Grand Voyage- Log 81

Log 81: Fabric Net Trap
“Rope Action: Fabric Net Trap!”

Immediately, ropes exploded from the walls and floor around the two Marimos! Pura leaped back, narrowly avoiding several ropes that screamed through the air where she had been not too long before. She landed, skidding and ducking her head several times to avoid ropes that swung over her head.

The ropes that had been released began moving, whipping around and passing over each other, some of them even tying into knots as some of their predecessors had done. However, these ropes seemed to move with a greater sense of purpose, forming a... pattern? Too late did Pura notice this, as right then the movements stopped suddenly, parts of the rope going slack from the sudden stop!

“What the..?” Pura said as she looked around.

For the entire room was now filled with a massive series of ropes, all of them wrapped tightly in various knots that allowed them to form a web, or net style pattern! “Tch...” Pura growled, crouching down slightly further, “so this was the plan?”

“Some of these ropes have bits of shrapnel embedded in them,” Canis Minor said, lifting up a hand that was as covered with small knots attached to larger ropes as some rich people’s fingers are covered in expensive rings, “and others are made of a fabric that is already razor sharp on its own. I can attack you from any angle now.”

“Well, if it’s any consolation,” Stormy said, standing up, “I think I’m free now.” And indeed she was, for the movement and restructuring of ropes had allowed her to slip out of her bonds and stand on her own once more.

“Then let’s continue!” Pura said, before lunging forward.

Immediately, Canis Minor’s fingers flew through the air, and the ropes twist and wrangled themselves, several of the ropes switching place with each other in a complicated mix of twists, turns, and shifts, leading to several of the ropes slashing through the air and striking at the swordswoman! Pura kicked the ground with her left foot, causing a small indent in the floor as she threw herself to the right, a bit of rope narrowly grazing her side.

There, Pura thought to herself, dodged it-

At that moment, blood sputtered from right where the rope touched her! “Damn it!” she said, allowing herself to drop to the floor, avoiding several other ropes and skidding for several seconds before flipping over in midair, managing to stop herself. “So it was one of those razor sharp ones, right?”

“Correct,” Minor said.

“Pura!” Stormy said, running over while jumping and leaping over several of the ropes, “just give me a second and I can-”

“You’re open!” the female bounty hunter cried, her hands flashing through the air! Several ropes in the large net whipped around, then launched themselves at the doctor.

“Sorry!” Stormy said, whipping around and reaching out with her hand, grabbing several of the ropes right as they reached her, “but I won’t fall for that twice- ungh!” Several of the ropes she had grabbed had shrapnel embedded in them, and they cut deeply into her hand.

“Stormy!” Pura said, preparing to move.

“Wait!” Stormy said, raising her hand, “I’ve got this one!” She then looked up to face Canis Minor. “Sorry, but you’ve made a HUGE mistake.” “Eh?”

“Chemical Juggling:...” Stormy began, lifting up her other free hand and giving her palm a small shake. As soon as she did, a decently sized orb, with a pink outer section and a lower section, that gave off a faint sheen of smoke. Stormy then swung the palm holding the orb down directly on the ropes that she had grabbed, “..Trapeze!”

As soon as the orb touched the ropes, the chemicals (for that is what it was made of) quickly wrapped themselves around the rope, then shot forward, travelling and devouring the rope as it sped towards Minor! It struck the female bounty hunter’s fingers before she could react, releasing a large hiss-ing sound, and smoke rose from where it came into contact.

“Gah!” Canis Minor said, releasing the ropes around that hand and allowing parts of the net to become slack, “what the hell was that?!”

“Chemical Juggling: Trapeze!” Stormy said brightly, generating a smaller chemical orb above her index finger and bopping it up and down, “any opponent who uses techniques like that is just begging for this to be used.”

“Why you-” Minor growled, beginning to step forward, when-

“You’re open!” came Pura’s voice!

