Trash Duty [Eiji/Natasha]

"Nah. I'm not playin' any tricks, sweetheart. Against my better judgement, I'll humor this train of thought occupyin' yer mind. Part of me reckons that if I leave ya' alone to yer own devices, you'll probably go walkin' off and testin' things out on your own. Call it a woman's intuition, but you strike me as a reckless fella'. Since I'm strong enough to deal with almost everything outside of Vasto Lorde on my own, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to show you the ropes regardin' the spiritual side of the world."

He was indeed a childish man, but Natasha had dealt with her fair share of bratty individuals in the past. Her real worry was the possibility that he look into pursuing his desires on his own, without anyone to protect him. Motherly instinct? She supposed that point of view wasn't entirely wrong. Motioning for the young man to follow her, she would keep her gaze peeled, traversing the park until they left the general public area. Traveling deeper into the areas covered in heavier bushes of foliage, a hilly region separated from the park. In other words, she was descending into an area where lesser hollow enjoyed hiding until possible prey stepped into the ideal range to be attacked.

"We'll be headin' off to the location where hollow activity has been most prevalent. Like I said - do not leave my side. Survival is key in the spiritual world. Let your defenses down for a moment, and yer' as good as dead. We're not there, yet, so... if ya don't mind my askin', why are you so interested in explorin' something dangerous like this? This a pride thing or what?"

"Heh, awfully bold of ya to assume I'll come a' hoppin' to yer rescue, sweetie. That said, I reckon yer pretty perceptive at least. Not entirely a reckless buffoon lookin' to stare death down in the face. I ain't exactly the spittin' image of some saintly heroine, but I'll protect ya to the best of my ability. Provided ya don't go wanderin' off like I instructed."

What a brat. He was so abundantly confident in her unknown ability to rescue him from danger. Were she of lesser moral fortitude, she would have tested that ego of his by allowing him to operate in this sprawling area of foliage on his own. Since that wasn't the case, she simply chuckled in exasperation as she shrugged her shoulders. Truth be told, Eiji wasn't entirely wrong in his observation of the world. Natasha felt most ought to possess an awareness for the supernatural, even if all their ability amounted to was discerning spirits. Combat was far more ideal, of course, but not every human in the realm possessed the ability to fend for themselves. That's why the Vandenreich existed. That's why the Gotei existed. Defenders of the realm to act in defense of those who couldn't properly aid themselves.

"Shhh..."

Natasha slowly came to a pause, motioning for the man to stop as she heard a rustling noise in one of the bushes that surrounded them. From collection of green foliage that had shrouded it entirely, a group of lizard-like hollow emerged from the one of the trees, racing past Eiji to strike at Natasha. Avoiding the full breadth of their negligible attacks, Natasha kicked one or two of them in Eiji's general direction. Time to put his words to the test. Forming a spirit weapon in the shape of a revolver in the palm of her hands, Natasha rapidly fired off a few rounds to subdue a few of them. Crowd control, so to speak. There was no running away now.

"Let's see what yer made of, Eiji."

"Hollows, darling. The type of things that'll creep up on ya when ya least expect it. Try and keep moving, though, will ya?"

Natasha was relatively fine compared to Eiji. She had dealt with minor hollow of this nature in the past. They were little more than minor annoyances at best, worth less than minimal effort. The revolver in her hand made quick work of the hollows that sought to crowd around her. Bullet after bullet connected with her targets, eliminating their ability to pursue her any further than an inch. Observing Eiji with a curious pair of eyes, she whistled softly, a playful mock to her tone, something that could only be described as a victorious hum tuned at his expense.

As she predicted, they chose the stronger source of energy first. Of course, those of lesser skill, recognizing that she was a threat not easily felled, turned their attention toward Eiji. Natasha vanished, reappearing beside him, standing back to back with Eiji to defend him from any of these bastards that attempted to strike him unawares.

