"Yeah, money got a little tight for a while, so it was kinduva 'swing and a prayer'. Lotta my stuff was handmade, but we had weeks apparently where in the time it'd take to finish a new pair of pants for me that it was already too small for me." He chuckled.
"Ah, anyway... I really should meet The Man, The Legend." He looked up.
"Your Gramps, I mean. I hear all these stories and I got all these pictures in my head...!"
"I see. That would be an issue..." Junes had only been a recent addition to Inaba as well. Not that Tatsumi Textiles seemed to be in the red like other stores ended up, but material wasn't cheap and a growing boy wouldn't be either.
Blinking in slight confusion, she opened her mouth, "Ah... Well, what do you want to know about him? You might be building him up as too much of an enigma though."
"'Course I've built him up... he raised you!" He hopped off the hand and went to gather up the ribboning dragon, who gave a soft squeal as she wound herself up around his neck and shoulders.
"How could I not? Hell, I wouldn't even know what to ask... s-stories, I guess? But I wanna be able to have, y'know, somethin' to talk about should we meet back home and he burns laser holes into me for dating his granddaughter."
He paused, paled. "Oh god, do the Shirogane Laser Eyes get stronger with age? Am I dead?"
Staring, she... guessed that made sense? Picking up their son, the darker dragon huffed but burrowed himself against his mom's chest anyway, tail wiggling despite grumpy face.
"Ah... That's a fair point. Still, I'm sure he'd be happy to regale you with all his own stories." Still, she let her mind search around, trying to decide on what tale to behold him with.
"That? Well, yes and no." Should she tell him that? Fine fine... "Grampa's had years of practice. However, he did tell me my mother could easily frighten my father despite honing his own Stare."
He laughed. "Cool. So I'm screwed. Good to know. I'll just have to build up some armor in the meantime... I'll be imperviousish!"
Zaiten faded, his job complete. Kanji dusted off his pants and proceeded onward.
Meanwhile, as Naoto's mind searched around, her eyes seemed to follow suit. They caught another pair hiding in the underbrush. With nary a movement, they disappeared within a blink.
"Haha, do your best. None have managed to withstand my grampa's gaze at full strength. Well, again, except my mother."
She wished she'd been old enough to know more about her mom herself. Noting Zaiten fading, Naoto followed... but paused. She stared at the underbrush, losing track of her initial task of deciding what story to tell Kanji.
He chuckled. But he wondered if he should shift topics as they continued their climb. He was unsure if that was a sore subject...
Meanwhile, with Naoto's focus, she could see the subtle tremble of a leaf amid the underbrush much closer to the group. Meanwhile, there was the gentle growl of thunder overhead, making the babies look up nervously.
Naoto's 'okay' was coupled with a rush of black and silver fur erupting from the underbrush, claws and teeth extended as they hurtled toward her. It moved like liquid, a hulking feline body taking a crack at the smaller target.
Naoto's eyes never had left the bush and she moved aside, hand making one more pass over her infant's back before the Fortune card was summoned before her.
"Get lost..."
A shattering echoed before Yamato-Sumeragi shot after the feline, similar rage burning through the Persona as it struck with Vorpal Blade.
Sumeragi moved like a shot, the blades glinting in the sunlight as they formed air foils that raked across the fur and muscle of this odd wildcat like their own set of claws.
What erupted from the creature was the answer to why they heard thunder: The sound it made was like angered thunder mingled with the shrill snarl of a panther.
"Naoto!" He called down his own card, crushed it, and Zaiten emerged to back up his partner. As the thunder cat landed, trails of blood staining the silvered parts of the fur.
The growling stopped, choked as the massive robotic hand came down to pin the creature.
"What the fuck is that!? Is that a goddamn sabre-tooth tiger!?"
She was glowering at the wild cat now crushed by Zaiten into the ground. Yamato was still there, helmed head tilted with her eyes glowering similarly to her human counterpart.
"... They mentioned there would be some animals that could impede our progress. However, I'm not going to let them touch our kids so easily."
