[BitP:R] Mortal World 2

[Kayne650]

Mayumi gasped as the creature suddenly appeared in front of her. She'd fought many Hollows in her time, but none as fast as this one. As its hand grabbed her bow, her mind started racing. The situation was bad for her. Close combat was not her forte, but if she escaped it was possible that the beast would chase after Michiko and the stranger. Mayumi had promised their safety, and she intended to see it through.

As soon as the beast started pushing, Mayumi dispelled her bow, destroying the beast's hold. She used the monster's temporary loss of balance to slip her wrist out of its hold, twisting out of the way of its punch. She then carefully slipped off of the roof, shooting herself off of the wall with Hirenkyaku, bouncing between the buildings to reappear on a rooftop several yards away from Elder. The beast was right; she had hesitated. It had been months since her last good fight with a Hollow and she had gotten rusty. Not only that, but this one was obviously much stronger than most Hollow.

"My worst nightmare? Please. You've never met my grandmother."

"No, beast. I am the one who fights beasts such as you. And you are just one more monster to defeat." As she spoke, she fired off one arrow. As most Quincies had the ability to fire off hundreds of arrows instantaneously, one didn't seem so bad. But this one arrow, directed right at Elder's left eye, had more power in it than most Hado. It would punch straight through Elder with power to spare.

[Frozen_Feet]

The beast isn't fooled for long. Almost instantly after her escape, it's back on Mayumi's heels, covering the distance between them via inhumanly long strides. The moment it sees her remanifest her bow, it throws its left hand forward, flinging a ball of grey energy in another attempt to destroy the bow's focus.

The blast meets the empowered arrow halfway - it isn't enough to destroy it, just to veer it slightly off-course. The beast's eyes widen as it twists out of the way, the gleaming bolt severing its arm.

But its fear is just a distraction, for at the same moment, it snaps its right hand forwards, throwing another grey orb towards Mayumi's right knee with all the speed and force of a bullet.

[Kuroimaken]

The gray sphere disappears shortly before it would reach its target. The moonlight seems to give way, as though blocked by a cloud.

Only there was no such thing as a cloud shaped like a gigantic invisible hand. It swung at Elder with impressive force - whether it would strike or not made little difference.

"What am I to tell that girl if you perish?"

The voice was clearly Hakusai's.

"This creature is far too strong for either of us to fight on our own. We'll only stand a chance if we combine our strength."

Hakusai crossed his arms over his chest, then shot them open. Seven bolts of "shadow" formed almost instantly, and sped over towards Elder. But theirs was not a straight trajectory. Instead, they twisted, turned, bent and curved. Their target was clear, but that did not mean he would make it any easier for the beast to dodge.

[Kayne650]

The grey sphere is destroyed just as Mayumi releases an arrow to counter it. She looks up and sees the stranger, feeling that his entrance was a little over-dramatic but well-timed.

"I was far from dying, sir. I appreciate the assistance though, and I agree; this beast is far stronger than I expected. Is the girl safe?"

She vanished and reappears outside of Elder's range, her attacks seemingly over. "Beast!" She calls out. She's fully aware that this monster will dodge the stranger's assault, and this conflict needs to end. "You seem far more reasonable than your brethren. I propose a temporary end to this. With the girl safe, I have no immediate quarrel with you. What you have done is done, and I can't stop that. But know this: should you attempt to harm another, I will be there. I will stop you." Her dark eyes seem to flash as she speaks, showing the truth behind the stark meaning of her words.

((OOC))

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Realized that I completely misused the word belying.

[KnightDisciple]

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Houheiden Shrine
Exterior

Nakahiro nods and quietly steps forward.

"I haven't gone yet."

Taking a few steps more away from the group, Nakahiro turns back to face the assembled crowd. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath in, then gently releases it. Holding his arms a bit out from his sides, his brow furrows momentarily in concentration before a white aura manifests around his body. He opens his eyes.

"This is my power. It isn't particularly easy to describe, but I'll do my best. Basically, I can empower any object I touch."

He tugs at one of his sleeves.

"What happens depends on the object. My clothes become armor."

He blinks a few feet to his left.

"My shoes let me do that."

He taps his glasses.

