Timothy
Murano spared the malformed Rukio a single parting glance before he grabbed Koike and Haiku under each arm. Haiku was right, the other child had made his choice and they had to focus on getting out of here while there was still time. His acute hearing picked up Yasu's technique, meaning they already had a way of going to the surface. With each child under arm and Yuki by his side, Murano attempted to burst through the opening into the dirt that Koike had created using his own body in conjunction with his tentacles. The moment they were free, he'd be looking for where Yasu and the other girl had surfaced. As soon as he saw them, he'd be rushing over to wrap Healing Water Serpent around her gills to keep water circulating into her body. 

They had to escape from here, and fast. He could already feel the effects of the Curse Mark beginning to wane. He'd only be able to keep up this form for a little while longer. 

A+ Custom technique
Chris
Yasu grasped the girl, whose body already began convulsing from a lack of water. She'd probably be fine for a few moments- just clearly in pain as she choked in the air. Luckily, in just an instant, the earth gave way as Niko utilised his Moving Earth Core to erupt up to the surface. Below, the ground rumbled gently, and Niko could hear an echo of a growling roar. For now, though, there was no immediate danger. Well, not for him.


A couple dozen metres away, Murano, Yuki, Koike, and Haiku burst out of the ground. They were outside, now, and only a little ways away from the settlement the rogues had explored. The seemingly-deserted shop the lab was hidden under creaked ominously. Other houses and shops stood quietly around the nearby street. The sky was an eerie black; clouds must've been covering the moonless night.

Murano quickly darted over to Yasu and Kika. As soon as the water overtook her body, she visibly rejuvenated. Her eyes returned to their proper places in her head, and she eyed the rogue men warily.

"Saiko-san . . . Duplicate-sama . . . They're not making it out, are they," Haiku called over, his voice perfectly even but doing a poor job of concealing the fear and preemptive grief that threatened to bubble over now that the immediate danger was . . . Well, not *Gone*, but not so immediate. He then let out a pathetic little 'ow' as Koike kicked him in the shin.

"We should go," She said in her hoarse voice, crossing her arms in a vain attempt to cover up the eyes dotting her body. "That . . . *Thing* Is going to go on a rampage any minute. Yokai-senpai, you'll be drained. Haiku and I will cary Kika-chan." With that, she stepped over to Murano and moved to take Kika gently in her arms.
Timothy
**"You need to be thinking about your friends right now, not them."** He said to Haiku as he gave a cursory glance to the water ninjutsu wrapping around Kika. It'd hold, but only for a time before it had to be reapplied. Just as Koike started to speak, he'd feel a dull pain in his head slowly start to build into a sharpened spike in his temples. 

***"Tick-tock. Tick-tock. Time's up."*** A voice whispered to him along the wind coasting through the town. Just as Koike predicted, he was too drained. The Curse Mark fell away, the excess flesh and tentacles sloughing off his body and falling into the dirt, where it seemed to immediately begin to crumble into dust for the wind to carry away. 

Murano looked haggard, dark bags clinging to the underside of his eyes and his pale skin somehow even more sickly than before. Despite his appearance, Murano shakily rose to his feet and turned to the others after ingesting a Soldier Pill he'd kept hidden in his sleeve. "She's right. It's time to go." 

Assuming the others would follow, Murano turned to leave back the way they came, through the forest and hinterlands near the town.
Sydney
The hair on his body stood on end with the appearance of a low growl. He could only assume what had made that noise.

 Such things mattered little as they reached the surface, and Murano applied the water ninjutsu the fish girl needed to survive quickly after reaching them. Thank the Kami! Now they could be on their way, which would hopefully allow them to avoid the horror. It was the predator units job anyway.

Alongside the others, Niko followed but was quick. Out of the group, he was probably the most cautious of the creature that nearly consumed them.