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Post by Kuma on Jul 10, 2018 4:11:08 GMT
T̴̨̓h̵̩̐e̷̖͑ ̶̛̪B̵̳͑l̸̳̾a̷̡̒d̷̝̀ê̶̡ ̶̨͌ò̵̺f̴̯̀ ̶̠̾S̴̩̃ǒ̸͈r̶͍͋r̴̜̔ǒ̴̹w̸̫̓'̶̠̽s̵͙̚ ̶̗͛m̵̪͝ą̴̔r̴͋͜k̵̤̀ ̸͈̓i̸̫̓s̷̲͌ ̶̳͊ô̴̜n̷̰̾ ̴͕̀t̸̯̉h̴̘̽ḛ̷͝m̶̳̀.̵̹̕.̵͖̈́.̵̎͜ ̶͙́
Chambara replied to her question as she left, rushing forward to meet Callis. As Akane left the Spice Rack group slowly de-powered their unique skills. Crevil just covered himself on his coat again, but even with that, he couldn’t avoid displaying his cold metallic exterior to the world. Paprika just dropped the handle of the blade into the screen of the gaming device, that sucked it right in. Ginger slowly floated down, changing mid-air, with her body painful shifting back into a human form, with the scales, horns, claws and long mane forcibly returning into her body, being compressed inside, as is it was footage from a play-doh string maker watched in reverse. She landed on one knee, panting with short and painful breathing and coughing. The Chinese Huntress stood up rubbing the bridge of her nose as if she was suffering from a head-splitting headache and glared in Akane’s direction. -Who the hell she thinks she is to order us around?- She whispered, with horrible mental images of her rending Akane’s face in two with her claws slowly sipping from her subconscious to her thoughts.
Akane didn’t take long to reach Callis location. The Beast Knight was calmly whistling as he was setting the cords in a small luxury sailboat. For the first time in a long while he found a vehicle he actually knew how to pilot, so he couldn’t avoid picking it from among the other boats. It also had the advantage of being larger and having more capacity to get any survivors trapped in the island. He seemed almost like a different person, not bound by formality and protocol. He had taken off his long jacket, revealing a sleeveless sports red shirt. His arms were crossed by a myriad of scars, swords, axes, claws, spikes, spears, arrows, bullets, he had it all. He also took off his heavy leather gloves revealing his hands, slightly larger than a mundane human, with sharp claws and hair on the back of his hands, extending up to his elbows. He seemed happy and relaxed, not noticing Akane’s arrival, partly because he was so focused by the task at hand and partly because of the great amount of seawater blocking his keen sense of smell.
Crevil, Paprika, and Ginger decided to follow Chambara, who walked with a slow and steady pace following Akane’s trail.
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Post by othus on Jul 10, 2018 23:43:39 GMT
Akane finally caught up to Callis, she was worried for him but the moment she saw him whistling near the sailboat the feeling immediately changed to frustration.
"You know, part of doing recon includes reporting regularly to the rest of the team, you could have let us know you had already found transport"
Akane looked at Callis' hands somewhat surprised, she couldn't help but wonder if he was some kind of mixed breed. she tried to ignore the fact that he was also scarred everywhere. Akane was a purist, working with half monsters never gave her a good feeling, but if she managed to tolerate the shattered one working with Callis would be a walk in the park, he had a stronger feel as a warrior and was a lot more likable despite his cold attitude. perhaps her opinion had shifted with time?
"Anyway, we got attacked by a group of tachijin, it seems the creature is in possession of a cursed blade and has managed to kill many of the locals, what will be our next move?"
She kept looking at the warrior, still wondering why he had to mask his real attitude whenever he spoke with her. being overly formal also had its downsides.
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Post by Kuma on Jul 11, 2018 4:35:05 GMT
Callis stop dead on his track upon hearing the voice of Akane behind his back. The Beast Knight froze up as she spoke, chastising him, he slowly forced his body to turn around while peeking up his jacket. Then he noticed her gaze upon his hands and without even saying anything he started to clumsily put his gloves on, failing a couple of times until he got it right. He was clearly flustered, as he got too entranced on the task at hand to realize what happened. When she added the fact they were attacked while he was whistling and setting up the cords for the sails. At the end of her rant, he was even more confused.
-Tachijin?- He asked. -C-cursed blade?- Callis looked down, his face heavily flushed, turning red. He slowly walked off the boat, quite shocked by the situation. -I can’t excuse my behavior, you were right, I should’ve contacted you earlier.- He spoke with the same diplomatic tone, reverting from his more carefree attitude moments ago. -I’m immensely sorry for this situation Messa Musashi, I hope nobody was injured.- The Beast Knight did a deep bow, really ashamed of what happened. -I beg for your forgiveness.- He asked hanging, lowering to one knee. As he did, the rest of the group were walking down the road, reaching them.
Ginger looked at the scene with fire on her eyes, gritting her teeth from side to side and twisting her sports jacket edge compulsively. In her mind she was screaming “I SAW HIM FIRST YOU BITCH” but she contained herself, knowing that the mission was first, then there would be time to tell that stuck up samurai cunt what was what. Crevil waved at Akane and Callis, who got even more confused upon seeing the scratch marks and the metallic exoskeleton that replaced the Russian Hunter skin. Everybody seemed to be more wary of their surroundings and were clearly just involved in an intense physical activity. He turned to them, walking slowly, his eyes glued to the floor.