"My glasses let me analyze the spiritual energy of anything I'm looking at. My umbrella...can do several things, but they are all destructive. I'll refrain from demonstrating."

He shrugs.

"Any questions?"

Houheiden Shrine

Kaito stood there thoughtfully for several moments.

"What about objects besides your umbrella? What about a small rock?"

Oh look, there's one floating in midair right next to him, at easy grabbing height.

"What if you take it, "charge" it, and toss it in the air?"

He seems scientifically curious, nothing more. So many interesting abilities! Maybe he needs to go home and write down some theories...

[Dorizzit]

Houheiden Shrine
Exterior

Nakahiro grabs the rock out of the air and spins it around on his finger for several seconds. The aura around his body washes over the rock, just as it did for his umbrella and his other possessions. Finally, he halts it between his thumb and forefinger and flicks it several feet into the air. The aura leaves it the second Nakahiro stops touching the rock.

"No dice. It only works if I'm in direct physical contact with the object. Also, I forgot to mention-"

Nakahiro snatches the rock out of the air and shatters it in his fist.

"My speed, strength, and other physical attributes are enhanced while I've got this going."

[Kuroimaken]

The grey sphere is destroyed just as Mayumi releases an arrow to counter it. She looks up and sees the stranger, feeling that his entrance was a little over-dramatic but well-timed.

"I was far from dying, sir. I appreciate the assistance though, and I agree; this beast is far stronger than I expected. Is the girl safe?"

She vanished and reappears outside of Elder's range, her attacks seemingly over. "Beast!" She calls out. She's fully aware that this monster will dodge the stranger's assault, and this conflict needs to end. "You seem far more reasonable than your brethren. I propose a temporary end to this. With the girl safe, I have no immediate quarrel with you. What you have done is done, and I can't stop that. But know this: should you attempt to harm another, I will be there. I will stop you." Her dark eyes seem to flash as she speaks, belying the stark meaning of her words.

"But you weren't making good on your escape either."

[Kayne650]

"That would be because I had to make sure that you two were safe." Mayumi retorted. "I couldn't very well leave and allow it to follow you, now could I?" Hakusai might notice that her right arm is sitting a little oddly. It hadn't quite healed right.

[Kuroimaken]

"Not the best time for discussion. Do you have a plan in case this creature doesn't take you up on your offer?"

[Kayne650]

"Not at the moment, but I'm working on it. It seems to be capable of regenerating any damage done to it, but if what I know is correct, then it can't regenerate forever. With the two of us together, I'm hoping that we can at least make it retreat." Mayumi looked worried as she spoke. This beast had rattled her, but her expression wasn't entirely upset. Part of her looked...happy? As if she were excited to find a Hollow that could actually potentially beat her.

[Frozen_Feet]

The beast instincitvely lifts its arm to block the invisible hand - it weathers the blow remarkably well, though the delay allows Mayumi to regain distance. "Back already?", the creature remarks with mild amusement in its voice when Hakusai makes his "triumphant" return. "My, you must think me slow if you feel the girl is far enough to be safe - not that it matter, she's of no concern to me now..." It stands still for a split second, appraising the oncoming shadows - then it disappears in a silvery flash, the bolts being blown off-course. It reappears in the air some distance to Mayumi's left, so it can fit both her and the masked man in its vision.

If Mayumi's been paying attention, she should know it could cover the distance in one leap...

"Oh, now you're willing to bury your grudge and let me go? Need I remind you we're only fighting because certain someone has itchy trigger finger?" It points an accusing finger at Hakusui. "You know, you don't need to shoot a lady to "distract" her - complimenting her looks is enough."

The situation is odd, to speak the least. Hmmm. Who is that man? It doesn't look like these two are prior acquitances. Still, he's nothing more than a distraction - he might command great power for a mortal, but as far as the beast's concerned, he's slow as a snail.

The Quincy is the real trouble.

"Still, you make a tempting offer. I'd very much like to take it. However, you Quincy tend to be a tweeny bit over-zealous when it comes to slaying my kin." It turns the pointing finger at Mayumi. "I don't want to hurt you, I really don't, but I also can't have you barging in while I'm at work, or sleeping. I trust you understand."

