Undying
03-22-2008, 11:58 PM
((We'll just beat Suzaku then))
Rave glared and muttered under his breath for the entire length of the meal, with Jade silencing him every time he opened his mouth. Glowering at her he finished his meal and sat back, displeased. He began to wonder why did he accept that woman's offer to help; he could have just kicked her ass and continued.
My sentiments exactly.
Zenryu wasn't in any better mood than he; the fact that he was being accompanied by a beautiful woman sent her jealousy meter to new heights. He ignored her, though. Crossing his arms on his chest and settled to sitting and looking around, and figuring out why did he accept help. It was most likely because he needed a translator, as he could not understand any Chinese. That, and he needed a guide to the area, someone who lived here. Or at least could as for directions. When she was finally finished, he got up, grumbling.
"So, finished already?" He asked, half sneering, half mocking.
"Oh yes," she said, her voice hinting that she was having immense pleasure from torturing him like that.
"Watch it, if you eat too much you'll gain weight," he said with a mocking smile. Then he turned, before she had a chance to open her mouth and continued walking towards northeast, where Zenryu was pulling him to (this time with twice the force, apparently eager to be rid of Jade). Rave slowed himself enough so that Jade easily caught up with him. He enjoyed annoying Zenyu.
"Ok, smartass, now you can tell me why you're going to Kyou." Jade's surprise question made Rave lift an eyebrow.
"What do you care?"
"Simple. You're not just going there, are you, Mr. Rogue?"
Rave rolled his eyes. "So, they made me an official rogue? Lovable. Well. I'm going there, because I want to. Capish?"
Jade groaned and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, nice try. But you're not being honest. You're just avoiding it. There's a reason and you're going to tell me."
Rave glanced to the side, his mouth forming a thin line. Annoying, impossible, irritating, stupid, woman... returning his glare to her he sighed. "Ok then, lady. Here's the breakdown. I want to go there. So I do. End of story, thanks for listening. See ya!"
Jade frowned at him in a very unkind way. Irritating man.
They continued walking in silence for the next few minutes when a rustle behind them turn. Several men came out of the rice-fields, which, both noticed, surrounded the road. The men were all clad in rags and torn and tattered robes, indicating beggars. Rave lifted an eyebrow, but before he could say anything, the biggest and ugliest beggar - holding a huge club in his right hand - barked something at him. Rave shook his head, not understanding a word. Chinese wasn't in his language arsenal.
Jade, though, understood. The beggar had just demanded a debt Rave apparently owed a person named Chen. What surprised her was that Chen was the name her brother used when dealing with various people. Her second brother, a shrewd merchant. And Rave owed him money?
"Hey Rave," she said casually, "do you happen to know someone named Chen?"
"Nope, never heard of anyone named like that," said Rave, then added, "what, that your boyfriend?" That earned him a glare, but Jade quickly brought her mind back to the business at hand.
To the men, she said, "is Chen the one tied to the Gonghou clan?" The lead beggar seemed surprised but still nodded. Jade frowned. Her brother, dealing with scum like that? "Then," she said coldly, "I demand you leave us in peace! I am Gonghou Li-Ying, 99th princess of the Gonghou clan, and I demand you stop!"
Rave watched the encounter with interest. He understood not a word, but the beggars seemed shocked at something she said. Interesting that a girl that seemed so high-class would deal with beggars such as those.
Indeed, she's nothing more than a wench, and harlot, a-
"Oh, zip it..." Rave muttered, shutting off Zenryu's transmission. He sensed her hurt feelings as she sent a sensation through him that felt as though she just turned her back on him, flaring her hair. He returned his attention to the present to hear the beggar say something - an apology, it seemed - and then turned on him, running with his club waving. Rolling his eyes and the uselessness of women in general, Rave countered the clumsy swing easily, slapping the club away with the sheathed Zenryu and then leaning back on his left leg, raising his right to slam into the man's chin. The big, fat beggar stumbled a few seconds and then fell, muttering something incomprehensible.
The others - ten or so - rushed at him after seeing their leader fall. Despite being many, they were not battle trained, and therefore, were useless. Zenryu smacked one on the side of the head, cracking his cheek, and Rave punched one running from the side in the middle of the face, shattering his nose into a bloody mess. He then turned to avoid a third one running from behind, and placed his trailing leg so that the man tripped over it and fell face first into the dirt. The others were slightly hesitant, seeing Rave's fluid, quick movements, but they charged nonetheless. Rave had to tip his hat to their ability to ignore the fact they are about to get pummeled and still perform their duty - whatever that was. Either they were extremely stupid, extremely well paid, or liked their boss a bit too much.
Rave bet it was the second option. A few minutes later, he finished the remaining ones, leaving them lying on the ground and moaning in different states of consciousness. Twirling his sword he turned to Jade, who seemingly didn't move. He did catch her slam a few of them into the ground while he was fighting though. She had nice moves, he had to admit. He'd hate to face her without Zenryu's power.
Shaking his head, he looked at her for a second. "Well, you ready to go, Miss High Class?"
Jade glared at him forcefully. "You idiot! Those were my brother's men - as hard it is for me to believe that he would ever deal with this scum! - and they wanted to kill you for stealing money from him! And here I thought that you would at least be above theft from MY family!"
Rave stood slightly dazed at this tirade. "Woah there lady. I don't know your brother and I sure as hell didn't steal any money from anyone..."
She stopped. "You're lying!" She hissed. She was angry, he could see, but she wasn't being emotional. Interesting.
"Is that what you think? Foolish girl..." Rave shrugged. "I have stolen no money from anyone..."
Which was perfectly true. He did steal food and supplies, but not money. And who could blame him? Surviving took priority over conscience.
Jade stopped. "But that guy said that you were to be killed for stealing from my brother..." She crossed her arms over her ample chest and bit her lower lip, deep in thought.
"Why won't you just torture the answers out of him?" Suggested Rave, not interesting in continuing the accusations. Jade nodded and grabbed the lead thug's collar, dragging him up. Rave lifted an eyebrow. She had rather slender arms, but she was very strong, if picking a guy that seemed to weight about a hundred of so kilograms was any indication. A few slaps and a dip into the rice-field and the man was awake, mostly.
