Spain - Osozaki Hana & Takeshi Kurotsuki

Hana's eyes widened in the milliseconds it took her to process what was happening and act accordingly. First, she ducked, hoping her efforts would be enough to prevent the creature from reaching her jugular. She also made sure to place her arms as a barrier for her neck, knowing if she managed to fail in avoiding it, wounded arms would be much less dangerous than tears in her neck.

However, Hana would have preferred not being injured at all, so she couldn't help but be angry at herself for letting her attention go only to the Akuma, and not her surroundings as well. From the training she used to get as her father's disciple, she should have known focusing on one area in battle was never a wise thing, especially with the possibility of new foes appearing from all sides, such as in this case. If this thing were another Akuma, I'd be dead. I hope Kurotsuki-sama isn't having this problem. Though the wolf wasn't the only problem, since Hana hadn't managed to fully place down her talisman. As she prepared for a blow from the wolf, she kept hoping that her talisman was still on the Akuma.

((That's looks like a lot to happen in the small amount of time it takes a lunging animal to reach its prey, so I'm hoping it happens a lot faster when actually being done than typed...*Hopefully Hana's bad luck doesn't come back, too, though it seems a little late for that.*))

Unfortunately for him, Takeshi was having problems of his own. He already counted three of the wolves in the dim light. Fitting bullets into his rifle, he placed the butt of the firearm against his shoulder, glancing to catch sight of Hana's own struggles.

It would be impractical for him to help Hana out right there, as he would be leaving his flank open for attack by claws and maws of the hostile creatures.

Cursing at his luck, Takeshi pivoted on his heel, utilizing the heavy finder pack to knock aside the wolf leaping forth to get his arm. The spin left him unbalanced, and he fell to the ground. If the wolf managed to clamp down on his leg through the wild few seconds, he fired one of the seven shots at the bloodthirsty creature's head. The rifle could fire ten shots at a time, which proved to be convenient for this scenario.

Following Kurotsuki's actions, Hana dropped her Finder pack to put her in a more favorable position. She decided that, though she wanted to avoid it if possible, she would have to harm the creatures. She crouched down, aiming a deft kick at the wolf who had assaulted her. She ignored the wound on her arm for the time being, focusing all her attention on the battle unfolding before her. She also made sure she was constantly wary of the current state of the Akuma, fearing that with only one Talisman, it may break free.

Hana jumped away from the onslaught of wolves attacking her in order to stop the one taking Kurotsuki. This time, she aimed to land a fatal blow, having no more time to worry about the animals' lives. She was planning on releasing Kurotsuki, taking up his weapon, and fighting the pack while he held the Talisman. She wasn't doubting his fighting abilities, of course, but it would be easier for her to move in battle with a wounded arm than him with a wounded leg. Come on, come on, come on. Stay down. Her eyes caught sight of the crack and she became more ferocious in her attacks, trying to end this battle swiftly.

((Wow, talk about building the tension. You're really good with making scenarios of suspense in your narrations! X3))

((Haha. My innovations seem to be spawning new info ))

Instead of wasting another shot, he slammed the butt of the rifle down on the head of the wolf who was dragging him down. The pain in his leg was intensifying: the wound might end up being hard to look at when everything comes to an end. With the akuma attempting to break out of the lone talisman, the situation is quite complicated; something that Takeshi hated - complication.

Hana cursed at their lack of progress, but also couldn't hide her awe at just how bloodthirsty these canines were. As one went down, the others went to feed. And here I thought wolves took care of their pack... Hana looked back at the Akuma and was alarmed by just how close it was to escaping. She tried thinking of a plan, when she found one while watching the wolves devour their own. Lightly cradling her arm, she called out, "Kurotsuki-sama, do you think you can take hold of the Talisman? If I take the rifle, I could try to aim at an area that will cause the most bloodloss. If we're lucky, the wolves may fight over the carcasses. However, if you would rather take the shots, that's fine as well!"

((You're welcome!! ^-^ This reminds me of one of those riddles in which you must accomplish a certain task with less materials than would be originally needed. EX-Instead of taking down 10 wolves with 10 bullets, you have to do it with 7. Too bad I was never too good at those...))

Takeshi crawled away from the wolves, tearing at each other with a passion for meat. As much as he hated admitting it, he is in poor condition to do anything streneuous. "Get the d___ thing!" he yelled, flinging the rifle as hard as he could towards Hana. As long as the trigger was not pulled, it should not backfire from a harsh landing upon the ground.

He slowly made his way towards his talisman, to grab hold of it and keep it concentrated upon the akuma. At least I am not doing nothing, he thought to himself.

Hana ignored Kurotsuki's word choice and grabbed the rifle, taking aim at the closest wolves. As she took each shot, she tried fixing the trajectory so that the bullets would go through a lethal area of one wolf, while still managing to completely pass through it so as to injure another. She didn't even have to fatally wound the second, since the bloodloss should be enough to attract the rest of the pack. So each time she found any wolves lined up just enough for this possibility, she took a shot.

