Kaoru/Zelgadis: Personality Match?

[Shukuen]

Shukuen blinked, blinked again, and sweatdropped. "Is it... leaving?" he asked no one in particular, though he wasn't letting his guard down just yet.

[Carthrat]

He didn't have much time to ponder the question; one of the people in the crowd was getting hysterical.

"Kimiko! KIMIKO! Has anyone seen my baby? KIMIKO?"

A slight woman burst forth from the ground, looking around madly. "She wouldn't have gone off by herself.. where is she?"

Another voice came from the crowd.. speaking English. The actual words were spoken too quickly.. and incomprehensably for anyone to understand, but the message was clear. His child was missing...

[Bean Bandit]

Bean's eyes widened.

"Baby....? No!" she whispered, horrified.  She was suddenly seized by impulse. The sword...it helped me swim...

"Yahiko!" She shouted, dashing toward the water. "Stay with him!" She pointed to Zelgadis.

She ran the sword quickly along the seam of her kimono, down her leg, splitting the fabric in a long slit. so much for my only clothes, she thought miserably, and dashed to the water, her legs now free, and dove into the icy water...

Kami-sama...please let me come out of this alive...

[Shukuen]

Shukuen's eye twitched slightly. "It can't ever be easy, can it?" he muttered, reaching into his pocket for the gems.

"Well, at least one of them is my birthstone," he sighed, taking the sapphire gem into his hand, before he realized something.

...how the heck does this thing work?

[Carthrat]

As Kaoru dived into the water, her viewpoint... changed.

She found that her eyesight had managed to compensate for the water, and while her eyes still blurred, she didn't feel the stinging sensation one usually felt when opening their eyes underwater.

She also didn't feel the terrible chill she had felt swimming to shore... just a slight, wet coldness settling all around her..

In front of her, she could make out a shadowy form swimming forward... two small bundles being dragged along with it.

[Bean Bandit]

Bean was pleasantly surprised to note that temperature wasn't a difficulty. She began looking around, clutching the sword tightly. Her heart seized as she saw the two little bundles

They can't breathe underwater... Swimming as hard as she could, she struggled to catch up...

[Carthrat]

The figure looked over it's shoulder, and saw Kaoru.

Kaoru also saw it- and reflexively shuddered.

It was a man, but the man's face was distinctively non-manly.

A huge mouth seemed to dominate the things face, though Kaoru could make out two tiny, bulbous eyes at the topleft and topright corners of it's face.

Rows of jagged, sharp and long teeth lined it's mouth, and it emitted some kind of gargled howl as it saw Kaoru.

Dropping the two bundles, it produced a trident, and turned back towards her, swimming slowly but steadily..

And picking up speed at an alarmingly fast rate.

[Bean Bandit]

Oh man...I'm in trouble, Bean shivered again. She stopped moving toward the monstrous form, allowing it to come to her, raising the sword in front of her in a modified guard position, trying to adapt for the lack of footing...

A memory surfaced, unbidden.'The sword that protects life'. Was that Kaoru, or me...or both? Bean wondered.

Kaoru-san...wherever you are, I hope you don't disapprove...I don't even know if that...THING qualifies as human...but if I'm going to save those kids, and myself, I don't see any choice but to kill this thing...

Bean steeled herself, awaiting the monstrous form's charge, her sword up and ready...

[Carthrat]

The thing swam in strange loops, getting closer and closer to Kaoru. A sudden wave of bubbles seemed to flash from it's mouth, obscuring Kaoru's view-

And when she could see again, it was directly in front of her, stabbing straight and forward with it's nasty, hooked trident.

[Bean Bandit]

Bean bit down on the impulse to open her mouth to gasp in shock and twisted her body, slamming the sword against the incoming trident to knock it off course and herself out of it's path.

She pushed against the water, going with the impact, hoping to slide inside the polearm's reach, where the weapon was less lethal...

[Carthrat]

The thing was faster- by a bit.

The trident managed to twist itself into a guard position, but Kaoru was already too close to it for it to attack.

The things bulbous eyes widened, in mingled shock and horror, as it realised it was almost defenceless..

<->

Meanwhile, on the shore, Zelgadis saw a few more ripples.. but this time, they were heading towards the shore, and not away..

[Bean Bandit]

Bean grabbed the hilt of the sword in both hands, raised it to eye level lowering the tip to point at her opponent and propelled herself forward, stabbing out at the creature...

[Carthrat]

The thing managed to twist itself slightly, but Kaoru's sword penetrated it's eye.

Black blood spewed from the wound, and the thing let out another great howl. Unfortunately for Kaoru, it had managed to produce a small, thin dagger while she was busy striking.

It flashed out, nicking her leg. The damage was only superfical..

Before she could react, the thing turned and started swimming away, quite quickly.

Meanwhile, the two children continued to sink..

[Bean Bandit]

Bean clenched her teeth as she felt a hot, burning sensation in her leg. She bit her lip hard to distract herself as her eyes watered slightly.

She waved her hand in front of her face, try to dispel the blood in the water, so she could see better. As the blood cleared, she could see it was swimming away...and then she caught sight of the children, and her heart leapt up into her throat as she abandoned thoughts of chasing after it, and dove after the two sinking forms...

Oh please....PLEASE let me be in time!

[Carthrat]

Kaoru managed to reach the two sunken forms, both of which seemed physically unharmed, excepting the danger of drowning..

***

Meanwhile, on the shore, three more figures emerged, all wielding nasty-looking tridents. With evil looks on their faces, they bounded towards Zelgadis and Yahiko..