Starved and Cornered (Alain {COMPLETE})

Four of the Okami dashed in quickly, biting and clawing through tissue with a hunger not entirely their own. Two more went for the upper legs, leaping through the air and using their claws to grain purchase, tearing through tendons and muscle to try to further disable the beast and make it unable to stop what came next, and that was a pair more Okami leaping off the roof of a nearby structure and onto the creatures chest, one ripping where the Hollow’s hole was in his chest, and the other going for the neck. It was over in the matter of seconds, and the street was bathed in the beast’s blood. The Hanta slithered up, satisfied that his pack had done well to feed and sustain the Brood and their Queen, but it was during this time that the creature had let it’s defenses down, and it would pay for that lack of readiness with it’s life.

A blade came down and cut it cleanly in two, the Hanta unable to even utter a screech of warning to it’s fellows, but it wasn’t like they weren’t connected in the first place. All eight of the Okami screeched and roared into the night as their ties to their pack leader was suddenly severed, and they began to act erratic, tearing into the Hollow they had killed with a hunger that did belong to them, and them alone. One of them heard the sound of a chain rattle and looked up to see a Plus Soul and begin to hungrily creep in her direction. Two more turned towards the single Shinigami, and it was very obvious that logic and thought had left them, the creatures becoming nothing more than instinct and rage. Then, after a few moments of lost control, every single one of the Okami’s eyes flashed with a purple light for an instant, and suddenly they reverted back to having the look of intellect and direction. The two that looked towards the Shinigami paused, and one of them leapt at the man, claws and fangs bared, but it could be sensed that it’s intent was not to kill the Shinigami, but to hopefully scare him or distract him.

The others grabbed entire mouthfuls of the Hollow they had taken down and split off, using their speed to scatter and hopefully lose their pursuer, although if this would work would remain to be seen.

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Shinku, back in her spot, unborrowed from the ground in a small explosion of dirt and rage, knowing all too well that this situation had gone from bad to worse. A Shinigami with the intent to kill them had emerged, and she was unsure if she would have the energy and courage to face him in single combat. He was stronger than she was, of that there was no doubt, and now she was being forced to flee and regroup. There was a mall nearby with a large lot with a lot of people, and perhaps she could use that as leverage to buy her and her Brood’s escape from this nightmarish scenario. She had not survived this long because she was strong, but because she was smart, and she had outmaneuvered her foes with cunning and strategy. She only prayed that the one she was dealing with was less than intelligent, because that was her only hope.

Her spider-like legs tore through the street, ignoring everything around them and doing her level best in her haste to leave them undisturbed. Once she had reached the parking lot, she looked around and was thankful for the scene; it was mostly deserted right now, and the only areas where he could gain a height advantage was the light posts that illuminated the parking lot. Her minions were gathering, and she instructed most of them to go into hiding, using the shadows and the vehicles for cover, and the few remaining Okami from the first pack went to town tearing down those light posts, giving them even more darkness for cover. She would have to make a stand here, as this Shinigami was far faster than her, and she could not bank on the idea that if she burrowed and tried to tunnel away that he wouldn’t be waiting for her when she surfaced. She had to try to reason with him, scare him, or otherwise find a situation where she could survive this encounter and live on… and she needed her Brood at full strength for that. Her tail glowed for a moment, flexing and then out of the very back dropped a bowling ball sized egg that began to pulse and throb, slowly growing. It would take a few minutes for the new Hanta to be born, but if she could do that, she could relinquish control of the excess Okami to him, and give this situation her undivided attention… but he would arrive before it could hatch.

822/1631

Dusk was setting in, and her preparations were going well for this fight that she hoped, beyond hope, that she could avoid. Still, she needed backup plans… and with a thought, a pack of the creatures split off towards the mall, burrowing near it. She didn’t want to use civilians as hostages, but damnit if she wouldn’t in order to survive. All was fair in love and war, and seeing that the first one of those things was not likely to happen in her lifetime, she would settle for the second if she had to. But she knew precious little about the enemy, and decided to take a moment and look through the eyes of one of her pets that had engaged the Shinigami as a distraction. She could still feel that it was alive, which was interesting because she had thought that the person would have more than enough strength to take them down without any real problems.

