She trained with Serena for the rest of the week, eventually told Mia about her initial kill, and was having Blackburn-flavored ice cream cones with Serena after another, & were on their way back to Urasaria.
"Hey, doesn't this mean I'm eating part of you?" said Naomi.
"Um, I don't think so. I've made food with it before and it still, uh, fills my hunger fine?" said Serena.
"That doesn't make sense."
"Yeah, but Revenants don't make sense." Serena shrugged. "I dunno, we can ask Yuruko about it." Her tablet vibrated, and she checked it. "…umm... it's nearby. Do you feel okay to go?"
"S-Sure." nodded Naomi.
"Okay, it says it's a hospice center. Old folks."
Serena rushed away. Naomi went after her, but then stopped, staggered, then gripped her head for a few seconds as she caught up to Serena. "S-Sorry, got a little light-headed."
"You okay?"
"Y-Yeah, it's… it's fine."
Soon they were in the parking lot of the hospice home, and Serena rushed inside to ask the receptionist where the Revenant was; she told them the room number, and down a few halls they ran, until they entered the room and saw an elderly corpse on the floor; a second, younger man was beside it. Their necks were corroded away.
"Fuck." Serena winced and turned. "Naomi, c'mon, um, he probably ran out."
Naomi stared at the corpses, who she knew she would intentionally never find the name of, yet still keyed themselves within her as a pastless rage. She rushed out with Serena and felt the sum of her anger pile as she passed her, and as she came back to the lobby saw the man running out of the double doors and to the parking lot beyond. Serena caught up beside her as they rushed out to the parking lot, and soon saw him there 200ft away; with no time to waste, the two rushed in pursuit, passing by parked cars as they ran. Naomi's arm caught one up and hurled it -
- and with the speed of light the man turned, handgun dumping six shots in the vehicle -
- and in to a hundred pieces it shattered outward, storm of shards flying towards them -
- and ahead of Serena rushed Naomi, stone arm taking every hit on. The man stopped and turned at the entrance of the lot, sidewalk at his back as he stepped. His aim rose to the cars at their right -
- and Serena's blood grew cold as she knew his true target then. Before she could react, the gunshot rose -
- and in to a hundred shards shattered one vehicle - and another - and another - and another, million of shards flying towards them -
- and there shot across Naomi's mind as vividly as if spoken in the external ear, the name of the Revenant that was rightfully her's.
"Avalanche!"
- and the next scene was instant. She stomped the ground; the pavement burst up in a circle of asphalt, protecting the two as the volley flew -
" - I got it." grinned Naomi, Serena nodding rapid, barrage shards wilting outside.
"Let's kill that fucking bitch." nodded Serena, sagely; Naomi laughed, and a second stomp brought the gates of stone down -
- and a dozen bullets entered Serena's chest, infused with acid and corroding her skin away -
- but streams of fog filled her wounds, sudden baking soda and flesh neutralizing the foul vapors as she staggered back, man still a hundred feet away. Taking the front, Naomi started up ahead, the two running with new positions as she raised her arm of stone high -
- and laughing as a dozen bullets entered it, miniscule wounds as they rushed and ran, streams of fog repairing it with new stone, fifty feet separating them and he; with a cursed grunt, the man's aim lowered to her feet. Three shots entered the ground ahead, and in the next instant -
- the acid within exploded outward and horizontally, corroding a titanic fissure through the parking lot, blocking their path as they stumbled and halted near the edge -
" - trust my instincts, right?" chimed Naomi; Serena nodded, and before she could react -
- Naomi scooped her up and hurled her across; the mentor shrieked as she flew -
- but landed quick on the other end, Blackburn's tentacle keeping her steady as she flipped thirty feet from the man. Naomi stomped the ground behind, and a bridge of stone burst out across the fissure; and down she ran, coming up behind Serena, scooping a car on her way there; a dozen gunshots entered it -
- but she threw it with the speed of light forward, streams of fog filling it as it came halfway through its journey -
- and exploding before it reached the man, timed explosives having been a second too early. The man grunted and turned, veering left down the sidewalk; and with full pursuit, the women gave chase and ran, road up ahead -
- and over the street he leaped to another sidewalk, rushing aim behind as the two came within pursuit, line of stores&tall buildings left, as was often the case, fire hydrant right. The two kept in pursuit, and as they passed by one casual hydrant -