The swordswoman had been given some leeway when the ropes around her had grown slack, and she used this opportunity to charge at the bounty hunter, Yamiryuu outstretched to her side, gripping the hilt harder than ever.

“Yamiryuu....!”

“Shit!” Minor gasped, taking a step back as Pura took a longer step, vanishing suddenly before reappearing right in front of her!

“Shitamuki no Kiba!!” Pura yelled as she vanished in sudden blur, appearing directly behind Minor with her sword angeled toward the ground!

“Wha- GAH!” the female bounty hunter cried as blood suddenly spurted from across her stomach, shoulder, and arms. The damage taking its toll, she toppled over, her vision slowly fading before her eyes as her surroundings seemed to become pure white to her...

Damn it... she thought to herself, I just...

The city was burning.

''The bounty hunters had run through the island a few days before, looking for a couple of somewhat famous pirates that had shown up several days before. The pirates resisted, and the bounty hunters had responded in kind, leaving the town a burning wreck in the resulting battle.''

''And here she was, trapped under some very unfortunate rubble. One of her eyes was closed, for a random pipe had struck part of her forehead as the building around her had collapsed, and the wound was now bleeding freely, the blood covering one of her eyes and forcing her to close it, to keep it from actually making it past her eyelids.''

''The rubble had covered her entire lower half, and her face was towards the ground, but she had lifted it up in order to see with her remaining eye what lay in front of her. One of her hands was outstretched, desperately groping at something, anything that could help her free herself or allow her to survive for a bit longer.''

''“Zazazazazazazazazazazaza!” came a rough voice from a few feet away. Cursing, she allowed her arm to go slack as she did her best to play dead. Before she could complete this motion, however, a figure seemed to bounce into floor, leaping from pile of wreckage to pile of wreckage in a black blur, before finally coming to a stop in another pile of rubble a few inches across from her!''

“Oi, oi!” the figure said, turning its head and barking at several other figures who were rapidly running after him, “we’ve got a survivor!” He turned to face her again, chuckling slightly, “And it looks like she really wants to live too.”

''He leaped down, walking over to where she lay, and proceeded to crouch, looking straight at her. She stared back at him, defiant. If he was going to deal the finishing blow, she would’t be the one giving him satisfactio-''

''“Hey,” the figure said, extending his hand, “you seem like you could really be useful. Wanna help me out?”''

She froze, unable to comprehend what he had just said.

“What...?” she managed to get out.

“I asked if you wanted to become a bounty hunter and help me out,” the figure sighed, pulling his hand back, “unless you want me to spell it out even more than that.”

“...Why?” she was still suspicious.

''“Why the hell not?” he shot back, “you seem pretty strong, considering that you took a building falling on you and didn’t black out. If you can stay strong and useful like that, then we’ll get along just fine.” He extended his hand again, “So, are you coming or not?”''

''It took her about six seconds to decide. Stay here and die. Stay useful and live. And so, without the slightest hesitation, she reached out and took his hand.''

I just... Canis Minor thought as she collapsed to the ground, ''..wanted to be useful... to Sirius-sama...''

And with that, she hit the ground, another spurt of blood flying into the air as she did so.

Pura let out a deep breath, slowly re-sheathing Yamiryuu.

“That... was... AWESOME!” Stormy said, dashing back and forth with her hands waving wildly in the air, “that was so damn cool, Pura!”

“You really keep that part of yourself hidden, don’t you?” Pura observed, sweatdropping.

“Well, I’m pretty sure that I wouldn’t be able to keep Knave and co. under control if they ever thought that I WASN’T a scary demon of hell.”

“And yet you’re the doctor.”

“I suppose demons of hell are popular,” Stormy shrugged.

Pura nodded, before looking up at the ceiling. Art and Sid’s fight should be going on up there.... and she hoped they were as successful in their battle as she and Stormy were with theirs.

~End of Log~

Previous Chapters | Next Chapter