-I’m sorry I couldn’t help in the struggle you just suffered, I’ll try to avoid making the same mistake again.- Once again he bowed. -I prepared a boat for us to travel towards the next island, yet I question if that’s the best course of action, considering the enemy is already arriving here.- He turned around, slowly recovering a bit of the poise and majesty he had before and asked Akane. -Messa Musashi, what do you think, should we fortify this coast or sail south to find the foe?- He caressed his chin, deep in thought. -Waiting here would allow us some time to prepare and let us determine the conditions of engagement.- He pointed at the island to the south, visible from their position. -Sailing would mean entering its area of influence but maybe it could allow us to close up this situation sooner.-
He turned to everybody. -What does everybody think about this?- Callis never was a leader who imposed orders, he learned that leading through an informed consensus usually was the better way to do it. If he heard their opinions he could tailor a plan that would be effective and try to get ideas from everybody, while just issuing orders without explanations would bring disharmony to the group. Truth to be told Callis originally was more authoritarian when he was placed as a General during the Unda Wars back in Centris, but his mixed heritage and unorthodox strategic ideas sometimes got in the nerves of his men. It took a lot for him to change his ways, as this mentality was set on his mind as he was mimicking his cousin’s way of leadership, but after meeting people from other nations he learned new tricks and added them to his strategic leadership.
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Post by othus on Jul 11, 2018 5:34:46 GMT
It would seem Callis loved to make things even more difficult for Akane, she immediately noticed the oozing killing intent of Ginger, which judging by the amount of it perhaps implied those two already had something after all. Akane immediately tried to diffuse the situation.
"G-get up already! it's not like someone got injured or whatever, just pay more attention next time okay? look, your girlfriend could have gotten hurt" she said as she pointed towards Ginger
Akane really believed it would be for the best to show her she really didn't want to compete with her, even if she liked the beast warrior, there were some things about him that would drive her nuts, his cluelessness being definitely one of them, and besides, her father would punish her for not choosing a Japanese man, and she would rather get stabbed over a single spank from her father, as that would be a lot less painful. Akane was fine, there were plenty of strong men in Japan, now if only one of those would actually have the guts to ask her out...Shin was acceptable, but contacting the JHWAB and then requesting to see him for anything other than formal business would be crazy, but what if he thinks the same about contacting her clan? It is the duty of the man anyway right? he should man up! ahh, the whole thing was ridiculous...
Akane finally stopped her rambling as Callis addressed her, it would seem he wanted everyone to discuss an approach.
"I...am fine either way Nomene-san, fortifying us here will allow me to mentally prepare for the battle (without rambling this time), in any case, I will let the rest of your group decide."
Akane looked at Ginger for a moment as she then proceeded to give her a blatant thumbs up as she slightly nodded, her face was expressionless but that should be enough for her to tell she gave them both her blessing. to a beast like her, Callis was surely the ultimate catch, so she understood her desperation.
Akane daydreamed once again as she wondered what kind of Lycan-chimera would come out if those two had children, perhaps a cute one for a change?
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Post by Kuma on Jul 12, 2018 5:24:35 GMT
Upon hearing Akane’s words Callis started remembering everything she said and finally his head, that kept pushing the moment out from his conscious mind couldn’t hold it any longer, letting the Beast Knight suffer through the flashback. “ your girlfriend could have gotten hurt… your girlfriend could have gotten hurt… your girlfriend could have gotten hurt…” The words of Akane echoed inside Callis mind like most flashbacks do. And he froze up, he tensed up while Akane waited for his answer about the tactical conundrum. The Beast-Knight.exe stopped working, Callis becoming the physical incarnation of the Error 404, a living breathing human suffering a BSOD. As the Beast Knight had his existential crisis, remembering what Akane said and basically moving from his pale complexion to burning red, the other members of the team put their grain of salt in the discussion. Ginger, the most outgoing of the bunch, and seemingly their leader was the first to share her piece, with her glare softening after hearing Akane.
-I think it would be for the best to hunt them down, I don’t like staying still sitting on my ass without doing anything.- She spoke with the conviction and drive only young people to have. As she did she moved closer to Callis who was still transfixed and basically out of commission, Akane’s words still bouncing inside his skull. Crevil shrugged. -I like shooting things, I do not care if we shoot now or later, I only care about the shooting.- He removed his jacket, sitting on a bench, that bent under his inhuman weight, and he started reloading the guns he had used during the fight, seemingly he carried a whole bunch of handguns to avoid reloading them mid-fight, allowing him greater speed. Paprika also sat in a bench, without looking away from her console, he talked. -I don’t like tower defense games. Too boring- Ginger smiled. -So two votes for hunting this sucker out.- She clung to Callis' arm, snuggling against him. -What do you say Mr. Nomene?- The Beast Knight didn’t react at first.