Another few minutes later and several sharp screams, a broken toe and a cracked finger, and Jade turned with a very grim expression. Not saying a word, she started walking towards where they were headed before, muttering under her breath in Chinese. Rave decided it was smartest to keep his mouth shut. Something pissed the woman off, badly. He followed her quietly, ignoring Zenryu's snarls - she was VERY angry for some reason - and keeping himself alert.
No ambushes appeared after the first one, though. Rave wondered whether it was just an accident. They passed through another town, an uneventful visit (beside of course the part when Jade managed to drop a teapot filled with boiling tea on Rave’s right hand, “accidentally”. Luckily, the metallic hand wrapped in thick woollen bandages – to cover a “wound” so Jade explained, or so Rave hoped – didn’t feel any pain).
Then they reached Ran.
The province of Ran
“OK. Where the heck are we now?” Rave looked around at the wide dirt streets filled with children and adults, all walking somewhere and seemingly very busy. Jade’s behaviour changed ever since they passed the town-gate – a wide, steel gate set in a high stone wall. That alone surprised Rave; he hadn’t seen any similar structures thus far. Not to mention, this town seemed different. And Jade… She seemed as though she was trying to hide but at the same time stand out; scared of being seen and yet eager to be noticed. He shook his head. Women.
A short while later, they were surrounded by a dozen or so armoured guards, all serious and staring. Rave lifted an eyebrow at Jade again – he seemed to be doing it a lot lately – but she seemed rather surprised. She said something in Chinese to the leaders of the group – a tall, silver-haired man with well developed arms. He wore a more expensive suit than the others, and he seemed somewhat similar to Jade. He ignored her, though, giving her only half a glance, before turning to Rave.
“Are you the man named Rave?” He spoke clear English with barely an accent. Rave smirked and bowed slightly.
”Yeah, that’d be me. You have an appointment?”
The man ignored the rest of the statement. “I have been informed that you have stolen from my brother, and therefore, you will be executed.”
“Oh? I stole from your bro? What’d I steal, his watch?”
“You do not demand answers from your enemy!” The man charged, swift and sure footed, his sword sliding out of its scabbard, whistling through the air to strike straight and true straight through Rave’s heart. Or it would have had Rave not brought up his sword in time to alter the direction of the blow so that it passed between his biceps and chest. Holding his own sword steady, Rave regarded the attacker with a cold look of superiority. A new light of respect shone in his enemy’s eyes.
“I am Seien, heir to the Gonghou clan. I have come here to beat you.”
“I was sure we could skip the intros, but whatever. Name’s Rave. Pleased to meet you, I will beat you.” Rave moved like a striking serpent, his wrist meeting Seien’s blocking arm and his fingers wrapping around the other man’s forearm while his still sheathed sword slammed against Seien’s sword’s hilt, dislodging it from his grasp momentarily while Rave turned sharply, shoving Seien into the line of soldiers surrounding them. He regained his footing within an instant, grabbing a sword from one of the guards’ belts and placing it before him in a defensive position. The other guards moved as if to grab Rave, but Seien barked a sharp order and they backed down.
Rave still stood, apparently careless, his muscles seemingly relaxed, and apparently completely not ready to fight. Seien could tell the truth though; this was a rare stance that was used by master swordsmen only, called Nothingness. The muscles were just on the edge of being corded, the breathing was deep and slow, and the user ready to explode into motion, into any direction. He feinted several times, but Rave didn’t react, noting the purposefully slow and obvious movements. Seien then stepped forward, his sword shooting in a straight arc then altering direction to a small cutting arc, then returning to scrape against Rave’s scabbard. Throughout the entire movement, Rave barely moved, he sword moving into the exact places needed to stop Seien’s sword or to redirect its stabs. Finally, after a minute or two of useless sparring, Sieen stood straight and regarded Rave.
“You are trained in the art of sword fighting that is strongly reminiscent of my own style, Rave.” Seien narrowed his eyes. “Although your style has several alterations to fit your sword, I can still see the movements. How is this?”
Rave shrugged. “Maybe I liked that style so much I copied it.”
Seien glared at him. “Answer truthfully.”
“Or else you what?” Taunted Rave, smirking again, “scratch with your long nails, pretty boy? Wave your long hair at me?”
Seien shook his head. “You are a strange one. However, you have brought my sister back to us. Your battle style is similar to ours. I will allow my brother to handle his situation.”
”Hey, hey, I brought no one “to you,”” said Rave, just as Jade interfered, “I brought him here!” They both glared at each other and turned away. Seien shrugged.
“Either way, I will let my brother handle his situation. You will not be placed under arrest yet, although I must as you to come to our house and settle your matter with my brother first.”
Rave shrugged. “Will there be food? And I can be rid of her presence?” He pointed at Jade, who showed her tongue to him in a very un-lady-like behaviour. The soldiers seemed desperate to look as if they saw nothing at all and noticed nothing out of the ordinary, which amused Rave to no end. Here or on the other side of the world nobles were the same, always.
A while later – Gonghou Clan residence
Jade caught Rave behind the backs of the backs of the guards just before they reached the house. “You know we’re not supposed to meet our families after we join the Order…”
“I won’t tell, don’t worry,” said Rave, the mocking and sarcastic edge evident in his voice. Jade scowled. As soon as they reached the house gates, Seien approached Rave.
“You will meet with my brother, Kōyū Li, shortly. I demand that you settle your dispute quickly and effectively… I will not see any problems arise from it.” Rave shrugged, he had no interest in this Kōyū person; he was probably a fat merchant and would need nothing more than a punch in the face to prove a point. As they entered, Seien pointed to a relatively tall, black-haired man with wide shoulders and strong arms. He had a handsome, strong face that strongly resembling Jade’s, except they were definitely masculine, without a hint of the hidden softness that made Jade’s face a sight to behold. “That is my brother, Kōyū Li.”
Rave’s eyebrows threatened to fly off his forehead. This was most definitely not the fat merchant he expected. Shrugging he approached Kōyū, who crossed his arms on his chest at his sight.
“So, you are Rave, the man who so openly stole from me?” Kōyū boomed in a deep, thunderous voice. He was certainly anything but a fat merchant; a battle commander or a warrior general fit him much more.
“Woah there big guy, hold your horses,” said Rave in response, “I didn’t steal anything.”
“Have you not? You have murdered Hu He, the man with whom I had many deals, worthy a fortune!”
