Spain - Osozaki Hana & Takeshi Kurotsuki

((Sorry.))

((Ok... I guess I found something that needs to be ironed out, heheh.))

"Bullets are the best way to get the attention of akuma," explained Takeshi, a hint of annoyance in his voice. "I hope you have experience with them."

He made his way out of the railroad station, expecting Hana to follow suit. There was a city behind the station, and Takeshi made a guess at a pasture or something behind all of the buildings.

Hana gave a sigh as she closed her eyes out of relief. Thank goodness, she thought. When she opened her eyes, Kurotsuki was already on his way out. She gave a yelp and ran after him. She finally caught up with him, giving light pants, and looked at the rifle before pouting.

"I do have experience with them, you know..." she mumbled in response to his previous statement. "You don't have to use that tone, either. I feel like a child when you do that..." While she spoke to him, she made sure to avoid any kind of eye contact. She yawned one last time and stretched again; then she placed her hands behind her head, catching as many details as she could before they reached the village. When she saw all the trees, it made her feel like she was back in Okinawa, and that her family had just set out for a picnic. She chuckled. It's not like we could really do that in the first place... As she continued walking, something fell out of her pocket and immediately catching her eyes' attention. She quickly dove to catch it, not wanting it to become sullied by hitting the ground.

She managed to barely grasp it, but due to her apparently recent clumsiness, her momentum caused her to fall forward and hit the ground with a 'thud'. She quickly got up, however, assuming that her display of idiocy had not caught the eyes of the people around, and hoping that she did not look as disheveled as she thought she was. She then calmly shook off the dirt and placed the item that had fallen in one of the more secure pockets of her clothing. She cleared her throat and caught up with Kurotsuki, the effects of the previous incident wiped from her demeanor as she asked, "Besides the possibly Innocence-possessing animals, this place is not exactly a commonality, is it?"

((Yes, sentimental items!! Once you gave the okay, I couldn't help it. ^-^))

Takeshi did not answer Hana's statement about "child-like" feelings, continuing to pass through the town. He strode without being deterred by merchants, blabbering in their own language in attempts to attract customers. One walked into the streets in front of them, speaking in Spanish, offering a sample of dried fruit.


"Not interested," he said, lightly pushing the merchant aside. If the language did not deter the young, female merchant, the gesture did. She stepped back to let him, along with Hana, pass.

Eyes remain attracted to Takeshi and the rifle slung on his shoulder: apparently it is an uncommon sight. Someone seemed to have called on the local police department, as a pair approached them, calling out in Spanish. Takeshi stopped, waiting for them to say what they want.

Hana looked up in awe. She hadn't been able to take a good look at the sky like this for a while, since usually by this time, she would be busying herself with setting up camp. She shook her head, trying not to become distracted, and looked around Kurotsuki to see if they had almost reached their destination.

"So..." Hana began timidly, still unfamiliar with this area, "How are we going to do this? As much as I hate to admit it, I wasn't even thinking about what time of day we would arrive when considering the necessary precautions. If these happen to be Akuma, nightfall would be the worst time I would want to meet one."

Hana trembled slightly. She remembered a time when she had failed to catch food during the daytime and went out at night to gather anything edible. She had first encountered an Akuma on that night, but it had managed to distract itself with an even bigger feast of a fellow Akuma. She had never heard such screams, nor had she ever repeated her action. She decided that if she were to ever fail at catching food before dusk was done, then she would simply not eat that night unless vital to her survival. I guess that's another good reason for me to have joined the Order. If I manage to get in, then I'll finally be able to rest easily...Well, as close as I'll ever get to 'easily,' at least.

((I'm more of a free-form role-player, where I am in charge of my own character.))

"The time of day matters little. It is going to be a full moon tonight, which would give plenty of night-time light. It would be best to begin at a particular time where we can easily gather innocence, assuming there is one, and get aboard the train quickly," answered Takeshi, continuing through the town.

They are almost out of the town, the gate outward within sight. Once outside, the word "safe" practically disappears. There is no telling where or when an akuma would appear in a mountainous region.

Hana held herself tightly, not at all liking the scenery, given the current situtation.

This looks a lot like that night. I don't feel well about this darkness. We're not cats...It's a shame, too, because no matter how little we can see the Akuma, that doesn't affect how well they can see us. Hana became rigid in her walk, constantly checking her surroundings. She was constantly trying to adjust her eyes, dilating them so that they could take in as much light as possible.