"Nah, course not, sweetheart. Yer' safe around me, remember? Lesson 101, though. These spunky fellas' revel in workin' groups, especially if they're weaker. Like I said, they'll always choose the source that offers em' the most sustenance. If you encounter them, yer best bet is to avoid allowing them to crowd around you too much. Throw em' course, distract em', and then work from there. Course, that supposes that you'll encounter groups to begin with. They don't enjoy goin' public if they can avoid it. Which is why ya avoid exploring locations like these in particular to increase your chances of survival. Followin' me so far, darling?"

Humming softly, Natasha continued to fire her guns at most of the crowd surrounding them. Two more lizard-like creatures lunged at Eiji again, both attempting to claw at his arms and legs.

"Who? Me? Of course not, sweetheart. Well, maybe a little bit. Lil teasin' ain't ever hurt nobody now did it? Think of all this as a humble learnin' experience."

In all honesty, Eiji wasn't entirely wrong. Natasha reveled in teasing those she was fond of, and since he was a prideful lil' brat of a young man, she certainly couldn't resist the urge that came with having some measure of fun at his expense. Of course, by no means was she toying with his life. In order to learn how to adapt, one had to expect the unexpected. Small hollows, negligible and harmless as they were, easily stood out as the ideal options for target practice. From the corner of her eyes, Natasha could easily discern how well Eiji was adapting. It wasn't some perfect effort by any degree, but it was what necessary to survive. He was keeping his wits about him, a crucial framework to be mindful of. Remaining at his back, she maintained her line of fire as she offered a curt nod in response to his words.

"Guilty as charged, sugar. Yea. Ya got the basic beats of my lesson down pat. These lil things' love to crowd up whenever they smell blood. Lose sight of one, and they might go bitin' into yer neck. From the looks of it, though, I reckon yer' handlin yourself pretty well. Pummelin' the poor fellas to death is one way of takin' em out."

Each of the hollow that threw themselves in Eiji's direction met untimely fates as they were pummeled to death under the boy's fists. What was once a group soon started to falter into a small handful of pairs. Of course, Natasha was well aware that something bigger might be lurking around the corner, and after shooting down the almost all of the rest of these pesky lizards, she slowly grabbed onto Eiji's hand, pulling him along.

"Alright, that part of the lesson is over, but this next one might require ya sitting this one out. The reports spoke about something a little more formidable than those lizards. We clear, sugar?"

Natasha had to hand it to the young man, he was preserving well beyond what she expected. His display of will and tenaciousness was pretty exceptional, all things considered, and that boded well for his potential moving forward. Of course, one enemy still remained. Much like Eiji, she could sense the oncoming force rushing at them from the opposite side of the hill. It wasn't some remarkably large creature, but it was humanoid in size, a feature that afforded the soul-devouring beast a great deal of mobility. It flashed forward with ferocious speed, landing a blow on Eiji as it skidded past the both of them.

Slippery little bastard. Natasha directed an observational glance in Eiji's direction, noting his condition and the expression on his face. Contrary to what she expected, the prideful young sport wasn't screaming out in pain, or running away from the battlefield. Impressive. Was that his pride at play or was his ego just that high? Haha, he really did remind her of a stubborn protagonist who thought he could take on the world. Even so, he definitely looked like he needed a breather. A threat still remained, and so she intended to finish things off with this next attack.

Propelling her body forward through Hirenkyaku, she pulled Eiji from the ground, bringing him to her side. Ruffling his hair softly, Natasha lifted an upraised finger at the humanoid lizard. Azure particles formed at the center point of her finger, drawing in ambient reishi from the atmosphere. Swinging her finger forward, she shot it towards the creature with the intent of subduing it entirely. If it proved successful and the hollow was properly felled, Natasha would continue traversing the forest until they reached the hilltop, setting him down as she nudged him over the head.

"Don't go dyin' on me now, partner. I ain't gon' sit here and say I told you so, but... actually, you lasted longer than I would have expected. You didn't go runnin' scared first time you saw these creatures. I reckon ya kinda' got potential if you work on yer reflexes, and possibly discover a supernatural ability. How're ya feelin' right now?"