For a moment there was an awkward silence as Callis was absolutely quiet, he might not have been breathing, but soon he got back to reality just as Ginger was grabbing his arm and leaning on him. The Beast Knight reaction seemed less the kind of reaction a human should have and more in the lines of a cat. He looked at Ginger with utmost shock and surprise and then without taking any kind of impulse or preparing to jump he leaped backward at least 5 meters, vaulting over the sailboat railing and landing on the mast, grabbing it with the expression and fierceness of somebody about to drown clutching a floating object. Ginger, suddenly lacking her support fell to the floor, but she quickly reacted, landing on her lands and performing a spinning, breakdance like move jumping back to her feet. Crevil contained a mechanical chuckle as Callis, still grabbing the mast, was hyperventilating, beet red, the pointed tips of his ears contrasting against his pale blonde hair.
Ginger was a bit disappointed, looking with confusion at Callis. Chambara moved towards the coast, standing right on the edge of the docks and the sea, waves breaking against the rocks below him. The Spirit of Japan talked.
T̶̫̿i̷͍͐m̵̞͝e̴̺͠ ̸̩͝ḯ̷̳s̵̻̄ ̶̫͐ő̴̰f̵̛̤ ̸̬͆ẗ̸̥́ḣ̴͇e̸̛̬ ̷̥͝e̸̢͂ș̶̍s̵̪͝ē̶͇n̷̜̈c̷̔͜e̶͓̿.̶̠̽.̷̙̑.̷̭͌ ̷̞̐T̴̢͋ĥ̸̺e̷͔̎ ̸̙̋C̷͔͑u̵̯̓r̵̤̀s̴͚̚ě̶̥ḑ̴́ ̴͍̈́B̴͖̆l̵͓̀ạ̸͊d̵͚͋e̶̢̓ ̶̢̛ś̵ͅõ̵̜n̵̡͂g̶̩͛ ̴̻̌c̴͈͝a̷͕̓l̶͚͌ḻ̸̋s̶̡͑ ̶̫͠f̷̛̩o̶̟͊r̵͎͛ ̵̳̇ṯ̷̿h̷̰̉ó̸͎s̸̤̍e̴͉͗ ̵̱͌ẃ̷̳e̵̱̿a̶̯͐ḱ̴̜ ̴͕̔ò̷͖f̵͈͒ ̴̘͐h̵͎̐ē̶͖ạ̴͑r̴̯̐ţ̷͌,̶̠̒ ̷͍̕s̶̯͆e̴̡͝n̴̡̈d̸̳́ḯ̴͓n̴̹͋g̸͓̋ ̷̠͘a̸̦͗ ̴̞̓ĺ̵̠u̴̜͋ľ̴͉ḷ̶̈́a̶̳͆b̶̝̌ỹ̴͖ ̸̬̇t̶̗̉o̵̗̊ ̵̧̎ț̷̊h̵̡͝ȩ̴͌ ̸̧͗o̷̤̿n̶̢͛è̷̙s̶͖͠ ̷̞̏ẅ̷̢́h̸̢͗o̶̙͠ ̴̰͗w̸͎̉ä̴̜́l̶͖͠k̷̯̏ ̶̰͗t̴̡͂ḫ̷͗e̷̢̽ ̷̃ͅb̷̠̾l̸̖͌ȏ̶̞ò̵̭d̸̼̓y̷͉͛ ̶̮͝ṕ̴͍ä̶͕́t̴̟̽ḣ̵ͅ ̷̣͊a̵͉̎t̸̛͉ ̶̼̔t̵̡̒h̵̊͜e̵̻̕ ̵̪̊e̵̯͐d̶̫̓g̴̙͌e̶͚͗ ̸͙̈o̷̡͂f̸̟̑ ̴̗̐t̷̖̐h̶̤̀ė̵͕i̷̭̅r̴̖̓ ̴̝͠b̵̥͝l̴̖͂a̵̘̒d̷͈͆é̴ͅș̵̍.̵̨͌.̸̤́.̴͇̓
As this happened, km to the south, in the next island, 4 individuals walked through the semi-tropical jungle surrounding the volcanic center of the island, guided with whispers only they could hear. Some of them started hearing them for weeks, while others just caught them recently. All of them carried swords, in one way or the other. Leading the group were two Japanese individuals, one male, and one female. He was tall, wearing a grey hakama. His hair was long, white on top with long black-bluish locks falling down to his back. He walked while cleaning tears the didn’t seem to stop. Heavy black bags hanged under his bloodshot eyes. -How sad, how very sad.- He commented, cleaning more tears. The woman beside him, dressed as a Temple Miko with long black hair tightly combed backward, sighed. -What now brother?- The young man kept sobbing. -This place, it makes me so sad, so beautiful, yet the stench of death impregnates every corner of his lush jungle.- He rubbed his hand across his face. She lowered her head and sighed turning around. -Sorry about him, he is just really sensitive.-
-You mean weak.- The gruff female voice came from a tall red-headed woman, covered in full plate, with chainmail underneath. She carried a short sword on her side and a long spear on her back. She had a glare of disgust and hatred directed at the Weeping Swordsman. A kinder voice, coming from an older gentleman, with graying hair, full beard and plenty of scars, wearing a long duster and carrying a broadsword on his back, tried to defuse the situation. -Calm down lassie, the lad is just passionate, that’s a good thing, is better than being a brick wall, at least we know he has a heart.- The Armored Amazon turned her sharp green eyes and the glare coming out of them to the man closing the march. -You shut up, you’re old, so that means you’re weak and weak people don’t deserve opinions, even less when their opinions are as moronic as yours.- She spat on the floor and stepped on a large branch, splitting in half. -The only thing a Heart is good for is being a target.- The rest of the group slowly backed away from her, leaving her some space.