[Kayne650]

"We are only fighting because I wanted to ensure the girl's safety and I couldn't trust you to leave her alone." Mayumi retorted, bow raised and string pulled back. She was ready, but this was bad. The monster had rejected her offer of temporary peace, such as it was, and had given an excellent reason for doing so, assuming that Mayumi was a homicidal maniac. And, considering who the two of them were, it was a fair assumption for both of them that one would kill the other, given half a chance. As a result, neither could back down. "I suppose that I can understand, beast. I cannot trust you to leave me alone, and you cannot trust me to leave you alone. This can't end any other way, can it?

But suddenly, Mayumi realized something. The beast had placed itself right where it could reach either of them in the blink of an eye. She quickly turned to the stranger.

"You have to get out of here, now!" She suddenly shouted across the distance. "You're too close to the beast! It can cross this distance easily, you need to protect yourself!" With his odd powers and his distinct reiatsu, he could only be a human. As such, he wouldn't be capable of the kind of rapid movement that would allow him to keep up with the beast, meaning that if it caught him...

She turned back to Elder, bow raised in preparation for its inevitable attack.

[Frozen_Feet]

She turns back in time to see the beast duck under her aim, and then it smashes against her shoulder first, long hands reaching to wrap around her midriff and lock her arms in place as momentum carries them forward. "Awww, how sweet of you to warn him", it says, "but shouldn't you worry more about yourself?"

[Kuroimaken]

Elder underestimated Hakusai at its own peril.

"I'm going to need you to trust me. Can you do that?"

Hakusai understood little of what was going on, but one thing was clear. Elder had killed someone in cold blood, and he could not let that go.

Despite his relative lack of experience fighting Hollows, the Ghost Mask was no stranger to battle tactics. His inventiveness had served him well thus far, and would not soon cease. But first he had to change his enemy's perception of him.

In a flash, he seemed to disappear, covering the distance between himself and Elder. His outline was a blur of "shadow", as his hands both held what looked like swords of pure light. He slashed at Elder in a cross-shaped pattern with a speed that seemed very unlike what he had displayed so far.

[Kayne650]

Mayumi barely had time to gasp before Elder slammed into her. She squirmed in Elder's grasp, struggling against the monster's grip. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the stranger vanish, hopefully to reappear and strike the creature. But Mayumi had to give him an opening.

Her arms were pinned, but her legs were free. Kicking her left heel, she activated a spring mechanism in her boot, sending a Seele Schneider rocketing up to seemingly hit her in the face, until she caught it in her teeth, activating the blade with a flare of reiryoku and stabbing it into Elders arm, hopefully distracting it enough for the stranger's attack to connect.

It was a stupid gamble, but she didn't have much right now.

[KnightDisciple]

Houheiden Shrine
Exterior

Nakahiro grabs the rock out of the air and spins it around on his finger for several seconds. The aura around his body washes over the rock, just as it did for his umbrella and his other possessions. Finally, he halts it between his thumb and forefinger and flicks it several feet into the air. The aura leaves it the second Nakahiro stops touching the rock.

"No dice. It only works if I'm in direct physical contact with the object. Also, I forgot to mention-"

Nakahiro snatches the rock out of the air and shatters it in his fist.

"My speed, strength, and other physical attributes are enhanced while I've got this going."

Houheiden Shrine

"Fascinating. It's like your body is a superconductor for this energy, and can conduct it into items on your person. But if they leave your person, the "circuit" is broken, and they are rendered mundane again.

I also wonder how your physical attributes boost matches up to Ken's...Yes, I think the coming days should hold a fair amount of practice and experimentation for us. The sooner we discover the full range and limit of our powers, the better."

[Dorizzit]

[Houheiden Shrine]
Exterior

Nakahiro holds a hand up.

"Physically, Ken should have a big advantage on me. I already checked everyone's power level; mine is approximately equal to his, but his is totally focused on his physical upgrades. Most of mine is latent at any given second."

He gives a crooked half-smile.

"I'm game for some experimenting, though. Probably somewhere that isn't highly populated."

He rubs his left shoulder unconsciously as he says this.