He nodded. Strangely, he'd gotten used to the terminology, because in a way the hatchlings were sort of their babies in a way, right? Now they had to let them go back, or there'd be no Lunatia to go back to.
What parents would they be if they didn't let the kids spread their literal wings?
"What should we do? I dunno if I'd get nailed for takin' out some kinda endangered species or some shit... we could clobber the head and let it sleep in the bushes for a while?"
"Hm... We could knock it out and leave it in the bush. However, no guarantee another creature might not take it as an opportunity to eat. Still, at that point, I don't think it would be our problem."
They defended themselves, endangered species or not. Frankly, she wanted to move on and get the hatchlings to their new home and safe haven.
"Exactly. A'right..." He nodded to Zaiten, who neatly picked the cat up off the ground a few feet. In what seemed like hardly a move, he thrust back down, yet the ground shuddered from the impact, and the cat yowled, wheezed, and went limp.
Kanji moved quickly to motion with his hands as the demon followed suit, nudging the unconscious wildcat into the brush.
"We should move quick in case I went a little too gentle, yeah?"
Naoto blinked slowly, still scowling at the limp cat as Zaiten nudged it into a bush. It almost attacked her and her hatchling; she had no sympathy for it.
"Yes. Though, I don't expect that to be our last encounter now."
Kanji set his jaw, and without a word called up Zaiten once more.
"Not when there's a lot of people tryin' to climb the mountain. Whole lot of new smells. Rgh... I wish I could pick up on a scent, but they're hunters who've done what they do all their lives. They know how to not get picked up."
At any rate, they were about halfway up. They just needed to remain vigilant.
"Here, lemme give you a boost. Maybe Sumeragi can cut a path all jungle-style... makin' a lot of noise may make any other predators think twice."
It was still boiling inside her, but... this must be what it's like to be a protective parent. An active threat against her hatchlings meant going on the defensive to see to their survival.
"Sure. Do you want me to hold onto her?"
Meanwhile, she called Yamato out again, Persona reflectively steaming with her human.
He heard roars in the distance, but he couldn't tell if they were friend or foe. All he needed to do was keep everybody moving quickly, keep moving up, and make sure nothing else happens.
"Is it weird that I kinda wish there was a Sanguis moon out right now? I mean, if they want a piece of somethin' more their speed..."
Just like she thought before this month, she'd like to have a normal ending to a month for once, uncomplicated by outside factors and maybe - just maybe - have some quiet time with Kanji. Speedwalking on, she had a scowl fixed on her face.
"Yes. And if I could be Iris-blessed right now, I could at least electrocute any that got past you."
Hoo, boy. She was pissed. With a sigh he felt Zaiten dissolve and shift back into his body, needing rest. No soul could be fragmented for so long.
"Back atcha- I could hold the little guy for a bit, give your arms a break. We're makin' good time to the top, but the last hundred feet or so look like a real trip."
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"Ah, anyway... I really should meet The Man, The Legend." He looked up.
"Your Gramps, I mean. I hear all these stories and I got all these pictures in my head...!"
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Blinking in slight confusion, she opened her mouth, "Ah... Well, what do you want to know about him? You might be building him up as too much of an enigma though."
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"How could I not? Hell, I wouldn't even know what to ask... s-stories, I guess? But I wanna be able to have, y'know, somethin' to talk about should we meet back home and he burns laser holes into me for dating his granddaughter."
He paused, paled. "Oh god, do the Shirogane Laser Eyes get stronger with age? Am I dead?"
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"Ah... That's a fair point. Still, I'm sure he'd be happy to regale you with all his own stories." Still, she let her mind search around, trying to decide on what tale to behold him with.
"That? Well, yes and no." Should she tell him that? Fine fine... "Grampa's had years of practice. However, he did tell me my mother could easily frighten my father despite honing his own Stare."
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Zaiten faded, his job complete. Kanji dusted off his pants and proceeded onward.
Meanwhile, as Naoto's mind searched around, her eyes seemed to follow suit. They caught another pair hiding in the underbrush. With nary a movement, they disappeared within a blink.