The man on the back decided to break the silence. -So you still hear that whisper, the one that sounds like the chime of a sharp sword being unsheathed.- The sister of the Weeping Blade nodded. -Yes, it has been calling for us for weeks, it took us almost all that time after our complicated situation in Okinawa, to get here.- Her brother kept sobbing. -It was a shame how we had to kill those children, but they were possessed, completely possessed by Demons.- The Older Gentleman took more steps backs after hearing that, trying to refrain himself from commenting, yet the Armored Amazon didn’t seem to have any issues speaking her mind. -Killing children, that seems something suited for your skills, children might be one of the things weaker than you, so at least I can congratulate you on your ability to pick a target.- The Weeping Blade started bawling upon hearing this, his sister trying to comfort him while glaring at the Armored Amazon.
-Dagnabbit lassie, try to be less confrontational, or you won’t find a man desperate enough to pair up with you.- The Older Gentleman couldn’t contain that remark, gaining the wrath of the Armored Amazon. -You shut up old man, I don’t need a man who can’t keep up with me, why should I aim lower than what I deserve.- Once again the Old Warrior didn’t talk, keeping his comments inside, as the group kept advancing towards the source of the whispers.
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Post by othus on Jul 14, 2018 1:10:04 GMT
Akane noticed Callis was bad with women, but she never expected him to be THAT bad. she chuckled as he landed on the boat, his reaction was so over the top.
"I guess our team leader is eager to go"- she said in a mocking tone.
"its decided then, we are gonna go hunt this creature"- she looked back towards the merc trio as she walked towards the boat.
When she finally jumped in she once more looked at Callis, It was amusing for Akane to see him all flustered and embarrassed, she took advantage of Ginger still not boarding to further mess with him.
"Now aren't you quite popular with the girls Nomene-san? shame you are not Japanese, else I might have also fallen for you ♥" she said as she winked at him
Akane walked towards the back of the boat in order to get a seat, she waited for the rest of the mercs to board as well
"Well, what are we waiting for? we have work to do! honor and glory are at hand!"
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Post by Kuma on Jul 14, 2018 3:17:24 GMT
Callis shuddered upon seeing Akane wink. His cheeks wouldn’t get any more red unless somebody threw a bucket of paint directly to his face. The Beast Knight slid down the mast, ashamed that even after years in this new world, his failings from his homeworld still haunted him. Ginger, on her part, had a mixture of confusion, frustration and blinding rage brewing inside of her. Why did he jump away? Why did she wink at him? Why was everything being placed against her? This swirling mass of emotions remained inside of her, her eye twitching being the only sign of her mind burning up trying to deduce what was happening. Callis, still dazed, incapable of coherent thought, decided that he needed to cool off his head, so he leaned overboard and sunk his head into the sea. It might have been just a mirage or a trick of the mind, but steam was coming out from the water, or at least that seemed to be the case. When he pulled out, he shook his head, loosening the band keeping his hair in a tight ponytail. His mane, wet with sea water, splashed around. To everybody else he seemed like a mess, throwing salt water everywhere. To Ginger, it seemed like something out of a romance novel, even when she was in the splash zone of Callis’ hair.
All the rage bubbling inside Ginger died out, like a bonfire being doused with a truckload of icy cold water. Crevil walked past her, the dock boards bending under his weight, when he got on the boat, the whole thing shook. Paprika got in the boat without losing sight of the screen of her console, clearly engaged in whatever game he was playing. Chambara, who was taller than Crevil, didn’t seem to have the same weight, and lightly walked until he reached the front of the boat, standing with one foot over the railing. Seemingly, even if he didn’t seem to have emotions, he did have some personality, as most of the time, he tried to stop moving and pose in the most scenic positions. Callis, after cooling off, finished up with the cords and prepared the sails. -We’re ready to go, please hang on to something, I haven’t used one of these in a long time.- He said, before pulling the rope and opening the sails. A warm breeze just came from the mainland, filling up the sails that curved and pulled the boat towards the island to the south. Callis, even after issuing a warning, seemed to be on his element, showcasing clear and efficient handling of the boat.
Crevil was showing signs of anxiety and fear, trying to stay in the center of the boat as much as he could, looking overboard with dread, shuddering and sitting down. Paprika didn’t seem to be affected at all, still playing his game, sitting cross-legged at the back of the boat. Ginger was looking at Callis handling the wheel with her eyes sparkling from her over-active imagination picturing the Beast Knight as a gallant pirate. Chambara was still standing in the front, with the waves crashing against the boat splashing his armor. Callis, still handling the boat, was trying to look at Akane, as if he was attempting to talk about something, but his mind wandered back to her words and actions and that made him fluster and flush, turning away from her and focusing on the handling of the ship. Everything was seemingly fine, but unbeknownst to them something was happening below the waves. As something stalked the boat, moving almost as fast as them, cutting through the water like a knife through butter. A shadowy figure, of great size, hiding underneath the shadow of the boat, preparing to strike. Because if Musa-shi travelled from island to island through the seafloor, it means he didn’t just encounter humans but other things.