Rave looked at Kōyū arrogantly before replying. “And so, the almighty angel touches the filth. You’ve had dealings with the mafia? No wonder you people have a whole town for a house.”
Kōyū’s eyes opened wide. “He was working for the mafia? I am certain he had links to Enishi Seta, the leader of the mafia in Shanghai, but he was never working for them!”
“Fool.” Rave sneered in disgust; these people were either as gullible as children or plain greedy. “Enishi Seta stepped down as leader of the Chinese Mafia in Shanghai a long time ago, when he learned the true nature of his weapon, Jinchuu. Hu He took over the Hong Kong branch of the mafia. I killed a mafia boss, and nothing more.”
“You lie!” Kōyū charged, a sword flashing into his hands. His style was rougher and less smooth than Seien’s, there was no doubt which of them was superior. And Rave knew that as a swordsman, he equalled Seien… if he wasn’t trying to kill him. But before he, or Seien, could react, long black hair whistled before them, and Kōyū met an elbow in his face, while Rave barely managed to avoid a kick that would have dislocated his jaw.
Jade landed between them, and even a blind man would have seen she was fuming. “You two, quit it! Now!” Her voice was stable and hard, she did not let emotion crack herm unlike many other women. “What Rave says is true, brother. Hu He was a mafia leader; we were sent to kill him or bring him to judgement to the Black Order.”
“So, it is true that you have become an Exorcist,” said another, a third voice. This one had a hint of age in it, though still strong. It had both Jade’s cool voice, Seien’s quiet and self-assured undertone, and Kōyū’s booming quality, all meld into one.
“Father?” Seien, Kōyū, and Jade all said together.
“Father?” Added a confused Rave, seeing an old, slightly stooping man approach from the house. He had grey hair, and his face were creased by a few lines, but he carried himself with a dignity that made even proud Rave feel slightly humbled. He certainly did not feel scared; just careful. The old man approached them slowly, giving each of them a glance, and then settled his gaze on Rave. Azure eyes met dark, and for a second, they fought in their gaze.
“You have equalled my son, Seien, in sword fighting. You have also proved your power in defeating Hu He, who was known as a powerful warrior. I believe your words, Rave.”
Rave lifted an eyebrow, confused. What did they want of him?
“We are the Gonghou clan, leaders and keepers of this province. I am the head of the clan, Shi Ryuki. I would like to welcome you to our house… for there is a quest I would like you and my daughter to undertake.” Rave did not like the dropped hint about how “he and the daughter” are meant to work together. This was most certainly NOT in his plans.
A while later – Gonghou residence
“So this… Suzaku monster, his power resides within the gems?”
”Yes, it is indeed so,” replied Shi Ryuki, pointing to the scrolls strewn across the table. Jade was reading one of them intently, she was listening more than talking, lately (a blessed change, Rave was getting sick of her talking), so Rave was asking the questions.
“Hm. Arrogant, and self-absorbed… yet powerful, and his fires are nearly impossible to stop. Sounds fearsome.”
“Sounds like someone I know,” said Jade slyly. “Especially the “arrogant and self absorbed part.” Shi Ryuki chuckled, and Rave sighed. He lost this round, unfortunately.
”Ok, so, I and Jade are meant to go and… find the gems? And what do we do then?”
“You will have to obtain the gems, and lock Suzaku’s power away. Thus, you will stop the Earl of Millennium from unleashing his fiery powers upon the earth again.”
“Fair enough,” agreed Rave, hefting Zenryu. “So Jade, ready for another little trek? That is sure to get those extra pounds of you!”
“You should talk, fatass!”
((I omitted a lot of Jade’s talk because tbh, I don’t want to make her look weak or anything… sherene, set off the quest, it should take us a couple of posts to finish the Gem-bearers and murder the birdie.))
Undying
03-29-2008, 01:42 PM
“So, where are those two “guardians””? Rave crossed his hands on his chest, leaned slightly back and regarded Jade down from a slightly raised nose. Jade ignored the remark and continued to scan the crowd. They were out in the outlying farms, which should have been a prosperous rice-field region. This close to the land of Kyou, though, the rice fields were charred and the ground dry. Suzaku – or at least someone working on his name – had been here and did a good work of eliminating this important supply of rice to the Gonghou lands. Rave was somewhat irritated with Suzaku’s work. Why would such a great beast of fire and power suddenly descend and burn the very land it was meant to protect?
The crowd’s shouts grew louder, and Rave looked more seriously at them. They were fast turning into a mob, a fear-driven, hunger-inspired mob. They were angry at an official-looking man who had just said something in Chinese, but Rave, naturally, understood not a word. Jade frowned.
“He’s saying the Gonghou have cut provisions to this place, as it is now useless. It’s… impossible.”
“It’s a blatant lie,” said Rave dryly, and Jade turned to look at him in shock. “Remember I asked your father something quietly? I made sure he was sending provisions here. Now remember that group of level ones we got rid of along the road? They were eating the drivers and burning the provisions. What I wonder is whether the Earl is really involved, or is this just a coincidence.” Stopping after his unnaturally long – and serious – speech, Rave looked at Jade coolly, as though silently accusing her of doubting her father.
Flustered that she’d indeed mistrusted her family like that, Jade looked at the messenger. “He’s… something about him…”
“Great job at noticing,” said Rave haughtily. He realized something was wrong from the start, although it was only thanks to his heat-vision – the “messenger” had extremely cold parts in his arms. In fact, for a human to be so cold, he would have to be dead.
“Zip it, idiot,” retorted Jade, annoyed. Rave chuckled.
“So what do we do, princess,” he asked casually, putting his sword across his shoulders and hanging his hands around it. “It might be an Akuma, and in that case we will have to dispatch it as soon as we can. Or… it may be what we look for.”