The only way to ever accomplish this is to--as the saying goes--kill two birds with one stone. The problem when aiming her rifle each time however, was that she had to try and hit as many wolves as possible using the least amount of bullets, while still managing to avoid Kurotsuki. A situation requiring both precision and speed was never an easy one to work through. She ignored her hair clinging to her face and concentrated on the positions of every living thing in front of her. She made sure that the plan was written into her mind. Shoot a single bullet. Kill one and injure another, letting the remaining wolves take care of the rest. Hana didn't really have to take down every wolf this way, since one pair would suffice, but she wanted to save as many bullets in the event that they run into more unfortunate circumstances.

Hana cursed. Well, that didn't work in the least. How do I end up hitting two with one bullet, when I couldn't even get seven with six bullets? She was quickly running out of ideas. Each time a new one came up, the aiming factor constantly proved as a risky variable. She looked around for anything that would help, but time was running low. Once those wolves turned away from their comrades, then their attention would be on the Finders-in-training.

Her keen hearing picked up a cracking sound. Hana turned back and saw that Kurotsuki wasn't focusing all of his attention on the Akuma, which proved as big mistake. "Don't bother yourself with this battle, since you need to watch the one you're currently trying to prevent!" She quickly turned back, hoping that the outburst would snap Kurotsuki back to his current assignment.

((No offense taken. I guessed I would probably be a bad shot, but I'm glad you at least let me hit four. More than I expected, so thank you. And sorry if I somehow made Takeshi appear less competent than he really is, but that wasn't my intention in the least.))

A flare of anger vented from Takeshi. “It’s not my fault you shoot so close to me!”

He focused upon the akuma the best he could, blood still leaking from his violent bite wound. “Gyah, give me the gun: I’ll get the bastards!”

While he traveled to Europe from his home in Hokkaidou, he was taught stuff in firearms. He may be able to get rid of most, if not all, of them with the one shot.

((If this level of language is unacceptable, I apologize.))

Hana was annoyed at how defensive Kurotsuki became, but kept it to herself. "Fine, take the gun." She ran over to him, handing him the gun and taking hold of the Talisman. Sorry if I'm more used to blades than firearms... She scoffed. She decided not to verbally taunt Kurotsuki, however, considering they only had one bullet left and their lives hung on it.

I swear, if he misses, this is going to be the worst case of irony in my entire life. Please let me have good luck for once. Nevermind--even mild luck would be better than my usual lousy luck. As she took hold of the Talisman, she ignored the sounds behind her and focused on the Akuma.

((Man, another scolding for me...))

((Haa~h? How'd I miss that!? I think I read that as the third one ran away, not her way. Do I delete the other posts, because I don't think it makes sense otherwise. Sorry for the trouble...))

Hana looked confused. Last time she recalled, animals didn't simultaneously die. She doubted all three of them could have died of natural causes that quickly all at the same time, so her emotions were those of relief mixed in with dread. Both her and her companion weren't in the best of shape, and they still had an Akuma to look out for.

Making sure the weapon was loaded, Takeshi looked around in his sitting position. He was beginning to feel cold from the seeping blood from his leg, but he did his best to avoid letting it show. Rather odd, unless... Were the wolves the Innocence's defense mechanism? If so, why did they stop?

The future-Finder slowly made his way towards where the wolf pack were supposed to be, half crawling across the plains, with his rifle ready for a quick second shot (like it would help a lot, though /sarcasm).

Hana looked around as she saw Kurotsuki make his way to the dormant wolves. "Is that the best thing to do when you're unable to make a quick getaway?" She asked, lacing her voice with concern so as not to offend Kurotsuki. She quickly looked at the Akuma, not wanting to mess up on this as well. Every now and then she would us the hem of her shirt to wipe small dribbles of blood flowing from her wound before they reached the Talisman. No need for it to get messy.

She took a short glance at the wound on the leg of her partner, it being more severe than her own injury. I really hope that's it for tonight, because I don't think either of us want to die from bloodloss or infection. As Hana thought of this, she couldn't help but be reminded of a question she had been wanting to ask. "If someone needs to hold the Talisman, and we have no exorcists, then what are we supposed to do with the Akuma when it's time to move onward?"

((Sorry, I didn't mean I thought you were lying, but I was saying that I misread it. I also apologize if my character comes off as a selfish pedant, but I don't mean for it to come out like that...))

Takeshi noticed this and stopped. He was getting pretty cold from all of the blood loss, and other effects were taking hold. Ripping a sleeve of his shirt, he applied a makeshift bandage to stop the bleeding. He made sure that the bandage was thick to soak up the blood, although that placed an impact on the amount of area that it could possibly cover. He did the same to his other sleeve, so that he could effectively tend to the wound with what knowledge of first aid he has been taught.

When she saw Kurotsuki had began tending to his wounds, she assumed the battle must have been over. She gave a sigh of relief. Now we can give our focus to the mission. She gripped the Talisman a little more tightly, as if it would shatter if she let go of it. That actually may be the very case. This Akuma doesn't look like it enjoys being in there, so it's only a matter of time before it starts getting even more restless. She glanced up at the object of her thoughts, observing it carefully. She never had time to really look at one, since she either had to run away from them or watch them be destroyed by others when she was growing up. The face it wore like a mask made her feel ill, imagining what kind of grief drove the person to this outcome. She scrunched her nose and glared. We all just want to be happy, but our dreams are twisted into such a disgusting 'play' for the Earl. Though I guess our desires are what truly destroy us... She sighed again, bowing her head and trying to calm down after such an intense turn of events.