[Callos_DeTerran]

Michiko

All of it just seemed to happen too fast, no sooner had she grabbed hold of Soshi's body then she'd been...flown away from that creature.

No, no, no! I can't just let it end like this! Soshi deserves to have his killer brought to justice, at the very least! I can't just...flee!

However it didn't seem like she had much of a choice in the matter either, before she could get a word out edgewise the guy who had shown up had dumped her and Soshi on the ground then headed back to help out that weird teacher. In moments she had been left alone with the...body and she struggled with herself about what she should do. Rushing back to avenge her subordinate was fool-hardy, at best, but it's what her heart was telling her to do. Her mind told her to cut her losses and save retribution for another day, when she had a plan in mind.

In the end, logic won out over desire and, while she could still hear the fight not so far away...she gathered up Soshi's body in her arms and ran out towards the road and safety. Part of her still didn't want to believe that he was dead, that she should go find the physician that had treated Soshi's minor injuries from his previous encounter with that...'woman'. First she'd get to somewhere safe though, then decide on her next course of action...

[Kasanip]

Sayaka and Haruaki
[Houheiden Shrine]

Sayaka looked thoughtful at Nakahiro's power.
"Some of it seems a little similar to what we do with our energy." She said, thinking of her talismans. Haruaki nodded.

"Yes, though it seems you have learned to control it rather quickly. A useful ability. Certainly as Watanabe kun has said, you are all welcome to practice here later, since it is far from other people. There will be no distractions or interruptions. I would be happy to prepare a barrier with Sayaka that will let you practice in perfect conditions. Ah, but it is getting late."

The afternoon chime song echoed in the mountains nearby. For a minute it was silent except for the birds and insects.

"Well, it must be close to dinnertime. I'm sure your parents will be worried about you." Haruaki said with a content smile. "If you don't have any more questions or requests, perhaps we will pause our discussion here for now."

Sayaka's awkward look at Ken was hidden quickly. She looked at the monster cat instead.

[Frozen_Feet]

[Warehouse district]

Mayumi's squirming is relatively futile - the arms around her might as well be shackles of steel. Her gambit is unexpected, though, and the beast lets out a pained, angry hiss. As a response, it tightens its hold with its uninjured arm, squeezing Mayumi's breath out of her. She can feel her own ribs bending under the pressure.

It lets go with its injured arm, bending it so that the glowing blade rips itself out of its flesh. Then, as the wound begins to close, it reaches to wrench the handle from between Mayumi's teeth so it can throw the weapon away.

The action ties its attention enough that it doesn't notice Hakusui's sudden show of speed early enough to dodge properly. The blades strike its back, leaving behind deep, crossing gouges. The beast's eyes narrow and it yells from pain, black blood running down its spine.

Unfortunately, it's not enough to make it let go. Before Hakusui can strike again, it digs its claws into thin air and sprints forward. Mayumi can feel its knees strike against her own legs at it runs across the sky with amazing speed, leaping and bouncing in a zig-zagging pattern to throw Hakusai off. He probably sees little more than a white blur rapidly gathering distance from himself.

One more thing happens as well. Mayumi can feel something could and wet seep against her skin. The air around the beast is slowly being filled with something that feels like muddy water. Soon, it engulfs her completely - her lungs are drawing in no less air than before, but it's hard to avoid feeling like drowning...

[Kuroimaken]

Despite the Ghost Mask's best efforts, he's unable to track Mayumi and Elder on his own. Despite what his attack would lead Elder to believe, he's simply not that fast. It doesn't take long for him to realize he won't be able to catch up. His fingertip goes up into his helmet as he activates a communication device.

"Haru. Have the others look for a tall, humanoid form Hollow, moving extremely fast northwest of my current position. Tell them to be careful on their approach and relay the location to me as soon as they find it. Hollow in question is likely to be holding a tall, black-haired woman with a longbow."

Having said that, Hakusai decided to turn his attention to Michiko. She'd been running long enough that she was not within his "visual" range anymore, though he had a fair idea where she might be headed.

"Also, keep your eyes open for Michiko Inagawa-Kai. She's probably carrying around a dead boy about her age. Shouldn't be hard to spot."

