It was quickly obvious to the Tendo sisters that, at the very least, these bronze birds were nowhere near as tough as the last golems they faced.
Unfortunantly, that was the only good news about the situation. Between the hoard of birds and the rioters, things were not going their way.
Jishin growled as she batted away yet another bird. With her armor up, she was nearly unstoppable amongst the riot. She'd even been shot once, but the bullet had just flattened itself against the armor. The most the birds could do was annoy her. However, she knew that that was not the case for her sisters. She was doing everything she could to keep the rioters away from them while they dealt with the birds, but she was only one person.
Soyokaze had tried floating above the crowd for a while, but that just made her a target for the birds. She tried blowing them away, but whatever kept them flying made anything of her wind-powers but direct attacks useless on them. In the end, she had to set down again.
Kagayaki at least had the advantage that most of the rioters were keeping their distance, not wanting to get burned. But, like the previous golems, the bird seemed to be targeting her above all others.
They were at a stalemate. It was bound to break at some point.
That break came from another man who somehow managed to get a firearm.
Jishin heard the 'crack!' sound of the gunshot. But instead of feeling a small pressure to indicate another flattened bullet, she heard Soyokaze scream in pain!
A quick glance informed her that her sister was on the ground. That was all she saw before her vision went red.
Jishin screamed in rage! The humiliations of the last couple days had piled up, and now where unleashed in a single scream.
And the earth answered her.
It was subtle at first, but it quickly grew. First a trembling, then a shake, then a full fledged quake! Pavement buckled and cracked, buildings began to shake, and a couple collapsed.
The rioters might have been desperate people... but they were also people born into earthquake country. And even they were not willing to continue a riot in the face of a natural disaster. They scattered.
When Jishin finally realized that the trembling she felt wasn't just coming from her, she finally stopped screaming, and looked around.
"Jishin?" Kagayaki asked softly.
Jishin was brought back to reality. "Oh no... Nab... Soyokaze! Is she...?"
Kagayaki smiled, though it was a bit strained. "The bullet just grazed her arm. Only her skin was cut."
Jishin let out a sigh of relief.
"Jishin?"
"Yes, Big Sister?"
Kagayaki looked a bit cross. "We are going to have to talk about your temper. If you cause an earthquake every time you get angry, you will end up causing more harm then good."
Jishin gulped.
It actually took them a few moments to realize something. "Hey!" Jishin cried. "What happened to the birds?"
***
Nearby, but unseen by the sisters, two other figures stood. "Should we go to them?" the first asked.
The second shook its head. "No. Not yet. When the time is right, we'll reveal ourselves."
The first sighed. "They'll know something's up. We took care of those birds for them, after all..."
The second shrugged. "Let's see how far they can get on their own, first." The figure patted its chest a moment, were a familiar amulet rested...
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(Posted Tue, 17 Dec 2002 06:50)
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らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
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