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Suited hadn't warned them about this. Kikoru and Reno had landed a few minutes prior to help Aoi and the local anti kaiju troops in Egypt against the Kaiju A vanguards, and they had finally gone through the smaller yoju and were now focusing on the vanguards themselves. There were about 4 of them— Aoi had just barely made a dent on one of them until they had arrived in Giza.
They managed to take down two at this point, moved onto the third one while Aoi assisted. Reno was still adjusting to the new Dimensional No. 6 suit, trying to figure out how to utilize the tails specifically.
"Reno! Cover me!" Kikoru called out as she repositioned herself for a better hit on one of the vanguards.
Reno had moved to take a shot, the freeze of the ice stunning the kaiju long enough for Kikoru to strike at the opening. "Got it!"
She managed to land one punch, the gauntlets vibrating with the force and power being drawn from the uniorgan of Dimensional No. 2. Kikoru backed up as the kaiju aimed a strike at her in retaliation, just barely missing her—she ducked, backing up enough to try and analyze where she needed an opening so that Reno can take the shot. "Reno?" she called, but no reply returned.
He was on one knee, tails flailing wildly as he lowered his gun, his other hand holding his forehead. Shit. Side effects now? And the other vanguard was closing in on him. Kikoru lunged toward Reno, pulling him away from the clearing as they both rolled toward a broken wall among the debris. He groaned in pain, too much that he had to drop his gun. It fell to his side, supported by the sling attached around him. "Reno? What's going on?" Kikoru asked, looking over the ruined wall to make sure they were in the clear. He let out an incoherent grumble in response; that's when she disengaged her gauntlets, letting them fall to her sides.
She put a hand to her earpiece. "Aoi! Can you take care of things in the meantime? Something's going on with Reno."
Damn it. She should have seen it coming; this was literally his first time using the suit out on the field for the first time, after all. Kikoru supported his head as she sat up against the wall, the fur of his CLOZER suit ruffling against her hand. Her teeth chattered as his suit exhaled a fresh gust of icy wind, the tails twitching erratically behind him. What the hell was she supposed to do? Suited didn't say anything about dealing with the side effects. She'd never even dealt with his original No. 6 suit in the field prior to this. Let alone a dimensional variant.
No. She couldn't panic now.
He needed her help and she couldn't let him slip away.
"Reno… are you still with me?"
His eyes were blown wide, his breathing coming in rapid bursts as he tried to regain some semblance of control. His Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed, irises scanning around for a threat that wasn't visible. "My head's… all over the p-place…" he stuttered, wincing as another twinge of pain hit him.
This was bad. If he wasn't able to use the suit properly, it meant they were screwed against Kaiju A. She looked up, watching as Aoi and the other officers trying to put up a fight against the vanguards to keep them at bay.
"If you can't fight anymore, just say so. You don't have to keep pushing yourself, especially if it's causing you pain." Kikoru told him.
That statement seemed to bring Reno back a little, his eyes finally meeting hers. "N- no. I can't give up now." He insisted as he tried to sit up. The tails behind him calmed into a distracted sway.
Kikoru should have been more surprised. But she wasn't—she recognized that kind of stubbornness. The kind that wouldn't relent even pushed to the absolute limit. She let go as he fully sat up, her hands falling from his face. "Hey, Reno. Look at me."
Lilac met green, and his breathing began to even out slowly as he focused his vision on her. "We need to go out there and take down those vanguards." she told him, mapping out a clear goal for him to fix on. "You and me—we'll do it together. I know we can."
She stood up, dusting off ash and sand as she put on her gauntlets on again. Kikoru offered a hand. "How does that sound?"
Reno exhaled shakily, his tails finally going still. He closed his eyes, inhaling then exhaling. "Yeah. We'll– we'll start with that." he said, before opening his eyes again. He looked a little more alert now, still fighting off the side effects but no longer in agony while doing so.
He took her hand.
Kikoru pulled him up, and they faced the Kaiju A vanguards again. Reno rubbed his eyes with his knuckles, then reached for his gun. He paused. Kikoru glanced over to him. "You okay?" she checked.
He nodded. "Yeah, I'm better." Reno hesitated for a moment, but continued anyway. "Thanks for that." he muttered, his voice lowered that she almost didn't catch it. She opted for a single nod in acknowledgement.
"Anytime." Kikoru replied, as one of the Kaiju A vanguards looked their way. Reno raised his gun, and she smirked. "Now, shall we?"