The 4 Swordsmen kept advancing through the jungle. The song of the Cursed Blade drawing them near. Zan, the Weeping Swordsman, led the group, following by Sen, his sister. They’re both Japanese, wearing traditional clothing and wielding katanas. Behind them was the Monster of Berlin, Chriselda Schwarzwald, an infamous mercenary. Closing the group was Percival Peregrine, the Old Knight, member of the Hong Kong branch of the BHA and secretly an immortal, once a member of the Knights of the Round Table. Zan, who was setting the pace, always stopped from time to time to clean the tears from his eyes, to the increasing irritation of Chriselda, who finally, after the tenth stop in a row, exploded into a wrathful rant. -WHY IN ALL THE FIRES IN HELL ARE WE ADVANCING SO SLOWLY!- Her powerful roar of frustration echoed across the island, scaring the birds on the trees into a disorganized flock flying away, hitting against each other in their rush. She advanced, the branches crunching under her heavy footsteps until she reached Zan and extended her massive hand to grab his neck. Sen moved to intercept, grabbing what she could of Chriselda’s massive wrist, while Percival also moved behind her, putting the tip of a knife between the plates of her armor, reaching a less protected spot.
She huffed, glaring at those around her, before backing out and walking to the side, punching a tree on her way, making it break in half and fall down, away from the group. -I can hear it…- She whispered, turning around to face them, with a zealous fire on her eyes. - I can hear the whispers of the blade, the blade that summoned us, the blade that wants us because we’re the best.- All the bones on her hands popped, as she tensed up her fists, closing them so hard the armor around them was starting to bend. -I’ll not be denied what I was promised, not by you, your sister or this old man.- She pointed at them in order. -So I’ll take point, and show you how fast we can go.- Zan weakly nodded, walking behind Sen, scared of Chriselda, but as the Armored Amazon walked towards the front, her footsteps crushing pieces of branches and leaves underneath her weight, Percival intercepted her, looking her right in the eyes, quite the sight, as Percival rarely had to look up to anybody, but she had at least half a head of extra height on him. -I think the laddie is doing a great job. Don’t bully him.- She glared at him, her green eyes burning with hatred and scorn. -”Doing a great job”? He is moving like a snail and dripping more liquid than one.- She pointed at Zan with an accusatory finger. -You call that working, you weak maggot? I’ll show you how it’s done.-
Once again she tried to walk to the front, but Percival once again stood in her way. -I knew you were dense lassie, but stop what you’re doing, you’re just putting yourself to shame.- He said, without a hint of fear in his eyes. That confused Chrishelda, who was accustomed to people caving in after hearing her scream and looking at her. For a moment she couldn’t say anything, trying to find a clever twist, but she had nothing. Thus she went for her plan A. She grabbed Percival from the throat and lifted him off the ground one-handed. -WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU SAYING!? WHERE IS YOUR EVIDENCE OLD MAN!? WHERE IS YOUR DAMNED EVIDENCE!?- Percival incapable of talking, first pointed down and then pointed in the direction they came from. The Armored Amazon was once again confused, looking first below her feet. The whole floor was covered with leaves and branches, but all of them didn’t fall naturally, all of them had slices on them. She opened her eyes in shock, then turning to see the path they had been threading. At first, she didn’t realize it, but soon her eyes adjusted and realized what Percival was talking about. The path behind them was a perfect pentagonal tunnel through the jungle. Zan had been cutting large segments of vegetation to let them pass.
Chriselda released Percival, looking at the tunnel and then at Zan. Her head did the same motion several times, trying to understand what she was seeing until she did. Each time he stopped to clean his tears, he was cutting as well. She didn’t even notice. The Armored Amazon fell on her knees, her mind burning up. -Just ignore it and keep going, we’re almost there.- Percival said to her, patting her shoulder. Actually he just recently realized what was happening, like Chriselda, he didn’t notice Zan’s slashes. The group soon resumed walking, with a very humbled Chriselda on the back, looking at Zan with eagle-like focus.
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Post by othus on Jul 14, 2018 7:08:13 GMT
Akane noticed as Callis looked at her again and again, his body language had an anxious feel to it, similar to that of a teenage boy, but perhaps he wanted to speak his mind. she walked next to him as he directed the boat, leaning on one side of the railing that protected the wheel. She stared at the Island with a sorrowful look.
"I love this you know"- She said as the wind made her hair flow, "This sea, the people, the stories behind every tradition..."- Akane fixed her hair with one hand for a moment to look at Callis and then shifted her attention back towards the Island.