[Kayne650]

Mayumi redoubled her struggle when the beast let one arm go, but found the monster's grip simply too strong. Mayumi was fast, but she lacked strength. She sent up a quick prayer, promising that if she escaped this encounter alive she would do push-ups daily for the rest of her life.

Mayumi attempts to hold onto the Seele Schneider, getting another blow onto the creature's hand before it wrenches the blade from her mouth. She glares at it as the beast throws away yet another Seele Schneider. Thankfully, she had a small store of them, but losing two of the powerful weapons without using either properly chafed at Mayumi.

As the beast runs off with her, Mayumi feels the watery sensation cover her body. Was this the creature's reiatsu? It felt like she was drowning in a filthy lake, though the air was just as clear as before. Her power was amazing, but Mayumi refused to lose to the beast. Thankfully, she was surrounded by reiatsu, and absorbing that was a Quincy's specialty. She flared out what little reiatsu she had left, converting a portion of the beast's energy's to her own. She knew that she wouldn't be able to escape the beast's grip, but she'd be ready as soon as it stopped. As she drew in the monster's reiatsu, she began to plan.

She would be ready,

[Prime32]

[Houheiden Shrine]

Ayase stares dimly at Nakahiro. Everyone has such cool powers... She feels excited, but also slightly disappointed.

Sayaka's awkward look at Ken was hidden quickly. She looked at the monster cat instead.

She shudders slightly. What was that chill? Oh, wait! Dad's almost home!

She springs to her feet, turning to face the kannushi and miko. "Kondo-sensei, Kondo-sensei, thank you very much for your help." Her head bobs up and down as she quickly bows to each. "I have to go now." She starts for the exit.

[Frozen_Feet]

[Sky]

It seems the beasts regeneration has slowed, because Mayumi can now clearly see how its arm knits itself back together, piece by piece. After a good while of running, their journey suddenly becomes much more uneven, and Mayumi might notice the buildings and roads below them start to shrink in her view. The beast isn't simply going forward anymore, it's rising upwards as if running up a steep staircase.

Cold winds howls around the two as they leave Phoenix Town far, far behind. The beast shifts Mayumi slightly upward in its hold, pressing her tightly against its chest, so their legs don't clash constantly. To anyone looking from the ground, they're just a tiny white speck on the sky now.

Then they puncture a layer of clouds - it's hard to say how long they've ran, but the sun is getting redder and slowly descending towards the horizon. The bubble of water around the beast falls apart and rains down in large drops, mixed with the last drops of blood from the beast's back. Mayumi can now feel the air around like she should, but it also brings it the heightened sensation that the air is getting a bit thin to breathe.

"It's so beautiful, isn't it?", the beast suddenly asks. "The city, I mean. It looks so small from here. It looks like you could just reach down and pick it all up with your hands." It turns Mayumi around in its lap, so they're now looking at the same direction. Sure enough, there's a town looming far below them - but the twisting roads, parks and buildings are not recognizable as Phoenix town. Maybe it's some other small settlement?

"Have you ever been this high before? Outside on your own, with nothing but your own spirit holding you up? Isn't this the perfect lookout? Try it - you can feel the whole city from here if you want to, each little person going about their lives, ignorant of what's happening up here... exhilarating, no?"

[Kayne650]

Mayumi feels the momentum of their passage pressing her against the monster, preventing her from acting out against this little trip. As they break through the clouds, Mayumi feels the beast's grip loosen as she is turned around to view the town beneath. Wait, what? Her assumption was that the beast had brought her out to have a private duel, not sightseeing! What was the monster doing?

But as she looked out over the town, she couldn't help but feel a sense of wonder at the signs of life beneath her. Perhaps it was just a symptom of the lightheadedness from the lack of oxygen, but she couldn't understand what the creature was trying to accomplish by this. It was trying to make her see something, to notice something.

She craned her neck around to see the monster holding her in the sky. "It is beautiful. But I don't see what your intent is by doing this. I've seen such sights before, and I appreciate the wonder evident in them. But I can't understand why you are showing me these things."

"Why are you doing this? Who are you? I don't think that you intend to kill me, or you would have done so already. You have me practically helpless. What is the purpose in bringing me here?"

