"Alright, everyone!" Alex yelled, his voice ringing with forced confidence. "Hold your positions! Hide behind the rocks!"
With surprising agility for her size, Akiko followed his command, gracefully disappearing behind a large, jagged boulder. Angelina, ever the pragmatist, didn't need telling twice. She dove for cover behind another, her katanas glinting in the fading light.
Alex, remembering the kitsune's vulnerability, knelt down and gently scooped Akiko, now back in her human form, into his arms. Together, they huddled behind another rock, its uneven surface offering a flimsy shield.
He pressed his ear against the cold stone, listening for any sign of the Gashdokuro's movements.
The air crackled with a tense silence, broken only by the ragged gasps of his own breath.
Boom!
A sliver of hope pierced through the suffocating silence. The telltale hum of energy gathering within the Gashdokuro subsided.