“Should we just-“ Jade’s sentence was cut short by a scream. Rave turned where she was staring to stand face to face with a level two Akuma that resembled a giant Chinese fan. Rave’s face contorted into an angry frown. Couldn’t they come up with more interesting forms? The Akuma unfolded, revealing an intricate pattern on its “paper” side. Rave lifted an eyebrow, and a gust of mighty wind slammed into him like a giant fist. He was blasted unceremoniously into the distance, rolling uncontrollably. Jade stifled a laugh, and then turned to the Akuma. It turned towards her, intending to blast her as well. She was already halfway through moving, though, and her leg slammed into its base, toppling in. She retracted her foot and slammed it powerfully up, causing the “fan” to rotate through the air. Jumping up, she kicked the fan hard enough to send it rolling straight into the crowd. Landing, she winced as the fan hit the people… and was then pierced by a large horn. The “messenger” transformed, turning into a huge bipedal rhino. Jade’s eyes narrowed. This was an Akuma after all, and to think that the dimwit Rave realized it faster than she… the rhino was charging at her. It was astounding to see that a creature of this size and stature could run so quickly. Still, she was nimble enough to dodge it easily, sidestepping its charge and slapping it on the back, making it stumble. The other Akuma, the fan-like one, turned itself at her, intending to fire its blast despite the gaping hole in its center – one that was right in front of Jade. To her surprise, her surroundings exploded, she herself remained untouched. Smiling to herself, she realized that the wind blast only came out of the intact portions of the fan. In exchange, apparently, the Akuma could feel no pain.
A sound behind her reminded her that she was still facing two enemies; only a timely jump helped her avoid the rhino’s next charge, and its horn scrapped against her boot. She twirled in the air and landed on her feet, crouching. She figured she could beat the fan-Akuma if she had a few free seconds, but with the rhino’s charges… something glinting passed her, and when she blinked she saw that Rave’s katana was stuck up to the middle of the blade in the rhino’s neck. Rave himself walked up from behind, dusting his hands.
“Great job on distracting them princess, it was really useful.” Jade glared at him, but as the rhino Akuma gurgled and tried to wrench the sword out of its throat, it positioned itself in a perfect way, blocking the fan-Akuma’s attack path. Jade dashed forward, stepped up on the rhino-Akuma’s shoulder and somersaulted sideways, kicking the fan-Akuma in the side as she passed. Landing precisely before the torn hole in its side, she lifted her arm and focused. A slightly more solid form of the celestial blade appeared from within the Akuma, slicing through it. Unlike normal situations, though, the Akuma’s thinness proved its downfall. As the attack was meant to slash through internals, it did so, but the internals and the outer skin were too close, too linked, and the fan ripped with a loud noise. Smiling to herself, she turned to see Rave sitting comfortably on the rhino, flipping a coin.
“When did you-?” She asked, puzzled. The rhino had at least a dozen different cuts on every body part, straight slashes that could only be done by the elegant Katana Rave was carrying around.
“Come now princess, we haven’t got time for pleasantries… unless of course you were worried about me!” Rave’s mocking tone made Jade’s blood boil.
“Why, you, little…” she started to walk towards him when a huge ball of fire flew towards them. Not wasting a second, Rave and she both jumped away to avoid it, Rave somersaulting in midair while she cart-wheeled to the other side. As soon as the fireball hit the ground a short distance away, the earth beneath their feet erupted, and both Rave and Jade were tossed around violently. Landing on a shattered cart, Rave turned to the direction where the fireball. Jade landed on the ground, right before a charred circle on the ground. She, too, looked where the fireball appeared from.
Two adolescents, one of them red hair with a gem embedded in his forehead and a perpetual sneer stamped on his face, the other blond with shiny yellow hair and a pair of bright blue eyes.
“Who the heck are you?” Shouted the red haired one, looking directly at Rave.
“What makes you think you can get any answers from me, kid?” Rave grinned at him in response. Jade glared at them both for ignoring her, but a quick glance from Rave showed her that he wasn’t ignoring her – he was just being himself.
”So you’re the guys that got those monsters here, eh? Well I’ll show you!” The kid burst into a dead run, targeting Rave. A wall of rock rose before him, suddenly, making him stop dead. He turned to the yellow-hair and shouted, angrily, “Simon! What the heck are you doing?”
“I would like to hear their response before I choose to do anything,” replied Simon kindly. Turning to Rave and Jade, he asked, in the same kind tones, “would you please explain what has happened here?”
Jade cleared her throat, and started talking right on top of Rave, who was just ready to shoot another cocky response. “Those “monsters” were Akuma, and we are Exorcists, so we have dispatched them, trying to protect the townspeople from harm.”
“Exorcists? Why you!” The red-hair jump over the wall of rock and fired a fireball at Jade, now completely ignoring Rave, who spread his hands in a “well, that’s how it is” way and strode towards the boy called Simon.
“Well, it looks like it’s just you and me now, Mr. Earthquake.”
“The name is Simon. And I would like to avoid fighting, if at all possible.” Simon stepped back and lifted his hands in an apologizing manner. “My sincerest apologies at my friend’s rash actions, but I would like to know what you are doing here.” Rave walked towards him, then turned and regarded the shorter boy coolly. Simon looked back at him, blue eyes meeting blue eyes, and opened his mouth to ask another question just as Rave’s sword flew towards him, slapping against a wall of rock Simon called out in the last instant.
“You do not demand answers from your enemy!” He stated harshly.
“I don’t want to hurt you, I wouldn’t like your girlfriend to feel hurt,” said Simon, trying obviously to avoid the fight.
“My girlfriend? Idiot. First of all, she’s not my girlfriend; she is the person whose death I will celebrate. Secondly, hurting me will make her day… but first I’m going to make you pay back for that earthquake!”
What Rave didn’t tell Simon was that the instant the two kids came into view, Zenryu all but exploded in excitement, whispering in his mind about limitless power. He shut her up, but he agreed that he should take whatever “power” this kid had. While he would have preferred taking the fire-kid’s power, the guy was interested in Jade, and damn whatever that woman did. So he had to settle for taking away this kid’s power – earth power. Looking Simon in the eye again, he stepped away and lifted Zenryu, then slashed across and cut the earth-shield in two. Then, he charged, jumping up and slashing towards. Simon moved, and his left hand glowed with a brown light. A pillar of earth smashed into Rave’s middle, lifting him up forcefully. Gasping for breath, he looked down, and with a shake of his head charged, running down the pillar.
