[center][h2][color=BFBFBF]Zenkichi Hasegawa[/color][/h2]
Esaka, The Tiered City
Lvl 9 [color=BFBFBF]Zenkichi[/color] (81/90) +3 Collab XP -> Lvl 9 (85/90) 
Word count: 676 words[/center]


Not long after his conversation with Sandalphon ended, Zenkichi retired to his bed in Banishing Flats for a good night’s rest.

Which he did not get, awakening early in the morning to the sound of an explosion. He burst upright, already hearing a flurry of activity outside his room, and before he could even reach the door, it opened to reveal a menacing robot that immediately attacked. Zenkichi threw up a hasty block, knocked backwards a step by the blow. His mouth curling into a frown, he sighed. [color=BFBFBF]”And before coffee, too…”[/color] 

Ragnell appeared in a flash of light, the blade quickly giving Zenkichi the range advantage as he thrust it forward, forcing the Jack unit to block or be skewered. Stepping in with a second thrust, Zenkichi tried to push the attacking robot out of the bedroom, but it gave little ground before its programming demanded a change in tactics: it was blocking the door out, and thus its face split open and the five-second timer began. Zenkichi groaned, backing up against the wall and holding Ragnell before him to try and block some of the worst of the blast. He wouldn’t be fast enough to get past it and clear the blast zone, so he had to grin and bear it. 

Once the ringing in his ears became manageable, Zenkichi pulled himself from the floor, putting his hand to his ear. [color=BFBFBF]”Zenkichi here. Not in the best shape right now, but I’ll live. We should regroup in the lobby, try to keep the fight from spilling into the city.”[/color] The sounds of fighting and explosions were still filling the motel, so Zenkichi got moving. He barely made it into the hallway before seeing another Jack-5, and he rolled his eyes as he held Ragnell up. [color=BFBFBF]”Alright, big guy, I’m onto your game now. Valjean. One-Shot Kill.”[/color] The Jack unit barely had time to respond before a colossal bullet crashed into it, critting it and knocking it flat on its ass. Zenkichi capitalized on the lucky shot, launching forward and planting Ragnell into the robot’s chest, before drawing one of the New Conglomerate handguns he’d got and firing a pair of rounds directly through the explosive robot’s skull before it could even activate its timer. Much better.

Making his way down to the lobby, Zenkichi was lucky to avoid another Jack unit, but to his horror, the lobby had already been nearly destroyed, and was instead a pile of rubble and fire. He caught sight of Harry and Kim nearby, and called out to the pair. [color=BFBFBF]”Guys, we gotta go, now! This whole building’s gonna come down on us!”[/color] He was no structural engineer, but he didn’t have to be to tell that the continual explosions would knock the motel down soon enough. 

Turning as he heard heavy thudding footsteps behind him, Zenkichi was a little too late to avoid being punched in the face and knocked back towards the flames. Stumbling to keep his balance, he turned back to his assailant and leapt forward, bringing Ragnell down in a vertical slash which the Jack-5 expertly avoided, grabbing Zenkichi and opening its face to take advantage of its target’s condition. The Phantom Thief tried to pry himself free, but as the numbers on the robot’s face ticked down, he instead closed his eyes and got ready to wake up somewhere far away. How ironic that he would pass before Sandalphon…

Instead, a barrier of energy surrounded him as the explosion went off, and Zenkichi remained thankfully intact, rather than a scattered pile of ash in the wind. Looking around for a moment, he spotted Yayama, who was less than unphased by the explosion. 

[color=BFBFBF]”Oh, damn, are you alright?”[/color] The Lalafell warrior, thankfully, hadn’t been taken down by the blast, and Zenkichi gave a nod before looking around and touching his linkpearl. [color=BFBFBF]”Zenkichi again. Lobby’s a bust, place is burning to the ground, let’s just get out of here.”[/color] he turned back to Harry and Kim, waving them out as he booked it for the door.