Bound and pinned down by spells, he was looking at them in a most quizzical way, like he was trying to figure them out. Very interesting… he seemed to be an intellectual type, which made it to where she wanted to avoid fighting him even more; not only did he likely have information she might need, but more than that, he was that much more dangerous of an opponent. She could handle someone who was hot headed and rash because she could outsmart them… but if this person could outsmart her, she was genuinely and truly outmatched. She couldn’t contest him in strength, she could feel that. She continued to watch as the creature tried to bite the man, but wasn’t able to move. There was more than just the ropes holding them in place, but she couldn’t see from this perspective what was going on. She could feel it’s muscles straining to move, to claw or bite him and run, but it couldn’t budge an inch, subject to the inspections this man was conducting. But as quickly as the man had started, he seemed to look disappointed, and cut them both down, breaking the connection and causing Shinku to clench her razor sharp teeth in anger.

Her creature’s blood had been spilled, their corpses laying in the street, and she wanted to avenge them, but knew better than to let her anger take over her judgement. She assessed what she knew; those ropes were a type of Kido, and she was dealing with someone that not only was smart, but seemed to want to know more about the creatures she commanded. It was possible, even though she had been exceedingly careful not to draw attention, that this person was hunting her specifically. Still, the time it took for him to conduct the examination was time bought to prepare, and she looked around and was very impressed not to be able to see a single one of her creatures, even though she knew that they filled this parking lot in the shadows. Under cars, in cabs of vehicles, they were lying in wait, while the other group she had split off earlier had made it to the basement level of the mall. There weren’t a lot of humans there right now, but likely more than enough for her to use as leverage if it came down to it.

Shinku herself was visible in all her horrific glory, climbing on top of a large delivery truck to draw the Shinigami’s attention. He would be here soon, and based on his speed, she was right in the thought that she wouldn’t have been able to run away fast enough to evade him. The egg, in front of the truck, throbbed and grew and glowed a little bit, but it needed more time, and he was definitely going to get here before it hatched properly. She would need to protect it for a time, hopefully draw the man into conversation and introductions and such, and stall him so it could hatch properly. Then, depending upon how that went, maybe even try to replenish her numbers of Okami and see if she could get back up to full strength. Her pets will not have died in vain, and while they were replaceable, they also would not be forgotten, their actions allowing the Brood to survive. The Shinigami arrived, and she was already facing his direction, all four limbs hanging loosely at her sides, brimming with wicked black claws that were ready for a fight if necessary. “Hello Shinigami.” She started, not feigning politeness for the moment, but her chittery voice not openly hostile. He had lost that privilege when he cut down her pets without a second’s hesitation. “I wonder if there is any way we can talk peacefully? I do not like to fight when it is not needed.” She had a good idea what the answer was going to be, but she had to try.

822/2452

Shinku watched carefully as the Shinigami approached directly into the midst of all her hidden creatures, but she resolved herself to not make the first strike. No, she still had this bland hope that she could solve this without violence, but based on what she felt from the stranger, she was starting to give up on that idea. His power was far stronger than hers, so it was going to be a struggle no matter what she did, even simply escaping… which was not going to be fun. But she had to survive… she had to press on and find a way to get stronger, and make it to where she could avoid these situations from happening again. He wasn’t turning his head to the sides, and instead was focusing specifically on her, so he must not have been able to sense her Brood individually, which could give her a small advantage if only once. The moment one of the creatures leapt out of the shadows to attack, he would make the connection and either withdraw or something else similar.

“We are what we are.”

There it was. She watched a moment more, contemplating on the tone he used, like he didn’t care for this outcome either, and she mused that they must have been more similar than she cared to realize. The energy in his other hand signified Kido, and without hesitation, Shinku used her front two legs and her long limbs coming out of the back of her shoulder to rip up the roof of the delivery truck she was standing on, just in time as the Kidou was fired. Level 30, Bakudo. As she suspected, she was completely outmatched. The force of the kidou smashing into the metal of the improvised shield combined with the fact that she was unbalanced at the moment meant that she was falling backwards, but better than pinned by the spell.

