Nahual had promised though! She promised! No eating Humans. Humans are friends. Humans need protection. Humans not food. Sammy said Nahual needed to be good. There was a chart, something about badness levels, Sammy seemed to really care! So Nahual would care too, Nahual would subsist on what she could find. Rats, stray cats, pests! Nahual could do it!
It is not enough!
Nahual retched as she crouched in an alleyway, her body rejecting the rat she had just swallowed whole. Something was wrong. Her biomass levels weren't dangerously low. But she still struggled to consume what she needed to continue operation at an optimal rate. What was she at now? 160 pounds? 170? 180? 180! that was it. Her body shivered and shook as though she was closer to critical collapse, but she knew she was above that!
"It iS nOt EEEENouGGGGg!!!"
Her voice sprung forth unbidden, guttural and furious. Nahual NEEDED to eat. Not this gutter trash, not cooked Human food- no! Nahual needed something big, something substantial. A person would do it, a whole person- but Nahual had promised. Gripping her hair, Nahual whimpered in the alleyway as she struggled with her internal desires. Growling, Nahual stood up and strode out of the alleyway and onto the street.
Nahual was a hero, she would do crime stopping things! This would distract her. It had to. And as if on cue, Nahual watched a speeding car fly down the street. Without hesitation, Nahual sprinted after the speeding vehicle. Her legs twisted and shook as she concentrated on the muscle masses. Nahual could make herself run and run and run without stopping and far faster than any human. It just required-
Sakura had been enjoying her time in the city this new life as a vigilante of Pittsburgh rushing around at night and picking fights with local gangs. She'd picked up a veil recently a soft face mask to help hide her face. It went well with her ninja like visage and movement at times. And was easy to remove if ever in need of biting someone. Usually she didn't need to, skills alone kept her ahead of the curve but she was only human in a fight.
The night was cold winter being on approach the ronin mostly didn't mind. She was used to cooler environments rather then hot ones. She had learned in her fight with Phoenix just how unprepared she was for heat comparatively. Leggings good for running kept legs warm worn under her karate gi. Her top was her usual preference of wrappings under the gi, that look just appealed to her to much. As for the gi itself it bore the logo of the Hidden Tiger dojo in Japan. The coloring mostly black with gold stripes on the shoulders. Sakura favored red clothes but it stood out to much she thought. Granted she really couldn't make any judgment on costume design, hers had just been a series of gi picked at night.
Blood red hair stood out, criminals who'd spoken of her hadn't said much on who beat them. Reports though in the city were however of a redhead ninja. And so far for every arrest who spoke up there was a different dojo given. At this point nine people had given such report as well.
The ronin was running along rooftops jumping the gaps between buildings as she pursued the speeding car. The police had trailed it for awhile. Recently given up. She'd overheard it through an app on her phone and started running. She was close now, close enough to see someone behind it at incredible speeds. Superhuman speed would of course put her to shame. That said chasing after a speeding car meant hopefully on her side. Jumping another gap Sakura took a deep breath.
"This is going to hurt."
She sprints to the edge and jumps. A heavy thud booms through the street as the Rose lands on the trunk of the vehicle. She winces fracture in her shin from the landing. A pair of sais jab into the trunk to stop her from sliding off. She can smell Bruning rubber her wounded left foot had dragged a bit along asphalt. The base of it slightly heating up and rubbed down. She pulls herself further onto the back rushing from top to hood. A rush in act to try and avoid the gunfire that followed her. The rounds missing her as she turns and thrusts toward the driver.
Glass tears at her hand but her sai bites into his. A yank and the driver is forced to send the car into a sharp turn.
The muscle car drifts then flips hitting a light post before skidding along the asphalt road. A ninja doing her best to dismount in time. It was skilled enough to land okay. Roll with the speed and avoid harm to her shoulder and back. The torque between trying to dismount and flip though twisted her wounded ankle. A bone protruding from her pants leg when she stood up.
Thugs in return, the driver crawled out broken legs and clutching a mangled arm. The crash helped the cut become incredibly vicious and unclean. The passenger and three thugs in the back stepped out rattled but still able to fight. Jade eyes looked them over., on the right side was one with a arm hanging limp probably broken from the crash. The other three were going to be more of an issue. The redhead looked to the meta that by now surely had caught up. "Mind taking the two on the right? I'll get the left two."
