizens had managed to escape the city before things got really bad, but they are the minority. Even fewer still are those who stayed and are still alive.

Most of them are dead, or worse, they had been driven mad by the Madness the Kishin Adachi exuded and killed their fellow citizens and consumed their souls, becoming Kishin Eggs. To make matters worse, sometimes when you're fighting you'll hear the distant rattling of chains and some primal part of your soul knows, something wicked this way comes.

And then there's all the Yellow Fog...

Only those who persevere will make it to their final destination: the Adachi Art Museum where Adachi is.

It will not be an easy fight, but in order to prevent the fate of this city from befalling on another, everyone will need to try.

((OOC: Please indicate in the subject: Character || OPEN/CLOSED. There will be a separate thread for encountering Adachi. Event information is here.))

Comments

[heavenly_earth]

[Neji stops under an awning, not giving the creature circling the rooftops any clear shot against them. He presses himself into the door behind him, then on second thought, turns and searches out something small enough to pick the lock with.

It's open in less than a minute, and he closes it again, breathes and tracks the line of stairs two floors up with his eyes before his feet follow. No need to stumble upon unexpected Kishin Eggs..]

We do need something like our resonance attack take it down, but it doesn't seem susceptible to Jyuuken, and Kaiten is primarily defensive..

[His steps hurry up the second flight of stairs as a wild idea forms in his mind, and the Meister watches their pursuer sink below the roof line in its pursuit. Just as well, for he climbs up the opposite side of the building and carefully navigates toward the lost-looking specter]

I've managed Kaiten in mid-air before, so perhaps with your speed and power, if we can pin it from above..

[Then they'll have something very close to Renge to take down their pursuer with. Provided of course, that works out like it does in his head, but their options seem limited. He can't swing Lee around carelessly anymore]

[awokentospring]

So we will have to improvise?

[This wasn't the best time to attempt creativity, but that kind of thing did not wait for convenience. While Neji raced up the stairs, Lee worked on calming himself and sent gentle vibes towards Neji through their resonance.]

... You realize this means we may break through my limit, right? If you are alright with that then I will do what is necessary.

[Lee didn't like hurting Neji but sometimes pain was the price of victory.]

[heavenly_earth]

We'll be alright. [It's a strange show of optimism from someone usually so realistic, but sometimes it's better not to think of the consequences, to rationalize and abate those worries before they can stop him cold]

We haven't used much, and we're stronger than before..

[Neji finds the creature tracking them just below their line of sight, and pauses only a moment to breathe and carefully align his soul with Lee's. And it'll have to be enough, because the creature's drifting further away and jumping to the other side would give way their position.

He jumps, diving for their adversary in what might have looked like a suicidal plunge to anyone else, grits his teeth and reaches for their combined soul wavelength, for Lee to join with him, feels the batons lengthen over his arms, and the rush of energy that always comes with this, makes them feel invincible.

They collide with the target, wooden shafts spearing through the reaper. Neji uses this brief change in momentum to torque his body , calls up that energy, and their freefall abruptly turns into a wildly spinning dive, hurtling like a meteor down toward the earth.

The reaper slams into the ground, and only Lee's baton's keep them from doing the same. They hang suspended for a moment, body perfectly straight until Neji drops his legs down and sends a burst of wavelength through Lee into the unmoving creature beneath them just to be sure.

The Meister breathes again, but they're still up, still bound together with energy surging through his body because the exhaustion and pain haven't caught up yet. He brings up the blooded, wooden ends, viewing them critically where they'd slammed into the ground]

Are you alright, Lee?

[awokentospring]

[Lee took confidence in Neji's words and aligned his thoughts and emotions with Neji, charging their resonance to the max as they took on their greatest form. This way, it felt like Lee was a part of Neji beyond normal resonance, and through that he could feel everything. The way they pierced the creature's skin and spun and surged energy into it. And then it was gone, melting under them, leaving nothing but some tattered shreds of cloth and a few bloody buttons.

Lee felt exhausted and realized they wouldn't be able to stay like this for long. But until they returned to normal he let his emotions and relief spread through Neji in waves.]