"Do you have a place like that as well? I wonder if you yearn for home like I sometimes do" she paused for a minute as she looked back at him again
"This thing, the monster we are hunting, threatens everything I love, everything I care about, cutting down those people back there was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do...and yet I did it, I had no hesitation back then...It is the creed of my clan not to regret the things that one does, but doing that back then, it managed to hurt me. It made me kill that which I love, and I won't ever forgive it for that, not even if it kills me"
Akane grabbed Callis by the hand, she knew she could tell him about herself and he wouldn't mock her, she knew he would be kind.
"Do you know what is like to be strong, Nomene-san?, I thought I was strong, turns out my sister is even more so than I...then I thought she was strong until I saw Kichiemon, my father's bodyguard. He is... almost inhuman. I still thought that perhaps by training I could one day catch up to him...and then I finally saw my father fight, the skill I was so proud of, that strength, would be mere child's play for him...my body is cursed Nomene-san, my body is frail despite having the genes of my father, my sister would often be stronger than I without doing any kind of training, she once was hit by a truck at age 7 and got up like it was nothing, I thought she was scary when I was little, but looking back I think I was just jealous, all that I have now are these two blades and my mind.
Akane slightly smiled at the Beast Warrior, having a personal talk was not something she would usually do.
"hunting down this monster means everything to me, this is where I will find out whether I'm still a child or not."
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Post by Kuma on Jul 14, 2018 17:30:33 GMT
Callis tried to calm down as Akane got closer. There wasn’t any amount of saltwater in the world that could block her scent right now, something that just made the Beast Knight flush even more. His enhanced senses always played against him in these situations. Trying his best to avoid stuttering he replied to her initial question. -S-sometimes I miss my home…- He admitted. -Even as much as I suffered there, as much I was hated, I do miss it because many times I cannot understand or relate to the people in this world.- He managed to keep some amount of dignity looking forward while talking, trying to think about anything but Akane. The Beast Knight was able to admit to himself that she was quite beautiful, but he had some terrible, terrible experiences in the past. All that poise and dignity went out of the window when she placed her hand over his. The same could’ve said for Ginger’s dumb smile as she was lost in her imagination, shattered upon seeing Akane get closer to Callis. Rage started bubbling under the surface, as she turned around, kind of offended by their flirting, giving sneaky glances over her shoulder as she walked away.
-I have been told I was strong all my life, Messa Musashi.- The gravitas of her words managed to shake Callis off from his daze. -The land I was born in always hated me for my mixed heritage, I hated myself for it.- The Beast Knight looked away. -But even though their hatred people couldn’t ignore that I seemed to be faster, stronger and more durable than them, and maybe that was part of their hatred, maybe fear or envy towards what I myself thought a curse.- Callis was clearly in pain, remembering some of the unhappiest times of his life. -Yet upon arriving in this world I realized that strength on itself is meaningless, I have met people who could destroy entire armies back in my world, and I have seen most of them fall by the hand of people akin to myself when it comes to might.- He reflected on his experiences on this world, as he had always seen powerful foes being defeated by people like him, every time. -It may be pretentious of me to say this, as my humble self is not wise or strong enough to properly showcase what I am about to say, but true strength doesn’t come from how many foes you can cut down, or how powerful you can become.-
For the first time, Callis looked directly at Akane. His piercing blue were shining, almost on the verge of tears. -My experiences here taught me that the true power comes from within, comes from belief and virtue, from discipline and control.- He pointed at his heart. -True might comes from here Messa Musashi.- He cut eye-contact, maybe a bit flustered for speaking so frankly. -And if you intent is truthful, if you want to destroy this monster to protect those you care about…- He turned to face her again, his eyes showing decades of pain and suffering, sorrow and sadness, yet shining with determination. -Then you’re already stronger than you think.- A good way to know when Callis got comfortable talking to people was when he used contractions. -I think you should hold yourself in a better light, Messa Musashi, don’t make the same mistakes I’ve done for too many years, the only chains that hinder your growth are the ones you impose to yourself.- The Beast Knight, who was older than he seemed, was speaking out of his experience, he had been idle, trying not to draw attention back in Centris, but in this world, where he wasn’t the weirdest thing around, he could spread his wings.
There was a moment of silence, as Callis was still looking at Akane until he finally seemed to be about to speak, yet he was interrupted by a shout from Crevil, who had been looking around the Sea with increasing anxiety and paranoia. -THERE! THERE! MONSTER IN WATER!- He pointed at the right side of the boat, as something was moving towards them. At first sight, it seemed like the fin of a shark, but something was off, it was too big and too shiny. Callis leaned to the side, focusing his sight on it, only to take a step back in shock. The fin seemed to be a massive katana tip, cutting through the waves, at least 1 mt tall and almost twice as wide. The sun started hitting whatever was below it and as it got closer the shape was clearer. A Great White Shark was infected by the cursed blade, increasing in size while slowly being covered with sword-like scales, giving it an angular look, with long spikes coming out from the sides of its snout and its flanks. The Bladed Monster surfaced, revealing his metallic maw opening, seemingly it became at least 50% bigger, being almost 6 metes long and increasing in girth and weight. -BRACE FOR IMPACT!- Callis screamed as the creature slammed against the side of boat, the screeching of his bladed body sliding against the hull reaching the nearby islands.