She thought all four was more fair for them. And looking at her leg maybe the right side seemed better for her to an outsider. Sakura a though wanted to know others so splitting up the fun seemed the right thing to do. So they got two each, and she tried to pick the harder match up for herself. "I'm Decaying Rose by the way. Gensui Bara if you speak weeb."
Nahual had not known the rush of the pursuit of criminals would cause this much joy. It was understood in a technical sense, of course, with her every biological function under her complete control and understanding. She could stop the rushing of epinephrine from her adrenal glands, or stem the tide of endorphins from her brain that bound themselves to her pain receptors, pushing her harder and farther. She could control herself.
But why would she?
A THUD in front of her snapped Nahual's head to look toward the back of the vehicle. A redheaded woman in a mask dug short blades into the trunk of the car and started fighting. Bullets flew out the back, they hadn't been shooting before but Nahual deduced they simply hadn't seen her yet. The ninja was obviously a threat, as her movements brought her to the front of the car and in conflict with the driver. Nahual began to increase speed to catch up, but stopped herself as the car spun and flipped.
Nahual slowed to a stop as the ninja flipped to a stop before the crashed vehicle. She was saying something, an introduction? Orders? Nahual wasn't sure she was processing the correct information in the correct order. Her brain twisted and tried to think, but all that came out from her mouth in response was,
"NNNnhhhaaahuuu hihihihihii!!"
That was probably words? Nahual couldn't be sure. Following instinct, she charged the criminals as they emerged from the vehicle. She specifically charged the two on the right- were those the correct ones? Nahual wasn't sure as they pulled out guns and started firing. No more than two or three bullets hit Nahual as she slammed her fists into the chests of the two men. Her fingers and palms transformed inside of them into masses of teeth and maws.
Her hands consumed their hearts, their lungs, most of their diaphragms, most of the muscle mass surrounding those organs, a few of their ribs, and part of their spines. Nahual was pretty positive that killed them. Oh- oh no, she did a bad thing! Her mind, finally clear after the consumption of true flesh, woke up. Gasping, Nahual announced loudly,
"Oh no! I'm sorry!"
Active Biomass Tracker -20(transformation)
Active Biomass Tracker +40(nomnoms)
New Biomass Total 190
Two thugs approach her one on her right one to her left. Right ankle of hers twisted to point bone poked through the pants drips of blood marking the asphalt. They eyed the wound considering their attack. The thug on her right went for a pistol, found nothing it'd fallen in the crash. Sakura smiled, flipping her sai end over end and throwing them towards the thugs. Each bending over to pick up a weapon provided. They thought her cocky, potentially crazy. She was amused they thought they even had a chance.
The larger one on her left rushes in first. Duck under the tackle and he begins to fumble. The Rose takes hold of an arm and twists. Rotating the arm in a lock as she uses his lapse in balance to bring the thug around. A downward stab of right thug goes into the back of the t a leg opponent. He yelps in pain arm dislocating and a stab to the back causing the sai to be let go. As the weapon falls Sakura kicks out with her wounded leg. The movement hurts but allows balance to remain, as her right foot connects with the descending sai. Boot to hilt the fallen weapon is knocked upwards. Turning a dropped weapon into a volatile throw, the sai spears into the arm of the right thug.
Left thug falling over and right recoiling in pain the ronin leaps forward. One hand catching the sai being dropped as the other takes hold of the arm lodged blade. A leg coils around shoulder and neck. An improvised hold pull back and the thugs losing balance. Her other leg comes in with a kick to the chest hard as she can manage. Ribs of the opponent fracturing and the force triggering a reaction. Between doubling over pain and a pull downwards the duo smash into the road. The right thugs face bloodied as he smashed into fhe street while the ronin took the blow to her back more in stride.
The right thug was done. The left was fumbling to get up, until a sai pierced boot, foot and then asphalt. A handstand used to help drive Sakura's good leg upwards. Heel connected to chin fierce enough the thug went airborne. Sakura was human it wasn't like the guy went rocketing skyward, but elevation was there. Unconcious from the hit her second opponent fell and the samurai took to her feet. A veil coming down to lick one of her blades clean. Tongue touched blood and her leg was already starting to heal, what gave her pause though was what jade eyes saw to the others.
"What the fuck?! You can't just eat people! Sorry won't bring a parent back..."
She had thought of killing someone once. And unmistakably she was violent to a level most were uncomfortable with. She also theorized how barbaric she might need to be to mend certain wounds. This though was to far, those bodies were torn apart. Her posture changed to one defensive ready to fight if needed. "What are you? How many you done that to?"