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She wished she'd been old enough to know more about her mom herself. Noting Zaiten fading, Naoto followed... but paused. She stared at the underbrush, losing track of her initial task of deciding what story to tell Kanji.
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Meanwhile, with Naoto's focus, she could see the subtle tremble of a leaf amid the underbrush much closer to the group. Meanwhile, there was the gentle growl of thunder overhead, making the babies look up nervously.
"Wait... what?"
The sky was blue.
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However, it was scaring her baby and she gently ran a hand along his back.
"Shh, you're okay."
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Naoto's 'okay' was coupled with a rush of black and silver fur erupting from the underbrush, claws and teeth extended as they hurtled toward her. It moved like liquid, a hulking feline body taking a crack at the smaller target.
no subject
Naoto's eyes never had left the bush and she moved aside, hand making one more pass over her infant's back before the Fortune card was summoned before her.
"Get lost..."
A shattering echoed before Yamato-Sumeragi shot after the feline, similar rage burning through the Persona as it struck with Vorpal Blade.
no subject
What erupted from the creature was the answer to why they heard thunder: The sound it made was like angered thunder mingled with the shrill snarl of a panther.
"Naoto!" He called down his own card, crushed it, and Zaiten emerged to back up his partner. As the thunder cat landed, trails of blood staining the silvered parts of the fur.
The growling stopped, choked as the massive robotic hand came down to pin the creature.
"What the fuck is that!? Is that a goddamn sabre-tooth tiger!?"
no subject
She was glowering at the wild cat now crushed by Zaiten into the ground. Yamato was still there, helmed head tilted with her eyes glowering similarly to her human counterpart.
"... They mentioned there would be some animals that could impede our progress. However, I'm not going to let them touch our kids so easily."
no subject
He nodded. Strangely, he'd gotten used to the terminology, because in a way the hatchlings were sort of their babies in a way, right? Now they had to let them go back, or there'd be no Lunatia to go back to.
What parents would they be if they didn't let the kids spread their literal wings?
"What should we do? I dunno if I'd get nailed for takin' out some kinda endangered species or some shit... we could clobber the head and let it sleep in the bushes for a while?"
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They defended themselves, endangered species or not. Frankly, she wanted to move on and get the hatchlings to their new home and safe haven.
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Kanji moved quickly to motion with his hands as the demon followed suit, nudging the unconscious wildcat into the brush.
"We should move quick in case I went a little too gentle, yeah?"
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"Yes. Though, I don't expect that to be our last encounter now."
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"Not when there's a lot of people tryin' to climb the mountain. Whole lot of new smells. Rgh... I wish I could pick up on a scent, but they're hunters who've done what they do all their lives. They know how to not get picked up."
At any rate, they were about halfway up. They just needed to remain vigilant.
"Here, lemme give you a boost. Maybe Sumeragi can cut a path all jungle-style... makin' a lot of noise may make any other predators think twice."
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It was still boiling inside her, but... this must be what it's like to be a protective parent. An active threat against her hatchlings meant going on the defensive to see to their survival.
"Sure. Do you want me to hold onto her?"
Meanwhile, she called Yamato out again, Persona reflectively steaming with her human.
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But he was picking up on something storming again, and it wasn't from a cat this time. He reached out and rest a hand against her shoulder.
"They won't get the jump on any of us again. But let's keep our cool, yeah? Take it from a Sanguis."
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"... Yes, I trust you. Keep us safe."
Yamato would be ready to react though, glancing towards Zaiten.
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He looked up and nodded to Zaiten, who drew his blade and cleaved through the underbrush.
"A'right, up we go!"
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This hike would take some time, but she shifted her hold on the dragon in her arms. Food was at the end for them; they had to get there.
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"Is it weird that I kinda wish there was a Sanguis moon out right now? I mean, if they want a piece of somethin' more their speed..."
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"Yes. And if I could be Iris-blessed right now, I could at least electrocute any that got past you."
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"Back atcha- I could hold the little guy for a bit, give your arms a break. We're makin' good time to the top, but the last hundred feet or so look like a real trip."
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