There was a little sensation starting to worm its way up in Akemi's stomach, one that was beginning to become all to familiar that day. Shortcuts were all fine and good, especially with a dungeon the size of Mistress Karinka's. But it seemed to defeat the purpose when you had battle against the next best thing to a tentacle monster whenever you wanted to move through. Then again, perhaps she was looking at it the wrong way. Perhaps the time was immaterial, and mostly Mistress just wanted to see her maids fight almost tentacle monsters.<br/><br/>And with that comforting thought, Akemi followed along after Alice, vaguely grateful she wasn't the first in line. Not that she wasn't confident in her martial abilities, but anything with tentacles made her more than a little nervous. She... could think of far too many things to do with them. None of them anything like the kinds of things a girl her nominal age should be thinking about.<br/><br/>She stifled the groan when she finally heard them coming. And they come so far, too—Alice had picked a fortunate route and for a moment Akemi had thought they wouldn't meet anything along the way.<br/><br/>Ignoring the sinking feeling in her stomach, Akemi stepped forward. Alice was first in line, and looking rather naked, metaphorically, in nothing but her maid uniform. Why in the world didn't Mihoko stand in front? No, that was a stupid question.<br/><br/>Well, at least Akemi could help. Tinting faintly pink, she slipped her hand down the collar of her own uniform, rummaging for just a moment within her cleavage before she withdrew one of the esoteric instruments that she had seen before on Alice's workbench. She wasn't quite sure what it was normally for, but she had seen it pressed into service as a makeshift weapon before, and that was good enough.<br/><br/>"Here," she said as she passed the device up, hoping no one noticed how she had retrieved it. She didn't<em>have</em>to pull things out quite like that, but for a quick intensive search, well, it was easier and quicker that way than through her apron pockets or the like. Her own things were another story, intimately familiar with both the objects themselves, and where she stored them. Her gohei and katana slid evenly from nowhere as she passed by Alice, walking forward with a determined expression.<br/><br/>She didn't really try to pose. It just... happened. Three quarters profile to the creatures, her sword held in her left hand at her side, tip nearly dragging on the ground, the wooden shaft of her gohei pointed directly at the approaching creepers, zigzagging paper streamers fluttering in the non-existent breeze. She stood firmly there, placing herself between the creatures and her Mistress, ready to do her best to see that they wouldn't pass, and hopefully letting the other maids move a bit more freely.<br/><br/>"You're an affront to tidy living everywhere!" she said, ignoring the fact that they weren't the sort to even recognise her words, let alone be affected by them. Shouting at them made her feel better. "Your very presence brings shame upon me and my abilities, and I will not stand for it!"<br/><br/>(Using Will to unyieldingly cut off their advance and constrain their movement... and rolled a two. Times 3 puts me at 6. I hope you all do somewhat better or this will be close.)