After realizing that her efforts were in vain, she decided to just rely on her other senses. I can't expand them to the size necessary to see in these poor conditions. She just continued blindly, trying not to crash into the figure in front of her.

((I'm controlling other peoples' characters? O.o))

Takeshi came to a sudden stop, to unsling his rifle and insert several bullets into the chamber. He did not like the looks of the scene: it is quite easy to ambush in this dark lighting. "We're going slower from here on out."

Shouldering the firearm, he continued, approaching more cautiously as to check some of the more shadier parts of the forest.

Hana firmly nodded, even though the man couldn't see it. Her eyes were now darting back and forth, trying to catch the smallest movement. Her ears could only hear what anyone would expect to hear in a forest. She let out a small sigh when she believed that everything was fine for the time being, but something passed by them.

She gave a small jump and covered her mouth with both hands, shoving the yelp climbing up her throat right back into silence. She looked back and listened to the owl as it flapped away. She was hypnotized by it. It was so fearless in a time when she was being suffocated by fright; it was able to live in such a place that she believed could only provide death for those unwittingly stumbling into it. She stared in the direction it went, even after it disappeared into oblivion. Only when the trees screeched as they performed their terriyingly beautiful dance did she break from her trance. After finally averting her eyes, she decided that she couldn't afford to give her nerves any safe ground right now. Better to be paranoid than to be dead, she told herself. She remained diligant as they traveled further and further into unrelenting darkness.

((Why does it feel like I already put myself on a bad line with an admin...?))

He crept forward softly, the butt of the weapon pressed against his right shoulder, nozzle diagonally aimed at the ground. Hearing the sharp snap of wood, he stopped, and the weapon shot up. But, he felt a twig underneath his boot. Just a twig, he thought to himself.

Not bothering to see whether his companion is following, he continued forward, expecting that Hana follows suit.

((What if you want to push a comrade out of the way? Does that count as controlling another character? It just seems mean to jump out of the way and leave the other in the line of fire...))

((Sorry.))

The intensity of Hana's eyes sharpened. She quickly pushed Kurotsuki and jumped to avoid the bullet. Here. Kurotsuki needs to find that Innocence now, and I need to distract these Akuma, she told herself.

Takeshi's mind registered the approach of the bullet when Hana pushed him forward. Surprised, he fell forward, managing not to squeeze the trigger of the rifle as he fell.

"Move!" he yelled, staggering into a sprint in one direction. With knowledge that one cannot survive without the other, he fired several shots at the akuma, to keep its attention away from Hana as she made her way (hopefully in a different direction). The rifle clicked, indicating that the firing chamber has been emptied.

The future finder kept running: seeking cover would do little to help in this open field, especially since it takes time to warm up the talismans.

Hana was trying to calm her mind. She needed to find a way to avoid the bullets, warm up the talisman, and try to locate the Innocence, which may not have even been there.

She turned her head toward her ally and yelled, "Kurotsuki-sama! Let me keep these guys at bay! I may not be able to destroy them, but I can give you time to warm up the talisman or find the Innocence!" Hana was a little worried about facing the Akuma without a weapon of real caliber, but she wasn't new to rigorous physical tasks.

Dogde the bullets. Don't breathe in the poison. Dodge the bullets. Don't breathe in the poison. Reciting these words, she changed her path into a slightly slanted line in the direction of the Akuma. This way, she was hoping she could attract attention, yet still have enough distance that she could avoid the bullets--even if barely.

((It's no fun without a small challenge.))

Hana turned and finally aimed her talisman at the Akuma. She activated it and immediately called out, "Kurotsuki-sama! Use your talisman now! Then, please go find those animals!" Hana felt if the Akuma were detained, she could definately handle it. She just had to make sure sure never took her eyes off of the Akuma, but then again, that was a given.

((Same. I always thought it took something like 10 seconds to warm up a proper talisman, anyways.))

Takeshi was already on it, unstrapping the talisman from his back, aiming it at the akuma. Once (or if) the beams of light captures the akuma, he walked towards it, placing the talisman on the ground directly under it so that he did not have to attend to it while searching for the Innocence.

However, he would not be there to know when the talisman would fail, which increased the urgency of getting the Innocence and getting out of there as though the devil's chasing him.