The more the group advanced the more Percival was puzzled about the inhuman speed being displayed by Zan. The Weeping Swordsman seemed to be move beyond anything the Old Knight had ever seen, to the point that he started wondering if it was some kind of trick instead of some skill. He had seen several individuals break the sound barrier, if you hang around the Bounty Hunter crowd you tend to meet one or two actually great masters running around, but unlike them Zan didn’t made a sound and he didn’t seem to have any kind of problem with his sword, as many times Percival noticed these skilled Bounty Hunters changing blades. While they walked he picked up parts of the branches sliced by the Weeping Blade, all of them had perfect cuts, to the point that he could connect a branch to the stump left behind and it would partially re-attach. It was quite shocking to Percival, who considered himself pretty handy with a sword, mostly thanks to years upon years of practice, but this was ridiculous.
Chrishelda was still in shock, incapable of understanding the contrast between Zan’s evident weakness and amazing skill. She trained her whole life, defeated countless enemies and killed many who stood in her way, but the confusion born from witnessing the Weeping Swordsman’s skill was slowly turning into fear. Could she defeat him if they fought? Would her skills and might be good enough to face a blade she couldn’t even see? With those doubts rumbling inside her, she couldn’t stay idle, her armored fingers fidgeting over the pommel of her thick short sword. Maybe she could kill him from the back, with a single strike. She only cared about winning, not about honor, as the one who was standing at the end of a fight was the winner, the means were only a way to arrive at that goal, because history is written by the victors, or at least that was what her master used to tell her. Still, the moment the mere thought of using her blade reached her mind she felt a surge of killing intent.
It didn’t came from Percival, he seemed too busy studying the branches left by Zan’s attacks. It wasn’t the weeping swordsman, as he was too busy cutting in front of them. So, by process of elimination, this sinister aura came from his sister. Chrishelda glanced at Sen’s direction, only to see a mirage, a ghostly visage of killing intent, a flaming figure blazing around the Swordswoman, overlaying over her body. The devilish being glared at the Armored Amazon with three burning eyes, something that made Chrishelda let out and involuntary gasp and take a step backwards. Nobody seemed to realize that and as suddenly as that image appeared, it vanished, Sen didn’t even turn around and her demeanor seemed to be as cordial as ever, doing some small talk with her brother each time he stopped to clean his tears.
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Post by othus on Jul 14, 2018 22:12:30 GMT
Akane was surprised to see Callis being so honest, she couldn't help but blush a little when the warrior looked at her, there was something about his words that made her heart race, even if briefly, she had to admit there weren't many people even among the warriors of her clan who would speak about the heart or their own ideals, she couldn't help but smile at his words, he was actually much cooler than she initially thought.
"Thank you, those words meant a lot to me...perhaps meeting you has already made me stronger" she got closer to him as she was about to tell him something else, but she was interrupted by Crevil's shout, Callis braced everyone for impact as the creature slammed its bladed body against the boat, Akane held tightly to Callis on one hand and the railing on the other, she proceeded to draw both blades as she looked at the rest of the hunters
"The boat won't be able to take much more damage, let's kill this thing before it charges back "
Akane jumped into the water with her visor activated, attempting to latch herself onto the shark with her blades as it came out on the other side of the boat, the blades within the monster's body would not be a problem for her armor, but if she was caught in its jaws that would prove to be a different story, the armor was light enough, weighing a little bit over 5kg, but with her current strength it was enough to make her uncomfortable underwater. Akane did her best to be precise and not fail on her attempt, should she not succeed then she would have to confront the creature head-on.
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Post by Kuma on Jul 15, 2018 21:17:07 GMT
Akane’s blade was sharp and quite advanced, but even the best technology cannot defeat physics, as slashing or stabbing through water diminished the speed and effectivity of the attack. Against a regular shark it might have still worked, but when facing this abomination it wasn’t enough, as the tough skin repelled the blade, leaving Akane stranded on the water. Callis, without losing a step jumped into action with the same explosive energy he always had, shifting from stillness to movement in a split second. -Cover fire!- He shouted at the Spice Rack Trio, as he jumped over the railings of the open cabin, grabbing the mainsail cord, performing an aerial cartwheel and landing beside the anchor, kicking it loose to stop the boat. His jump and landing helped to pull the sail partially up, helping to stop the sailboat so they wouldn’t leave Akane behind. Callis was busy making a knot in a hurry, so he could help with the enemy at hand.
Paprika was the first to act, summoning his strange sword and floating off the ground. The cluster of data surrounded her body as she levitated, scanning the sea with her beady eyes. Soon he noticed the beast resurfacing for another charge, this time aimed at Akane.
【Waterhole Missile】
With a swipe of her weapon, Paprika turned the clusters of floating numbers and letters into swirling projectiles, that launched in droves towards the massive monster swimming towards them. At first, they seemed to be roughly aimed at the creature’s location, but upon reaching close range they homed towards the eyes and other orifices, homing to the easiest parts to access. The ones aimed at the eyes suddenly found themselves clashing against metallic scales, as the monster reacted by adding blinders to its eyes, protecting them from the assault. The other missiles hit the creature inside its open maw, but seemingly the bladed skin was covering the insides as well. Ginger, unlike Paprika, took her sweet time to act, slowly changing her body, this time around her skin grew thicker and green, her back expanded, revealing armored plates forming an oval, a tail sprouted out her lower back, but upon closer inspection, it was truly a snake. She was taking a shape similar to Genbu, the Black Tortoise and she was taking her sweet time.