Simon lifted his hand against and sent a wave of mud up the pillar – which was a few dozens of feet high by then – but Rave simply jumped of, rotated in mid air and free-fell towards Simon, who summoned another pillar, and shot it up at Rave. Prepared this time, Rave tossed Zenryu into the first pillar to his left, and as it stuck he caught it, grabbing the hilt, and pulling him away. The pillar to his right shot up, but Simon wasn’t done and fired several spikes from the pillar itself. This time he was intending to kill, and the sharp spikes were faster than the pillars. But Rave, preparing, jumped away and slashed the pikes’ sharp edges off, then stuck Zenryu in them for leverage to lift him up and send him somersaulting at the first pillar, from which he promptly kicked off and landed a short distance from Simon.
The kid was impressed by Rave’s speedy movements – he recognized Rave was no ordinary human, beside the arm. So he got serious. The ground beneath him burst and rose, lifting him up. Following that, several pillars rose from the ground and then blasted branching sections outward, directed at Rave, who was already moving. He ran up the pillar Simon rose beneath him, the kicked backwards and landed on a branch that slammed into the ground with a grand shake, and ran upwards towards Simon, who was still rising. Landing on the same pillar as Simon, Rave ran forward, slashing with his sword so fast Simon could barely follow the blade’s silvery edge, but the kid proved an even foe and the sword rang loudly against the pillars rising in a defensive ring around Simon’s frail form.
Simon was biding his time and the instant Rave’s sword slide across a pillar, several sharp spikes shot out of it, forcing him away. The sword was trapped in the pillar and Simon proceeded to attack immediately, pillars and spikes shooting out of the pillar they were standing on. Rave ran to the side, cart-wheeled around, above, and across several of the attacking spikes, and the returned to his sword. Simon realized his mistake in not burying it earlier when the blade burst out of the rock that held it and rang through the air directly into his face. Only an desperate dive saved him from losing his eyes, and even so he got a nasty cut on his cheek.
“You’re serious, aren’t you?” He asked Rave with a slightly shaky voice, touching his bleeding cheek.
“Gee, what gave you the first hint, captain obvious?” Rave dashed forward, but Simon started to become serious as well. He sidestepped Rave’s attack, ran backwards and jumped off, catching himself on an extending pillar and sent out several pillars at Rave. Their ends sharpened as they neared him. Gritting his teeth, Rave dodged the first two, kicked off the second, but still got a nasty scratch on his chest from the fourth, ripping his shirt. The following barrage came in fast, pillars blasting from all directions and he ran forward, trying to outrun them. Several slammed into the extending pillar forest behind him, shattering rocks, and Rave burst from the resulting cloud of dust in dead run, jumping towards Simon. The latter lifted his hand and shot a large pillar at Rave, who couldn’t dodge in time and was forced away.
He shook his head to clear away the ringing, and lifted his eyes in time to see Simon lifting his hand and blasting forward a wall of mud. Even now the child was compassionate, and did not want to kill Rave. A mistake. Zenryu slashed through the wall of mud, opening a straight line in the middle of it through which Rave ran, and then he jumped up, somersaulted around another spike and landed with a downward slash, trying to catch Simon’s shoulder. Simon avoided the blow, but his voluminous robe was caught and cut, revealing his thin hand. The kid ran, lifting an earth pillar behind him, but Rave slashed it and continued with a straight stepping motion, sword held high. He would’ve impaled Simon, but the child seemed to have decided to go for the kill.
An earthquake shook the forest of rock and earth pillars, cracks ran up and spread like vines trying to snatch a glimpse of sunlight. The entire structure fell, debris falling down with loud noises. Rave ran forward on his own piece of rock, jumped off it and landed on another then ran upwards, kicked off again and landed on a third piece of rock that was large and solid enough for both him and Simon to stand on. They faced off, and Rave moved again, utilizing his full speed to reach the child before he shot another earthquake at him and simply opened the earth beneath their feet. The slab of stone fell through the air quickly, and just as Rave’s sword descended on Simon, they hit the ground. The impact blasted the slab apart, and forced both of them to stop for a second, to regain their balance. Simon was a split second faster, and the ground beneath Rave became soft, his feet sank into it and he was trapped.
“You lose, sir,” said Simon. Rave smiled at him.
“Is that what you think? Foo~lish boy…” turning the blade down, he stated, “You will walk… in the Emperor’s Garden.” The blade fell into the ground, and a thousand others rose from the ground. Simon stared as the blades shattered into minuscule petals. He opened his mouth to say something and the entire weight of Zenryu’s most powerful form crashed on him. The ground shattered beneath their feet, leaving a crater and freeing Rave’s legs.
As Zenryu reformed into a sword in his hands, Rave looked up. Simon was protected by a thick wall of rock, shaped into a sphere. Though it shattered in a few places, the wall saved Simon from harm. The boy lifted his head up fearfully.
“What… an amazing power…” He said, shocked. “It is…” the ground began to shake beneath their feet, and Rave rolled his eyes. Damned boy! Fighting him was difficult. But he had to finish the fight, and do so as quickly as possible.
Simon lifted his hand and a slab of rock blasted from the ground right where Rave was a second before. Unfortunately the nimble Exorcist had already moved away. Simon’s eyes widened and the ground trembled again, hundreds of pillars rising up. Rave ran up one, jumped on another and kicked off it, somersaulting to a third, and took off again, this time getting on a fourth pillar, sliding down it as it grew upwards and jumping away as soon as the pillar began to grow spikes from where his feet were a second before. He rolled through the air gracefully, landed on a newer pillar still rising, jumped off it again and fell towards Simon, spreading his arms. The boy noticed him and a massive barricade made of sharpened pillars rose up to meet the descending Exorcist.
Zenryu bit into the pillars, and Rave stood on his hands, still holding on to his sword, then landed easily on the barricade and ran down. Simon turned and waved his hand in a wide arc, causing giant pillars to close on Rave. Rave threw his sword towards Simon and the shocked kid didn’t react in time.
The blade buried itself in his right shoulder. Rave landed a short distance away, and crouched slightly, ready to spring away. Damn kid could go psycho any moment. Simon stared at the stain of blood spreading on his shoulder and then looked at Rave with an open mouth and a clearly terrified expression.
Rave shook his head and ran forward, reaching Simon just as he lifted his hand. Rave snatched the sword and pulled it out, spraying blood. Simon moaned in pain and the earth around him erupted, forcing Rave back. From the dust, a giant armor made of rock and earth rose.
