Why carry a canary when the cave is so very scary?

The creature skittered off along the ceiling, heading toward the hole in the wall that Kurado made. It was ironic that the young man provided the exit so this thing could escape. Standing upright again, Kurado took in a deep breath of air and slapped together several hand seals. His hand cupped over his mouth to unleash a fireball, but it was clear it was too late. The surge of chakra through his body faded and his shoulder slumped. He rushed to the rubble, hands placed against the wall as he took a few steps to climb and suddenly stopped. He closed his eyes and listened out into the cave... there was no sound. The spider was completely silent, no screaming or noise whatsoever. Better yet, no yelling from any of the workers who hopefully were now out to the surface.

A few pebbles tumbled toward the ground as Kurado got off the rubble wall and moved back toward Murata and the man who was close to spider food. "Yeah, I'm okay," he said, the pain in his hands from punching boulders began to surge now that his adrenaline had run out. He looked the genin over, checking for any noteable wounds. She seemed to also get out relatively unharmed. "Oh, you would have managed just fine. You were a lot braver than I was. To be honest, I only made my move when I did because I saw how close you were to that arachnid's jaws. If I was alone down here, I probably would have just ran." Kurado rubbed the back of his head, feeling a twinge of shame. Normally, he had his father with him when fighting beasts and spirits. Doing it without him was... scary.

"Unfortunately, that thing got away." Kurado looked back out toward the rubble. "I wonder if it's going to stay in this mine, or venture out when it's night." He bit his lip, wrestling with what his duty of care here was.

About half an hour passed, with all the crew, Murata, and Kurado back up top. Despite the creature having survived, what was important was that the workers survived too. Kurado moved away from the miners and toward Murata. "If you ever you think you'll end up in some place dark and scary with a monster lurking in the shadows, let me know. I could use more experience in that front." He gave a weak smile, before looking to the cavern. "I feel uneasy that that thing is still in there somewhere. Maybe we should leave it to someone else to handle... but I might keep an eye on the entrance for the next few nights, see if I can spot it coming out." He wasn't anticipating that she'd want to aid him in such an awful sounding stakeout, but maybe she'd want to know. "I promise I won't fight it head on, I'd just like to know where it came from. I'm sure if it found it's way into a man-made mine, there are probably more out there in the forests."

[WC = 511]
[TWC = 2932]

Murata grins widely. Though his strength eclipses hers, it seems that he is shaky without emotional support. That is normal.

""Of course!" she says, some of her usual energy returning to her now that they are outside and safe. ""ILet me know, huh? Let's go monster hunting. I will bring my fly swatter next time."

But for now... she needs a bath. Jeez, it's kind of a long walk home, too. What a day...

[WC: 74]
[TWC: 1610]

CLAIMING:
2,000 Ryo, 5AP, 1x High-grade Steel
16 stats (4 into Strength and Speed respectively, 8 into Vigor.)
1373 words into finishing Chakra Infusion (previously partially trained here)
237 words into Bullseye

approved