[nothingclever]

Noticing that Heart Angel was beginning to depart, Ken called out to her and waved. "It was nice to meet you again! I look forward to fighting evil together with you in the future!" he said cheerily. He then returned his attention to Kina. "It was nice to see you again too. I was worried about how you'd feel after what happened yesterday, but you seem to be taking things pretty well."

[tgva8889]

Kina Yoshimoto - Houheiden Shrine

As Ayase leaves, Kina waves to Ayase as she leaves, assuming she turns to look in Ken's direction. Kina wears a nice smile, genuine and bright. "Bye! Don't...Um, see you tomorrow!"

When Ken turns to her, Kina looks back at him. "Oh. I'm...I'm fine. Really, you don't have to worry about it. It's...um, I'm okay. I just...hid in the closet. Um...stayed safe and all." Her smile fades a bit but it comes back quickly. Slowly, her hand gravitates to her shoulder once more. "Did...did you, um, have your abilities...for a long time?" Kina turns a way a bit as she begins to ask her question.

[nothingclever]

"I think I've had them for a long time. I wouldn't be surprised if I've had them for most of my life. I can't say for certain when I first got them because I didn't wake up one day suddenly being much stronger than I used to. I've always been very healthy and in good shape. My body gradually got stronger until I realized there was no way I was normal." He paused for a moment. "I'm not sure when I first started seeing spirits. I've felt unusual sensations for years, but I've only started seeing hollows a few months ago." He paused once more before inquiring curiously, "Mind if I ask why you said you'd see her tomorrow? Did you two have something planned?"

[Frozen_Feet]

[Sky]

"Hmmm? What's this? Is my lunch speaking?", the beast replies jokingly. It keeps squeezing Mayumi hard enough that she still can't escape, but allowing her to breathe easily. "Can't I just stop to admire the scenery? Must you ascribe an ulterior motive to everything?" Its narrowed eyes turn to glance sideways at Mayumi. Its mouth is forever fixed in skeletal grin, but right now, she could swear its smiling.

"Granted, I do have one. That is the world you protect, right?" It turns to look at the distant city and nods toward it. "You're an archer - you should've known, back there on the roof, that coming to fight so close would give all advantage to me. Oh, I know you were afraid for that girl's safety, but ask yourself: if I'd really wanted harm to her, would you have been fast enough to stop me? Wouldn't it been better if you'd just put an arrow through my skull from the shadows? Why waste fair play on a Hollow?"

A hint of threat enters the beast's voice as it murmurs to Mayumi's ear. "Even if I had killed the girl, think what would've happened if I'd killed you! That town of yours would be without its precious guardian now, and I'd be free to do whatever I wanted! Really, healthy selflesness is nothing but admirable, but like with everything, too much is too much."

[Kayne650]

Mayumi can tell somewhat that the beast is joking, but still feels a chill run down her spine when it calls her its lunch. She crosses her arms in front of her to prop herself up on the monster's hands.

"So, this is what you wanted to show me? That I was a fool for fighting you the way that I did, and that the world is a place that deserves to be protected? An odd sentiment from a hollow, but one that I can respect." She sighs, and continues talking. "I know full well that my decision to fight you at close range was a poor one. I also knew that if you had decided to follow the girl, I couldn't have stopped you. Therefore, my best option was to present myself as a better target than the girl. A more interesting fight."

"As you well know, it rather backfired on me. I know that my responsibility is to more than just a single human, no matter who it is. You sound like my grandmother when you say that. But I also know that, if I cannot save the lives of those in front of me, then I have no hope of saving the lives of humanity at large. What is a single human life but a representation of the whole? Such thought is what kept me from running from you, and what has saved many a life in the past." Including mine, she thought to herself.

Mayumi was interested in keeping the monster talking. It seemed significantly more intelligent than its brethren, and in its nearly-limitless lifetime, who knew what knowledge it had obtained? That didn't mean that she wasn't ready, though. She currently had three different plans for escape, and none of them showed on her face.

"But you still haven't answered my question, Mayumi reminded the monster holding her. "Who are you? It isn't the ordinary Hollow who will speak to its prey at length about the philosophy of self-sacrifice, much less while enjoying a birds-eye view.