”What the heck is this? Some sort of a personal defense against massive pain?” Rave lifted an eyebrow as the stone monster had grown wings. “The design has a terrible taste,” he said, shaking his head. Simon, meanwhile, was nowhere to be seen in the roughly-humanoid rock monster. Whatever this… thing… was, it was not going to be easy to beat.
A giant rock hand hit Rave at an amazing speed, tossing him away and ripping what was left of his shirt, revealing his muscled chest and hard belly. Looking up at the monster in front of him, he frowned. Its head was ball-shaped, it’s shoulders thick and wide, its chest formed into a human-like form, and it seemed to move on a pair of wheels rather than legs. Rave ran towards it, dodged the next swing and jumped, slashing with Zenryu. The sword clanged against the head of the monster and didn’t even leave a dent.
“Ah, shit.”
He kicked off the monster’s belly and landed on the ground a short distance away, sliding back. The golem lifted its arms and rolled towards Rave, moving slowly. Apparently it could swing those rocky clubs that could only be called hands because of their position at the ends of his shoulders rather quickly, but movement was slow and troublesome for it. Avoiding it would be easy – for a while – but beating it, not so. Although he could most likely slash through the thing’s thick rocky hide, what use would it be if it didn’t kill him? He needed to outthink his opponent, and at the moment it seemed a distant option.
Or maybe…
He twirled Zenryu in one hand. His omnidirectional attack would be useless, but a concentrated blow would most likely shatter through the rocky body of the creature. After all, this was but rock – hard rock, but rock. Activating it again, he aimed for the head. The round rock exploded, revealing Simon’s face. His eyes were closed. He must’ve been somehow controlling the creature through his subconscious mind.
“So it WAS a damned defense against pain. Stupid brat!”
Be careful, this “stupid brat” could still kill you.
Zenryu’s warning was in place, the golem lifted its arms again to smash Rave. Its left arm exploded into tiny pieces, leaving a stump. The right arm slammed against a thick wall of petals, preventing it from continuing. Before the golem could do anything else, the Innocence gathered around its torso.
“What the hell are you doing?” Demanded Rave, astounded. Zenryu was acting without his command.
I am gaining us more power!
“You aren’t killing him! I’m not here to murder humans!”
Power! You need it!
“Damn right I do,” retorted Rave, “but you won’t ignore my commands!” The petals stopped, pressed against the skin of the golem. It moved, trying to smash Rave, but he’s had enough. The petals reformed into a sword and Rave ran up the golem and punched Simon in the face, bloodying his now. “Time to wake up, kid!”
Simon’s eyes fluttered open and the golem disintegrated. The fell down, and Rave leaned on his sword. He was hurt and tired; moving so fast for so long had drained him. He was still bleeding somewhat from his chest and leg, and wanted to sit down and drink something. Preferably with a wench on his lap to tell her stories of his heroics.
Trash that idea.
“Shut up.”
Simon slowly lifted himself from the ground and saw Rave standing there, quietly looking down on him. “You… you hurt me.” He said, still fearful and grey from pain.
“Yeah, your point being?”
“I… I was bullied when I was little…Inori was right, you are a monster!” He stood up and lifted his arm, the gem embedded into his hand glowing again. Rave, though, have had enough. He vanished and reappeared in front of the shocked kid, then stabbed his hand. The gem fell out of it with the blood flow, and Rave bent and picked it up.
“I’ll be taking that.”
”Wait! Do not! I need it! I need the power it gives me!”
“Shut up, kid. First get your own power, and then go get other powers to help you. If the only power you’ve got is some random bullshit you found on the street, you have got nothing! And without strength, you cannot protect anything… let alone yourself.” Rave walked away, leaving a very confused Simon behind him.
Jade
Jade dodged a third fireball from the red-haired guy’s direction and landed on a broken stand. Rave and the other kid were fighting to her left, the ground shook slightly with the other one’s power. Still, she didn’t want to switch placed with Rave. His fight was an impossible one, hers was merely difficult. The kid was good, repeatedly shooting those fireballs at her. He wasn’t planning his moves, though, just firing them again and again. Dodging was extremely easy… but she could not become overconfident, she had to beat him. The gem on his forehead intrigued her, whenever he used his fire magic, it would glow.
He got closer again, and stopped before her. “Tell me something,” he said in a surprisingly shy voice, “what does a pretty girl like you do in the Order? They are such filth…”
Jade nearly fell. The kid thought she was pretty? Could it be that… she sighed. Idiot kid.
“Look kid, if you want the lady to like you, you don’t go off shooting fire at her!” She ran forward and timed her jump with his next fireball, so her foot planted itself firmly into the middle of his face just as the fireball exploded behind her in a blaze of fire. Landing lightly behind him she noticed that only the front of his hair was red, the rest was blond. The kid rubbed his bloodied nose and angrily turned around, waving his hand in a wide arc. A fiery wall of flames erupted from the air around his hands and rushed towards Jade, who could not dodge in time.
So she opted for the second course of action. Running straight into the wall of flames she ran right through it, taking only some minor burns from her short stay in the fire. She stopped right in front of the kid and lifted her foot, intending to kick him in the stomach, but her leg passed right through him, and he suddenly turned into flames. Retreating, she looked around to see him land near a broken down hut. He looked at her angrily.
Jade cast a quick glance on herself; just to be sure she’s all fine. Her shirt was burned off right below her breasts, revealing pale skin. Her pants were burned clean off in the place she’s had in the fire clone. Turning back to the red-haired kid, she saw he was twirling his arms through the air, forming a pair of large fire circles. Gritting her teeth, she prepared to run. He, though, did not fire them at her like the earlier fireballs, but rather used them as whips. Cart-wheeling away, she dodged the first couple of hits, and then once he retracted his weapon, she charged forward, running straight in his direction. He turned in a complete circle, the whips gathering momentum and then slammed them in her direction, hoping to get a clean him.
The whips flew straight and true, but Jade already figured his move and so when the whips were near she already jumped up, completely avoiding the whips. The kid didn’t manage to adjust his next attack properly and met Jade’s foot again, straight in his abdomen this time. Turning in midair, Jade lifted her other foot and slammed it into his face, shoving him backwards. He coughed blood, but Jade was far from finished. As soon as her feet touched the ground, she stepped forward and punched Inori in the face, then grabbed his face and shoved him forward. Her foot slammed into his kneecap and she pulled him forcibly forward, shoving his face into the dirt.