Crevil attempted to stand up, but the boat swayed with the waves, making him shudder in fear and go back into sitting, grabbing the side of the cabin platform to steady himself. Cleary scared out of his mind he shuffled in his coat, grabbing one of his handguns, a Desert Eagle and performing some ineffectual shooting at the charging shark, hitting half of the shots he did, and none of those even seemed to pierce the thick metallic hide of the monster. Chambara didn’t seem to care, standing, steady as a rock, in the front of the boat, seemingly wanting the rest of the group to deal with this situation on their own. The shark kept advancing, its open jaws ready to close around Akane's armor to turn it into bloody shreds.
Meanwhile, in Mikurajima, The quartet of Swordsmen finally left the jungle, reaching the base of Mt. Oyama, one of the three peaks crowning the island. The vegetation got sparser, and their advance was faster, yet the ground under their feet was starting to slant. -Let’s hope gravity doesn’t fritz on us.- Percival muttered out loud, remembering a recent adventure. -Did you say anything honored elder?- Sen asked him, looking at the old man with a curious look. -Don’t mind me, lassie, just complaining, these old bones and cliffsides don’t mix up well.- For a moment both stopped talking as if they were waiting for a comment from Chrishelda, but she seemed to lost in her own thoughts to mock Percival. The Old Knight smiled to Sen. -Thanks for worrying about me lassie.- She nodded and resumed walking, with the quiet sobbing of her brother as background noise. There was something off about her and Percival couldn’t put his finger on it, he had a long time learning how to read people and Sen was hiding something, he only didn’t know what. The group kept advancing, flanking a series of rapids coming out from a small pond of water uphill, falling in several small waterfalls.
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Post by othus on Jul 15, 2018 22:50:21 GMT
Akane's blade was denied by the creature's body, she then surfaced only to see the monster turning around and coming back at her, the bladed fin sticking out as the rest of the group unsuccessfully tried to stop it from getting any closer to her. It was at this moment Akane had wished she had gone fishing more often, Niten Ichi-Ryu techniques were almost impossible to perform while floating, but she wouldn't give up just like that, she sheathed her wakizashi as she would try another thing, she would wait for the creature to get close once again and throw a flashbang at it with all her strength, the blast noise would be greatly amplified underwater, so she had to make sure her head was above the water if she wanted to keep her eardrums in one piece, the flash of the grenade would probably be diminished but at that range it would still blind the creature, at least between the stun and the flash she should be able to parry herself out of the way of the monster's jaw, and, if the situation was favorable, counter-attack.
Had she been able to use perfect warrior at will, she would have then taken the creature head on, but as things happened it was of no use to think further on that, she threw the grenade with incredible technique, managing to get it 5 or 6 meters away from her, the blast area would be received entirely by the creature as well as the flash, perhaps the shark thought that blinding itself to protect its eyes was a cute thing to do, but Akane would show the monster not to mess with Musashi, if it was within her possibilities, she would also impale one its eyes, as a thin layer of steel would not be able to block her blade at point blank. for now, her entire focus was on maneuvering around the creature's jaw.
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Post by Kuma on Jul 18, 2018 3:58:30 GMT
The Bladed Shark sliced the waves as it moved towards Akane, it’s sharp fin leaving a stream behind it. Callis, who was still making a knot couldn’t assist, but the others attempted to help. Crevil was still shooting from the middle of the boat, this time around he stood up and grabbed the mast with one hand while he shot his handgun with the other. Aiming a bit better he tried to find any places there weren’t any kind of scales, but unluckily this beast had been turned a while ago, so the transformation was almost complete. Still, he managed to connect a couple of shots, packing enough stopping power to slow down the incoming beast, helping Akane’s plan without knowing, giving her more time to act. Ginger was still changing, her now reptilian face had a sinister smile, locking her now beady black eyes on Akane, hoping that the shark would exterminate her. Paprika, kind of bothered that her attack didn’t work, started fidgeting with the grip of his blade, changing settings on it, turning the red letters into green ones, maybe altering the effects. Chambara was still standing in the front of the boat, not doing anything.
Akane’s strategy worked, the flashbang managed to confuse the incoming creature, altering its trajectory, but it was too effective, making the beast violently turn to the side avoiding her attack completely, leaving her swinging at nothing. The Bladed Shark was moving in zig-zag, completely dazed, having convulsions from time to time, getting further and further away from the boat. Seemingly she managed to convince it that attacking the boat wasn’t worth it. At least for now. Callis, after finishing the knot, moved towards the railing on the side, extending his hand towards Akane. -Here, allow me to help.- He said. As he waited he glanced at Ginger, who was in the process of shapeshifting back to her human body and had the sourest expression she could have, being a bit weirded out by her powers. Crevil, still scared shitless, asked nobody in particular. -Is beast gone? I do not want fall in water!- He looked at the ocean with apprehension. -I heavy and sink too much… Do not like ocean.- He explained, once Callis looked at him with confusion. