nexuses | this is the worst date ever

[ somehow, it all went to shit.

in shirou's defense, the entire situation has absolutely nothing to do with him. wars are on a scale too large for a soldier like him to manipulate at will, and even he's not arrogant to believe that his actions have a tipping effect on the grand scale of things. war is made by people up top, moving their pawns around in a mahjong shuffle, and he just happens to be one of the pawns. no, if anything screwed up in the grand scheme of things, he's taking no personal blame for it, thank you very much.

that being said, that doesn't make being stuck with seven trion soldiers in a single city block any more pleasant. shirou considers himself to be some sort of a big-shot (he knows he's good, okay), but seven in a place where civilians haven't fully evacuated is really just too much for a single guy to handle.

(it was that damned new-type. it slammed into the three of them like a bolt out of the blue, and as if the fact that it could fly wasn't insulting enough, it grappled utagawa and slammed into kazama, leaving shirou with this mess and no way of getting back to his team in time to help. he hates that new-type. he hates everything.)

but he has to handle it. failure isn't a word that comes easily to kazama squad, and anyway, it's kazama's orders. secure civilians and then move to help the B-ranks near the city edge; regroup when the situation is right. as of right now, the situation is not yet right; and it's shirou's job, unfortunately, to make it right. he twirls his scorpion as he surveys the scene-- three humanoids, a marmod, one that resembles a large jumping spider, an ilgar in the distance-- and the one he's gonna get rid of first, the bander that's making a mess. his tsk is that of annoyance as he twirls his scorpion, tuning out the terrified screaming of civilians, when--

a spray of bullets connect with the side of the large trion soldier, causing it to balk and screech and shirou to duck with wide eyes. the ensuing metal against metal is akin to dragging sandpaper through his ears and he cringes, even as he dashes forward again under the bullet spray without hesitation, springing up weightlessly to slash right through the trion soldier's core. ]

... Oi. [ ... crap, what was his name again? he can recognize his footsteps even among the carnage of noises vying to distract him from his goal, that half-skip that more resembles someone frolicking in a field of flowers than a soldier on the battlefield. shirou lands in a crouch, and makes a face as his blond hair comes into view. right. that guy. ]

Inukai... -san, [ he tacks on after a moment of reluctance, even as his eyes dart to the right. one of the humanoid's looking this way, and it just plain creeps him out, the way that one, sole, core resembles an eye. carefully, he taps into his com, motioning for inukai to do the same, and heaves a heavy, heavy sigh. ] tell me honestly, do you really have a reason to kill me that badly? [ an annoyed beat. ] It's been three weeks since I insulted your captain; go tell him he should get over it already.

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[ the explosions above rock the air with the force of its blasts, causing shirou's ears to ring. but it's marginally better than the bombs detonating on the ground, in which not only would there be massive amounts of civilian casualties but also the added complication that shirou wouldn't be able to hear any subterranean activity at all. at least this way, if he ignores the discomfort of aerial shockwaves, he can still make out the crunch of rock beneath their feet.

thank you for not being a shitty gunner, inukai, even if your personality begs to differ. now that he's within visual range, his side effect can better pinpoint the directionality and speed of the tentacles below ground. shirou rolls his eyes. ]

It's only a threat for you. Three seconds, jump to the left. [ his scorpion twirls at the ready, his steps light as he hops onto a piece of concrete, blasted from the foundation of a former apartment building. ] Also stop putting me in charge. All this responsibility is going to make my skin wrinkle.

[ he counts three, to the middle of kikuchihara's next words, and then jumps to the left, bounding off the wall in that direction to propel himself where it's safer. ]

You're the one who said that I should listen to you if I want to live. I haven't had problems so far.

[ but it's true that kikuchihara's side effect is mostly effective for evasion. that's not going to get them anywhere in the long run. it's a support skill, not an offensive one, though that's not accounting for kikuchihara's gift for tactics. so, no, sumiharu isn't particularly compelled to take over. ]

Let's do something about this Trion soldier.

If you can't do your duty, then just living is useless. [ ooooh #shotsfired. shirou's face remains impassive as he studies the sky, while keeping an ear out for the rumble beneath the ground. the jumping spider's attacks are slowing down, as though it were trying to take into account the fact that it can't seem to hit these two earthling soldiers. that's bad, it might be a trion soldier with a capability for limited learning. ]

Anyway, it's slowing down. Keep in mind that the only reason why I haven't gone chameleon and destroyed it is because I need to keep you from becoming a waste of Trion. Do something about your survivability, and I'll do something about that new-type.

[ it might sound as rude as fuck, but it's an accurate assessment of the situation -- also a nudge for inukai to take the command already, you 18-year-old. kidou's going to look severely at him again for breaking the chain of command. again. ]

[ aren't the shots being fired by the wrong person? and age aside, he's not the a rank here. but what kikuchihara is saying isn't false. ]

Is there a way to lure it out of hiding? If I play the decoy . . .

[ sumiharu directs his attention to the ground, but he can't begin to discern where the next attack might come from. as far as this new-type is concerned, kikuchihara has the far higher advantage in taking it down (and he may well be capable of doing it alone, but there's safety and greater efficiency in numbers, per border's way of things). the ilgar is circling, so they've got a bit of time to take care of the other trion soldier before it comes back to drop more bombs. ]

If you played decoy, you'd just die. [ but... shirou's ears prick at the minute movements beneath the ground's surface. up above, the wailing of a whale as it circles back again.

ugh, no. he has an idea, but it's so much effort. shirou makes a sour face. ]

If you Full Guard, how many ilgar bombardments can you withstand?

[ sumiharu takes that sour face to be a good sign. kikuchihara's bothered, which means he's exerting effort and has a plan, which is more than can be said for himself. brainstorming with kikuchihara is like pulling teeth, but this'll do. ]

It depends how much Trion I'll need afterward, but I should be able to take a few.

[ wow who died and made you a dentist!! shirou considers this for a brief moment. as tempting as it is to let inukai handle the brunt... no, he does need to have trion left to remain useful in other capacities. while shirou had been hoping to conserve trion, it's better for the battle as a whole if he supplies trion as well. ]

I'll contribute. [ to the Full Guard. his eyes dart to inukai for a moment, before he looks away, ostensibly in order to check on their surroundings, but in actuality he just doesn't like meeting anyone's eyes. ] We can use the ilgar to bomb the new-type out of hiding.

[ essentially have someone be a sitting duck bait for the ilgar. let the ilgar bomb the shit out of them -- and in doing so, bomb the trion soldier out from underground beneath them. ] ... the new-type is probably as sensitive to sound and vibrations as I am. [ if not more so, otherwise it wouldn't be able to target them so well above-ground. therefore: ] Ideally, it'll be smart enough to come above ground before the shockwaves from the bombs affect its sensory systems, but even if it doesn't, the blasts from the bombs should be able to cave the ground in and damage it anyway.

[ what doesn't need to be said: when it comes above ground, it's as good as dead. ]

this is the worst date ever

ヾ( ･`⌓´･)ﾉﾞ

i no longer have the attention span for an emoji tab YOU WIN FOR NOW

WEENERRRRR

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