“That’s for burning my clothes,” she said angrily.
Inori’s body suddenly burst into flames, sinking into the ground. He reappeared a short distance away, wiping the blood from his face, and look at Jade in utter hate. Balling his fists, he made fire burst from each, and in seconds the very ground he was standing on burst into flames. Jade retreated, aware that standing on burning rock was not the best formula for a long and healthy life. She soon reached a burned rice field. The dry earth sizzled before the heat of the flames, and the kid wasn’t getting any closer.
“Then there’s just one road to take about that…” she concentrated, and a pair of ethereal swords formed near her hands. She ran forward, the swords following her. Normally, she’d create the swords from within her enemy, but she had to see them for it to work and the flames and smoke blocked her view. Running forward she jumped on the hut she stood before earlier. The walls were burning and cracking down, but it held long enough for her to ran from and jump high enough to see the teenager she was fighting before. Rotating twice in mid air, she tossed the swords forward.
Inori saw the incoming attack and tried to run, but just then the ground shook violently. Simon had just started his earthquake, and Inori stumbled. The swords slashed into him, but to his surprise not a single cut formed on his skin. He grinned and was about to comment on her useless abilities when he was suddenly assaulted by a burning pain in his abdomen area. Looking down, he still saw no wound, but the pain was there, persistent, nagging, agonizing.
He doubled over, groaning, and Jade seized the opening. Unlocking her Innocence to the maximum of its potential, the punched the kid in the chest. Releasing her celestial blades from within his chest, she scrapped his heart and lungs, causing him even more intense pain. Though he wasn’t much damaged, the pain to his internals was more than most anyone could bear. Maybe even that pompous Rave would crawl with that kind of pain.
The thought made her smile, and then the ground shook again, more violently. A crack ran between them, widening into a chasm. Jade hopped away, distancing herself from Inori. The kid, still bent over, groaned and lifted his head to regard Jade. She, meanwhile, looked for a while to cross the chasm quickly enough to finish the kid off – her burns needed treating. She wondered how Rave was; those earthquakes surely weren’t a good sign to his health. If he failed to beat the other guy, she will be faced with two of them… and that would mean trouble.
Jade measured the width of the chasm, wondering if her wounded leg would allow her to jump across it. She burst into a run, and jumped. Normally, she’d make it – barely – but her wounded leg failed her in the last instant and she stumbled just a bit. Fortunately, she was saved. Her Innocence flared a bright blue, and a pair of gloves appeared on her hands. Elegant leather gloves, with a pair of diamonds inserted in each. A celestial blade appeared in her hand and she stuck it into the rock, grabbing on to it and running up then jumping into the ground, safe on the edge of the chasm. Inori, meanwhile, regained his stance, and though his face was gray and sweating, he managed to stand up and prepare another attack.
A serpentine line of crimson and orange flames whipped towards Jade, surrounding her, Inori smiled devilishly and spread his fingers slowly, intending to cast some sort of a sinister spell. Unluckily for him, Jade has had enough. With a single whipping motion, she sent another celestial waterblade at the kid, slamming it into his chest. His eyes bulged and he fell, coughing blood. The whip of fire vanished.
“You’re damn lucky my celestial blades can’t… kill yet,” said Jade, approaching him. He was a cute kid, only… misled. She disliked having nearly killed him – he was, after all, just a child who got powers and most likely feared them and everyone around him. She stroked his forehead with a gloved finger. At least she didn’t have to kill him – he wasn’t an Akuma, or a Noah.
Suddenly, the gem on his forehead glowed, responding to her Innocence. She stared as it detached itself from his forehead, and blended into her gloved hand. The blue sapphire on the back of her right hand changed color into a fiery red. She gaped at it, for a split second.
“So, you won, too?” Jade turned to see Rave walk towards her, with a self pleased expression.
“Tch. You probably killed that other kid, haven’t you?”
”So what if I did?” Rave’s tone enraged Jade, and despite her hurting leg and abdomen, she charged at him. For some reason he wasn’t quite as fast as she remembered, and her leg connected solidly with his chest. He grimaced in pain, but the cocky and smug expression appeared on his face a second later, and he stepped forward, planting a kiss on her cheek. “Ooh, I love a fast woman!” He said, only to meet another solid fist beneath his right side of the ribcage. He groaned this time, and Jade could’ve sword she felt bones crunching against her fist.
“What the… you’re hurt, real bad, you know that?” She stared at him as he straightened with a sigh.
“And you point is?”
“Well, I-“ whatever she wanted to say – which would have probably been followed with more slaps and punches, considering Rave’s personality – was cut short as both her gem and Rave’s right hand glowed simultaneously. They both stared as a red line extended from Jade’s hand, meeting a similar brown line shooting from Rave’s right fist. The lines collided and shot upwards, and a grand explosion of fire erupted above them, resolving into the likeness of a giant bird.
It spread its burning wings and looked at them with a magnificent head, adorned with three long feathers extending from the brow, like a crown. Then it spoke, with a booming, loud voice.
“Humans… who would take my powers for themselves? How ridiculous!”
Rave snickered. “Ya don’t say, you oversized parrot?”
“Parrot? You, a mere human, would mock me?”
Rave shrugged. “You’re one big fat chicken with a loudmouth, ya know that?”
Jade blanched. “Chicken? This is Suzaku, the guardian of the west! He rules of fire…”
Rave sighed. “How come I don’t get this amount of praise from ya? I want my ego boosted too!”
Suzaku sneered. “The human world is being tainted, it would seem… by filth like you, which would not pay the proper respects to a god! Face the wrath of Suzaku, I, guardian of the fiery west!” Suzaku lifted its foot and planted it on top of Rave, thinking to crush the human. To his shock, his talon was stopped. “What?”
“Sorry, parrot. But I like your kind either barbequed or in a cage, as someone to talk to.” Rave chuckled. “The lady here can go on “worshipping” ya, I’ll be sure to kick your sorry ass while she’s at it. Fried chicken for dinner, anyone?”
Jade shook her head, her hair flying. She forced herself up, and cracked her knuckles. “I was getting a little hungry.” Suzaku laughed.
“You pitiful humans think you are a match for ME?”