She landed awkwardly, twisting her body and bracing herself so she didn’t crush the egg she was protecting. It still needed a bit more time, but it was getting close now, but now the battle had truly begun, and her Brood was taking action. Simultaneously, two Okami were rushing low and fast, on an intercept course with the Shinigami, one leaping high towards his chest while the other went for a leg. Six more Okami moved and positioned themselves between Shinku and the would-be assassin, with their Hanta raising up in their midst, surrounded by it’s pack. The top of the skull of the Hanta began to split a little bit revealing long spines, one of which launched like a bullet towards the shinigami’s gut. Shinku doubted any of that would hit, but it was a start to the strategy. Two more packs emerged from hiding, consisting of a Hanta and eight Okami each, on either of the Shinigami’s flanks, and moved as a single unit towards the man, but wasn’t in range of attacking just yet. But they had the numbers… hopefully they could make him reconsider his attack and retreat, buying the Brood some time while minimizing casualties.

519/2971

Shinku recovered slowly, picking herself up and getting her legs underneath her again, twisting her body around as she felt through her connection what was happening. Her Brood had engaged, protecting their Queen with the pre-planned assault that she had laid down to the Hanta. She knew that they would need more guidance, as the strategy she posed was only designed to make him back off and to where she could operate at her own pace instead of his. Keeping him off balance was key… he was stronger than her, so her only real chance was to keep him guessing and on the defensive. She hadn’t anticipated that her initial attack would even be slightly effective, so the blocked spine and the Okami he sent headless to the side were not unexpected, but she felt the thrill of the Okami that had managed to cut the opponents leg and draw blood. The beast cried and roared as the man leaped backwards, and it was only through the careful control of the Hanta that it didn’t press its advantage, instead retreating back to the center pack. The two flanking packs had closed in, creating a wedge of protection for the Queen, who was finally making her appearance again.

Shinku, with a shove, tossed the truck she had used to the side, revealing herself and the egg behind her which, with appropriate timing, burst open in an explosion of line green slime and gore to reveal a new Hanta, whose eyes flashed purple for a moment, establishing the link between her and the creature. It then slithered forwards, coming to her right hand, and the Okami that had escaped the Shinigami earlier created a defensive formation directly around Shinku herself. Another egg slopped onto the ground from her tail, this one far smaller than the one that just hatched, and it too began to pulse, throb and grow. She had her full force of Hanta again, but she needed to replace the Okami she was losing or risk falling behind in this war of attrition. All the creatures had their eyes fixed on the Shinigami, but none moved with the exception of the anxious lashing of their tails or the clicking of their claws against the ground.

“I implore you to reconsider, Shinigami. You are strong. I am sure you have family or those who care about your wellbeing. This, my Brood, is my family… and I would prefer not to lose so many of those I care about in a fight that serves no purpose.” There was genuine care in that chittery voice, but another reason for this was simple; if he was capable of such high tier magic, he was certainly capable of destroying a fair portion of her Brood if not all of them and Shinku herself. Her only hope was that she could persuade him with force and logic to retreat for now and try again a different time. She would need to get stronger to survive such encounters ever again. She cursed her odds of actually persuading him though, and instead sent a fresh batch of instructions for the next phase. If he advanced, they would intercept. If he prepared a spell, they would spread out to minimize damage to the packs, and throw anything they could to try to intercept it. She was prepared for what she thought the next likeliest courses of actions would be, but what would actually happen, she would have to wait and see.

582/3553

Shinku watched the Shinigami carefully, noting his actions but not making any more to attack, instead witnessing him switching hands to… heal?! He was capable of healing himself, but was still capable in combat, something that the Brood Queen had not ever seen before. She had witnessed several Shinigami running around and healing others, but their combat ability was always abysmal, and she considered the idea that in order to master healing they must have had to sacrifice their potential for battle. But this man, he had the capability for both. She couldn’t win against that… strategy and tactics had nothing to do with it, this was a gap about nothing more than capabilities. This man was beyond her in almost every way.

