Cursed swords and five-letter words...

[prunedworlds]

WHO: Ritsuka and Gil
WHERE: Fantasy Costco
WHEN: Sometime early August-ish
WHAT: Side quest time!
WARNINGS: Gil's ego Property destruction, accidental arson

All things said and done, Ritsuka should probably be relieved that she was one of the first people Gil contacted when he suddenly acquired (re-acquired?) superhuman strength and reflexes. That is to say, he asked the one person who'd probably actually know a bit about handling it, rather than going off and trying out his newfound might willy-nilly according to his whims. On the other hand, when he proposed taking up one of the one-off job postings that popped up on the app as a means to test his new limits, it meant she really couldn't say no.

Admittedly, she probably wouldn't have, anyway, there was very little she was unwilling to do to help out one of her Servants and friends if asked, but the point remained.

In any case, that was how in short order she found herself standing outside an otherwise ordinary-looking store called "Costco", wearing her sole Mystic Code and doing her best to explain to Gil just how to use his new-old abilities.

"I'll let you know if I see an opening, or warn if there's something that needs your attention, of course. But I'm sure you can just use your best judgment for most things."

Comments

[throwmoreswords]

When he's alone, later, and left to think on his own performance, he'll find himself wanting--like his body knows what it's meant to do, in some sort of loosely sketched practice, in the sort of visualization one has when they daydream about themselves completely some sort of athletic act, but when he actually tries to go for it, he feels slow. Unpracticed. Almost clumsy.

They're in the thick of it now, though, so Gilgamesh has no time to overanalyze the way his limbs feel wrong, the heaviness to his swings--all he can do is swing and swing again, carving their path in busted wood and fluttering strips of paper and dented, sheared metal like he's fighting a modern art installation that's meant to mimic a writhing, pulsing jungle, strands of decorative lights reaching like creeping vines as armor-suit leopards leap from between shadowy, half-covered shelves as he and Ritsuka fight their way into the thick of it.

The strange chain leaps from that glittering gold portal to protect them both in fairly equal measure, trying to give at least a little breathing room as Gil carves and breaks and changes his Sword to 'SMASH', because sometimes you have a knife when you need a club, and the steel rod may not cleave things in twain like the honed blade might've, but Gilgamesh has strength enough to make up for that. "Would being up higher give you a better view, girl?"

[prunedworlds]

Enkidu, at least, is a familiar, even if Gil himself doesn't seem to know how to fully utilize the chain. But it's still a little more room for Ritsuka to maneuver and still be covered, making up for some of what Gil's currently ability seems to be lacking.

That said, the attacks definitely do indeed seem to be getting more intense. On the one hand, experience tells Ritsuka this means they're most likely on the right track. The defenders tending to get, if not tougher, at least more desperate, the closer one got to whatever was being defended. On the other hand, unless she missed her guess, any worse would probably begin to quickly push the limits of what Gil's currently capable of, which would do neither of them any good.

In other words, time is also increasingly of the essence.

"Maybe, if there's a way to pull it off..."

She doesn't want to make things harder for him, but perhaps he already has an idea in mind?