The greedy Kasha rolled down the main road toward the inner city, knocking cars into the air while flattening street lamps and signposts that dared stand its way.
Bystanders shrieked in terror and dove for cover in the face of this invisible path of destruction. Launching itself briefly into the air, the Kasha unfurled its body and landed heavily on all fours, causing the surrounding ground to tremble from the impact. It sniffed the air and observed the cowering civilians, it had been far too long and it was so hungry. The appetising morsels cowering from its transparent bulk were more than enough to satiate its desire for flesh.
The ground quaked as the Kasha took slow, savouring steps toward its prey, a juicy looking human trembling and scared, hiding behind a rusty white automobile.
With a single swish of it's enormous head, the Kasha batted the car out of its way, causing the human to fall on his behind, and scramble backwards on his hands. The Kasha's mouth hung open in anticipation of its feast, and it craned its neck forward to savour the taste, to savour the kill. It was then a completel shock to the beast as it's head was slammed back by a sudden pelt of energy as two glowing gold bullets struck it in the side of the head.
Even with that brief, momentary distraction the human had managed to get back to his feet and run carrying him out of reach of the Kasha's jaws. The Kasha howled audibly in rage, much to the terror of the people still hiding on the sides of the road. and craned its neck in the direction of the sudden assault.
Toru was now perched dangerously on the back end of the motorcycle, the only thing stopping the sheer speed of the howling machine from throwing him off in any direction was Natsuki's steady hands and expertise in the field.
Toru off another shot from his twin walthers, and the golden scripture laden, nine-millimetre cylinders slammed satisfyingly into what passed for the creature's nose. There was no tell-tale green outline this time, and no visored helmets covering the eyes of either of them. They could see the creature as it really was, the sleek black shine of its scales and the red veins that bulged from under its armour plated body, and last of all the white hot jets flame that extended from the middle of its body, like searing wings that threatened to carry the beast into the sky at any time.
The ability to see so clearly, the creatures they were fighting was what made the fourth division so special, and so effective.
The creature shook off the unexpected pain of the second shot and lumbered at full pace toward the screaming motorcycle, lunging its head out to sink its teeth into the tiny people riding on it. Natsuki veered to the side and passed it in a semi-circle, Toru hammering it with several more shots his pistols as they passed by. The Kasha howled again, its frustration rising to match its hunger, but it's bulk made it slow and it was no match to keep up with the human's machine.
Toru slipped a pair of replacement clips into his dual walthers, and steadied himself as Natsuki turned sharply to bear back toward the Kasha, its tail swishing as it reared from the stinging pain of the scripture burning into its head and side. The Kasha looked around for something to take the pain away, something to eat, anything to rid it of the pain burning beneath its scales. And began tentative steps back toward the side of the road, looking for a human body to devour.
"Kudou isn't going to make it in time!" Natsuki said, revving the engine for a charge back toward the beast.
"We'll take it out ourselves, take us over the top." Toru replied, though he didn't really need to say it. Natsuki knew exactly what the procedure was, they'd done it together so many times already, it had become almost like a game. But these creatures were unpredictable at best, it was a game that could quickly turn sour with a momentary lapse of concentration.
Rubber screeched against concrete as the bike took off again toward the lumbering, hungry beast. Toru opened fire on the back of the creature, causing it shudder briefly and freeze as it dealt with the new points of burning burrowing into its skin. But the bike didn't stop there, Natsuki led it right up and over the tip of its tail.
Natsuki's fingers pressed below the handle bars, triggering the machine's electronics. The tyres suddenly shone with the same golden light of the bullets from Toru's twin silver pistols.
The scales on the Kasha's back weakened and shattered as the first tyre passed over them, exposing the pulsing red flesh below. The creature screamed in agony as its protection was torn away, shifting its weight in an attempt to throw the humans off its back, or at least to guide the machine into the flames spouting from its sides. Natsuki's control over the bike was beyond exceptional, and she matched the contortion of the Kasha's body continuing to strip away its scales as she aimed for the thing's head. Toru fired his weapons into the exposed skin, the bullets penetrating further than they could by just breaking through the scales themselves, and finally the scripture on the bike's rear wheel tore at it's flesh sapping its strength and its will to keep on moving.
It was hell for the creature, the bike tearing at it's body and the bullets piercing and shredding its insides. Before the Kasha even had time to consider a different strategy, the duo had already reached its head, the scales quickly being stripped away to expose the soft flesh above its skull. Nobody really knew if the spiritual body of the Kasha posessed a brain, but if it did the quick volley of bullets that expended the clips inside the walther p99s would almost certainly have cut it to ribbons.
With an exasperated cry of defeat, the Kasha's body buckled and fell flat to its belly, the motorcycle's engine screaming as it flew from the creature's head.
Toru plunged the two pistols back into the holsters on his back and leaned forward to grip the motorcycle's body as it hurtled toward the ground. Natsuki's hands tensed around the handlebars, both of them braced themselves as the tyres screeched again as they collided with the road's surface. Natsuki turned the bike and dipped it low, intensifying the screeching as the concrete cut away at the thick rubber.
The bike did slow however, and eventually came to a halt. The two of them putting their legs down to prevent it from toppling over onto its side. Natsuki's chest heaved as the exhilaration of the moment flashed through her mind, from behind her she could feel Toru's own chest pressed into her back, his racing heartbeat thumping soundly into her own body. Both of them stayed like that for what seemed like an age, their bodies pressed firmly together, their minds filled with nothing but the excitement of the moment, and how good it felt to know that they were still alive... together.
For a silent moment on that moonlit night, it felt like they were the only two people in the world.
The whipping sound of helicopter blades cutting the still air, shook them from their tentative embrace.
"Ah~! I don't believe it, we only get to clean up again?" The voice of a smug sounding young man came through the receivers in Natsuki and Toru's ears, as the tell-tale shape of a V-22 Osprey approached from the navy blue sky.
"Masaki..." Toru said breathlessly, "Sorry, guess we got carried away."
"Good work you two." Another voice came through stronger than the previous one. "We'll dissolve the rest of its body with holy water."
The Osprey banked toward the corpse of the Kasha, hovering into position over it. The water thank loaded into its mid section dispersed a thick stream of clear water onto the immobile water, causing it so steam and fizzle like the water was burning away its body.
"Kiriya and Aoi are on their way you two, we'll start the clean-up when Tokusen One have finished blockading the road." Masaki began talking again. "Any casualties?"
"None." Natsuki replied proudly.
"Good work." The second, older voice congratulated them.
Toru raised his chest from Natsuki's back and sat up straight, watching the holy water do its work on the Kasha's body. Natsuki gripped his hand suddenly, as if he had just stolen something from her that she couldn't bear to part with. Toru reciprocated the gesture and squeezed her hand gently, the two of them forming a grip on each other.
When the cascade of water finally halted, the two of them watched as the creature's spiritual body finally evaporated into nothing.