No… calm down… this was never about beating him back with her power or tactics, this was about survival, she mentally chided herself, banishing her fear for the moment. She needed to take what she had just learned and push for a different angle. The talk about family and friends hadn’t been met with any sort of pause, in fact it only seemed to make the feeling she was getting from the man even colder. Perhaps he was alone as well, but that made this twice as difficult, because it meant that he knew Shinku’s ultimate pain. He leaped into the air, standing on nothing, and she mentally grimaced, knowing that was going to be a pain as her creatures could maybe scratch his shoes if they really tried. That meant that, from the beginning, he didn’t need to take damage. Maybe he was assessing her strengths and weaknesses? He certainly had that level of intelligence from what she had seen so far.

“Bakudo #62 Hyapporankan.”

Shinku’s eyes went wide. A level 62 spell?! What the absolute hell?! “SCATTER!!” she roared towards her line of minions, but for most of them it was too late. Her entire center pack had been enveloped by poles, only three Okami from one pack and four from another avoiding the barrage of poles along the outskirts of the formations, and that was mostly by luck. She glared, her eyes flaring with power for a moment as she gave instructions to the Okami that were free, and they began to tear at and chew on the poles, but the spell was too strong… it was useless. Three packs, taken out of the fight in an instant…

She issued the order to recall the ones from the mall. The feeling she got from this man was that it didn’t matter if she tried to use them as a hostage, he wouldn’t care and just kill her anyway. She needed more numbers… she needed to regroup and find a different way to go about this. The reinforcements would take a little while to get to them, and that meant she needed to stall… but there wasn’t any viable tactics. The great head of the Hollow sank a little bit.

“I don’t want to die here. I don’t want to lose who I am.” It was a statement, made out loud, and it helped her reaffirm her resolve. She would find a way to live… she had to. The Hanta slithered in front of her Queen, and the new Okami burst out of it’s egg, but that was all she was planning to do with gaining more of the creatures for now. She was near her limit on controlling them, and because he had pinned them all with a binding spell instead of killing them, she wasn’t going to be able to make more without straining her already taxed mind. She needed to stay defensive for now, and didn’t make any moves to attack, but her claws were stretched out, all four arms prepared to lash out, because there was only one thing that could follow pinning down her Brood.

He was coming after the Queen.

651/4204

He seemed to be still weighing his options, which was good. She needed time… not only to think herself, but to also for her reinforcements to get here. Maybe if her Okami could at least free the Hanta, they could used their spines to make him retreat again. She had the one Hanta with her, his spines already prepared to strike, but that was a last resort, defensive option. Then suddenly, he dropped to the ground and began to systematically cut down the ones who were trying to free the others, distracted by biting and clawing at the poles that showed no signs of breaking. Sure, her creatures had managed to chip some of them and could likely deal with them in time, but they weren’t given that time. Before she could react to the shock of his tactic, she had no minions that weren’t pinned to the earth, which meant her force was effectively a large number of sitting ducks.

“Stop…” she muttered, horror taking over her mind for a moment. She couldn’t fight this. No strategy was plausible for this scenario… not a single one. In the face of such overwhelming power, she had no choice but to escape… but that meant that she was going to have to make a decision to sacrifice those here. She knew they were willing, but that wasn’t the problem… she felt like their lives were going to be wasted… but then a spark ran through her mind. As long as she survived, she could bring them back. That was her power. That was why they were willing to throw their lives in a shield to protect their mother. “You’ll pay for this Shinigami…” she vowed, just as her reinforcements arrived from the mall and didn’t even pause, instead surging forward and charging at the man. Two sets of spines flew at him, and the Okami were rapidly closing the distance between themselves and the butcher of their kind. With a heavy heart, Shinku herself left the instructions to stop him at any cost to her two Hanta that were left, and performed a strong Sonido to retreat.

She knew she didn’t have much time, and instead summoned a Garganta from the roof of the mall itself, as this was as far as she could get before turning and seeing what was happening in the parking lot below, waiting for it to open fully so she could escape. She wouldn’t travel all the way to Heuco Mundo… that was asking for far more trouble than what she was doing here… instead, she would stay in the realm between worlds for a few days and then retreat to her Hive and replenish her Brood. Her clawed hands clenched, she gave her current Brood her thanks and farewell. She would find this Shinigami one day, and she would find a good way to make him hurt. He had hurt her, and in the eat or be eaten world that they lived in, an eye for an eye was an excellent phrase to fit this situation.

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