[h1][center][b][color=0054a6]Reiki Matou[/color][/b][/center][/h1]
[h3][center]The Front Yard, Matou Manor[/center][/h3]
[hr]

[color=0054a6]"What is this, seaweed? Oh poor Shinji, where [i]have[/i] you been?"[/color]

Reiki was down on one knee out on the lawn. She was combing through her beagle's filthy fur and looking warily at the plant matter which had become brutally tangled up on his head. Next to the pair sat a metal tub filled with water and a few bottles of bathing products. [color=0054a6]"Don't you worry though. When I'm through with you you're gonna be as squeaky clean as-"[/color]

She paused.

[color=0054a6][i]Oh no.[/i][/color]

There was no time for proper decision making. Only her basic understanding of safety and danger could dictate her actions in the following moments. What would provide safety? Having lugged the thing outside when it was empty, Reiki was perfectly aware that there was no way she could run with the tub while it was full, not to mention ensuring Shinji came along. As such, she would need a helping hand.

Nearby flowers and shrubs dissolved. The Matous kept a respectable lawn, but most of the flora aside from grass were actually familiars in disguise. With less than a thought, an instinctive command to help Reiki, Shinji, and the tub towards their destination, and a veritable wave of worms pushed the two from behind and below. There was a moment of slowness at the start, but once the swarm tipped the tub the loss of water allowed them to quickly pick up speed. It wasn't far. Just a few more feet to safety.

Overhead, a sort of light-show had begun. By some power of the manor's attacker, the runic defences had been delayed in their activation. Now, however, they had begun to come into effect. Fire, lightning, ice, gravity, blasts of mana, and pure kinetic energy culminated from the runes littering the yard into a prolonged stream with the intent of both pushing back and annihilating the dangerous object in midair.

Reiki, along with Shinji, narrowly made it to the spot she had been aiming for. The two were thrown to the ground by the swarm and Reiki quickly grabbed her dog and curled up as tight as possible. There was still some water in the tub as it came crashing down on top of them, surrounding them, and so the pair immediately became soaked and blind in the darkness under the metal container. Around the tub, the worms that had moved it continued the motion on their own until they completely covered its surface, serving as shock absorbers.

Of course, these were all minor efforts to boost Reiki's and Shinji's chances of survival. The real protective measure was the spot where they had landed. 

The gazebo.

This was among the safest places on the Matou property, and likely the one with the highest density of runes. During the meeting with the Whitehalls, Lancer had been confident that even the mighty Berserker could have been safely invited inside without risk to Reiki. Therefore, it was Reiki's first instinctive pick for a safe place. Walls of super-dense ice and stone, protective wards, and even more of the same barrage of offensive magecraft all sprung to life in preparation for the incoming blast. In another second, their strength would be tested.

With the speed of the attack, there was no time to wait and see if the runes in the yard had worked, so the command was given to those familiars inside to brace for impact. Countless objects in the matou home dispersed into slithering worms or buzzing insects that moved as fast as their bodies would allow from the presumed area of impact. The reserve troops in the underground worm-pits retreated into the deepest recesses they could locate. In one particular room, the movements were quite different. This was where the bomb was projected to land, and so they would throw themselves on top of and around it in an effort to cushion the initial blast.

All this with just a few thoughts from Reiki. Knowing she had less than a second until the moment of truth, she covered Shinji's ears.