I am fine. Any injuries on your end?

[He didn't really have to ask, he already knew, but it wouldn't feel right not to ask.]

[heavenly_earth]

[Neji took heart in Lee's relief, feels his heart slow and the adrenaline ebb]

I'm injured, but still capable. [There's no denying that, although only the surge of energy running through him keeps him from feeling pain. And much as he'd rather it stay that way..]

We have roughly thirty seconds more with this, but we should save it. As well, I know I jarred my bad shoulder coming down, but I don't know how badly..

[awokentospring]

[Neji had a better grasp on just how deep his injuries ran, and they didn't sound good but there wasn't much to be helped.]

Understood.

[And with that, Lee attempted to disrupt to resonance, to bring them out of their strong form and back to normal. It was a little disconcerting, and he didn't like being removed from Neji but there was no helping it.

Once they were fully split, Lee spoke again.]

Should I return to my human form? You can rest while I carry you around, and that way we can take the pressure off of your injuries.

[heavenly_earth]

[It's a loss that's like crashing down from a high, and pain rips through his body, throbs in his shoulder, and he grunts]

My legs are fine. [It's just the rest of him that isn't] But perhaps we should at least get the glass out where possible..

[awokentospring]

It is not just for your legs' benefit. [But he realized Neji had pride, even if it was stupid.]

[But speaking of glass, Lee felt some confidence over take him.]

That is something I can do! Rosalia-san has helped me learn quite a bit about more delicate procedures.

[heavenly_earth]

[He knows, but if he can walk and stand on his own power, then he's fine as far as he's concerned. The rest of his injuries are mostly superficial- except for the bullet in his shoulder, and possible damage he's down to it after pulling off a reckless stunt as the one they'd just done.

But their enemy is gone, defeated, and there are more of those things, but they're safe for now. He has to be fighting fit, and they haven't even made it to the museum yet]

Alright. Transform, and I'll keep watch while you work, then.

[awokentospring]

[Lee doesn't verbalize his acceptance; just transforms and moves immediately to take Neji's hands and arms under scrutiny. There is indeed a lot of imbedded glass but most of it he can get to. Some will require more delicate instruments to remove, but they won't be necessary until later.

Carefully, Lee begins to work. At some point he takes out his kunai from his leg pouch and uses the sharp tip to help him remove some smaller pieces, but there are some shards he didn't dare try touching.]

... Rosalia-san will need to look after some of these.

[heavenly_earth]

[Neji's jaw clenches as his Weapon works to pull shards of glass out of his skin, keeps a resolute watch of their immediate surroundings and monitors any Kishin Egg that strays close]

Yes. [He knows that, but they don't have time to return to Death City right now. Even attempting to get back to the mirror would see them facing another few Kishin Eggs before they made it]

But this will have to do for now. How does my shoulder look?

[Because it really, really hurts, and he's pretty sure it's bleeding]

[awokentospring]

[Lee had been mentally avoiding that area for his own sanity, but he can't deny what his eyes see. It's a pretty deep wound. At this point, there's nothing much he can do.]

I... would not suggest we attempt to take out the bullet. But we can wrap it for now to keep it from weakening you further.

[It would still hurt as Neji moved, but the shinobi were trained to deal with pain. Just because you were hurt didn't mean you could always afford to remain motionless.]

We need to take care of it really quick and then continue. Do you know where the other teams are?

[heavenly_earth]

[That's unfortunate, but there isn't much to be done about it. He moves it just slightly, hisses, and for once, feels grateful it's his left shoulder. Even if it does seem to take the most abuse, at least his right arm is just that little bit stronger. He won't be able to move Lee between hands easily, but they'll still be able to fight]

Of course. [His vision swings around to the museum] We'll make it.

[awokentospring]

[Lee nods, feeling somber, but he doesn't waste time. Pulling out a roll of bandage, Lee uses his own skill at wrapping to cover as much of the wound as he can. His hands shake slightly when he thinks of how close it came to striking Neji's heart, but he can't think about that for now. They have a mission to complete.]