- another bullet entered it -
- and the shockwave blast it in to Naomi's skull, pain staggering her back and to the side -
" - god - fucking - Avalanche!" she grunted, digging her left arm under one casual sidewalk tile -
- and as a woman might take a spatula, ripped the entire sidewalk up in one swoop, launching the man up in to the air -
- and she sighed as he caught the awning of one building beside, new perch and readying to climb as she dropped the sidewalk. Another dozen gunshots rose in the air -
- but as she had before, she stomped, wall of pavement bursting from the ground; and in to the sudden barrier entered the bullets -
- and started instantly to melt, immense heat turning the concrete liquid and setting it alight; another volley rose -
" - Blackburn!" shouted Serena -
- and streams of fog flew in to the wall, reinforcing it with asbestos, unfortunately flame-resistant material protecting them from the next volley -
" - uh - aren't those fumes dangerous?" panted Naomi -
" - uh - Pulse keeps us from getting cancer!" chimed Serena, relevantly, as they rushed up and underneath the building, seeing the man scurry up to the roof - " - wait, I know -"
- Serena rushed inside; Naomi heard her yelling within, and suddenly grinning as she ran back out. She opened her mouth to speak -
- and an explosion erupted at their right, blasting them with the strength of a thousand back the way they had came -
- but the next scene was instant. Naomi's leg hit the pavement as they flew -
- and in to a sudden barrier of asphalt they smashed, halting their flight as they groaned and stood, still only twenty feet away from the prodigal building. Quick whisper to Naomi, Serena rushed away and out across the road. Naomi grinned as she leaped up on to the building, one arm climbing swiftly up and halfway, seeing her foe with pistol still on the roof and aiming down -
- and the keen end of a thrown pebble burst through his hands and out his arms, Naomi laughing as her left arm started smashing below, tearing and punching through the walls; support suddenly lost, they started to crumble and buckle inward -
- and down collapsed the entire building, rain and carpet of rubble swallowing both of the combatants as it collapsed, streams of fog clearing the smoke as it sought the other end of the street. Serena kept her eyes clear as she stared at the ruins, seeing vague shuffling underneath opposite ends.
A dozen gunshots rose, and out leaped the man from one end of the rubble, and a smash of Avalanche's arm brought Naomi out of the other end. The two combatants started to circle, and Naomi saw a tattoo of a diamond on the man's hands, crusted crimson, hole blown clear through each.
Sluggishly, his aim rose again, shooting once more -
- but the next scene was instant. Naomi stomped again, shockwaves traveling through the ground and launching the rubble upward; and in to one smashed the bullet, and before he could react -
- the keen end of one concrete chunk landed on his side, crushing his bones and breaking half of his body underneath it.
Serena knew he was dead, but as she watched Naomi from across the street run up to him, climb on him and start pummelling, she was reminded of the time Mia had bought a pasta maker and showed Serena how she could put in sheets of dough and scrape them into various thinnesses. So it seemed with Naomi as well, as with each blow she landed on him she ground herself through and came out differently. Why this was, Serena was clueless, but she walked up to Naomi afterwards and congratulated her on the kill.
"…y-yeah." Naomi nodded and slowly stood off of him.
"Are you okay?" Serena checked Naomi for wounds, patting her down. "Um, I'm just checking since - your pain resistance and all, you might not notice it at first."
"I-It's cool."
"Okay. Do you want to check out the house, now? The one we found in the property records?"
"…um. Maybe."
"Okay, it's not too far."
Before Naomi walked with Serena, she looked to the man's corpse, and realized that while it had been foolish to kill him, it was relieving, as well. His face had been distorted enough by her pummeling that no coroner would be able to identify him, and no civilian investigation could be done in to the corpse they had found at the hospice home. She felt hopeful, not because more of her memories could reappear now that her Revenant had activated, but because she knew they would not.
When they came to the address of the home, Naomi Eskel stopped some dozens of feet from it. As she heard Serena curse, then ask her if she knew any other leads, she watched the men walk through the unlighted site, and the excavators rake apart her past, yet did not know or care one whit of it.
[END OF ARC: SWIM LIKE AN EEL]