“Well, if you think you’re a match for ME, then show me! Let’s play!” Rave’s cocky response made Jade glare at him. Suzaku, though, opened his beak.
“Phoenix Fire!” A gout of flames rushed out, aimed at Rave and Jade. Rave dodged, rolling forward between Szuaku’s massive talons, but Jade seemed unaffected by the flames – as though the heat vanished around her. The fire was still there, but the heat wasn’t. Suzaku turned his attention to Rave, and with a single talon movement tossed the man away, making him cough blood. “With your power, you could never touch me!” It boasted, the heat around it rising. A few dry grass patches nearby burst into fire.
“Oh yeah?” Rave ran forward, and jumped above another Phoenix Fire blast, then threw his sword forward and grabbed it, thinking to use the same trick he used before on Simon. He missed, his eyesight blurring because of the pain. Desperately he reached with his right hand… and to his absolute shock, he felt as though he was being forcefully pulled towards his sword. As though he grabbed it and pulled towards it. But it didn’t make any sense; the sword embedded itself in Suzaku’s left wing, not causing any damage, barely even scraping through the feathers. He shouldn’t have been able to reach it… Ignoring it for the moment though, he focused on the searing heat. Suzaku’s body emitted it around it, as though shielding it from harm. Gritting his teeth and hearing his hair crumble and burn; he extended his arm and grabbed something just as Suzaku gently opened its wing. The motion sent Rave flying away.
He landed on his back, the hit knocking the breath out of his body. Then, he stood up. “Ready to eat your words, parrot?” he asked, and opened his right hand. A few burning feathers fell to the ground, burning to ash before the even hit the ground. Suzaku glared and opened his mouth, shooting out another gout of flames. Rave, barely standing by that point, had no chance of dodging, so he steeled himself to get severely burned.
To his surprise, the flames didn’t burn. He lifted his eyes and saw Jade standing over him, wielding a pole of sorts. No, not a pole… a closer look showed him it was a halberd, the ending adorned with a dragon’s head, and from the mouth, a blade sprouted, shaped roughly like a straight flame Each end of the pole had a similar dragon head, but each turned another way, so that the halberd resembled a “~”. Jade grinned arrogantly at him and twirled her weapon.
From the center, reddish waves shot to each end, and as she swung the halberd, fireballs shot out. Each hit send fiery shockwaves around, but none reached Suzaku’s physical body.
“Foolish woman, you would use fire against the guardian of fire?” Jade lifted an eyebrow.
“Who told you I was trying to hit you, chicken?” Rave looked closer at Suzaku. The heat haze that surrounded its body was dissipating… vanishing. “My powers are less oriented towards actual fire and more towards… heat.” Slamming the halberd into the ground, she focused, and Rave felt the ground losing heat quickly, becoming cold as ice. Suzaku spread his wings and waved them several times, causing powerful gusts of wind. It then rose up, flying upwards into the sky.
“You think you can defeat me by making the place a little cold? You’re-“
“That’s EXACTLY what I think,” said Rave, and with a slight smile ran forward, extending his hand. A large replica of his right hand appeared from nowhere, grabbing Suzaku’s shoulder. Rave pulled himself forward and kicked Zenryu down, so the blade rushed through the giant wing. While it did not slice it off, it surely wounded Suzaku.
“Damned little-“
“We ain’t done yet, parrot!” Rave jumped off, fell through the air for a short time and then extended his newfound magical hand to grab Suzaku’s talon and land safely, grabbing Zenryu with his left hand. Jade and he began walking towards the giant phoenix, who took in a giant breath, ready to burn the two humans away. He wasn’t ready for their next move.
They ran forward, and both jumped simultaneously up, stabbing the talon. Rave extended his arm, grabbed Suzaku’s lower feathers and pulled up. Just as he reached the bottom of Suzaku’s wounded wing, he stabbed Zenryu into it and extended his arm down, grabbing Jade. He pulled her up, and she ran upwards, holding his hand the whole time. Once she was a few feet higher, she stabbed the halberd into the feathery flesh. Suzaku moved, but he was far too slow. Rave ran up, grabbed Jade’s halberd and forcibly tossed them up. When she was on a level with Suzaku’s face, it opened its mouth and fired its attack, but it was useless. The heat did not touch Jade, and she threw the halberd into Suzaku’s head. It stuck into its eyes, bloodying it up.
But they were far from finished. Rave grabbed on and lifted himself up, grabbed Jade’s halberd and somersaulted up, then made a first and lifted his hand.
“You… think… you’ve beaten me? You little piece of!”
”That’s exactly what I think!” Rave giant fist slammed into Suzaku’s head, sending him flying backwards. Instantly, Rave released his Innocence and created a form of a cushion beneath their feet, so they descended slowly to the ground.
“Excellent job,” said Jade, looking at the downed bird.
“Hold that thought babe, while I slip into something more comfortable, like shock…” Rave crumbled to the ground.
”Hey, you ok there?” Jade put a hand on his shoulder.
“No more for me, thanks,” drawled Rave, “I’m drivin’!”
“He’s lost it.” Jade shook her black-haired head. Suddenly, the ground shook and Suzaku rose up into the air, wings spread. “Ah, shit.”
“You pathetic humans! You think you have the power needed to destroy me?” But then Suzaku stopped, and seemed to stare off into the distance. “On second thought… frying you here would be boring…” It landed, shaking the ground again. “So I will let you live… for now.”
Rave rubbed his head. “Now we’re spared by a parrot. Gee, awesome.” Jade smacked him on the head. Slowly, Rave picked himself up.
“By the way…” Jade extended her hand outward and an explosion resounded nearby as an Akuma blew up. “Looks like… we’re going to be busy for a while.” Rave grinned.
“All right! This is what I live for! This is where real excitement is! And I’m… absolutely crazy about it!” In the distance, the skies blackened, as hundreds of level 1s appeared.
”How shameful, to find alongside humans!” Suzaku breathed in, preparing another attack.
“Yeah, my sentiments exactly. I kinda feel ashamed I’m fighting along side a talking chicken.”
“Maybe if you both male morons shut up, we can focus on kicking ass!”
((Jade deserves the maximum amount of EXP from this arc, because she's behind most of the ideas here. Also, the powers will be up shortly :3))
vBulletin® v3.7.3, Copyright ©2000-2008, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.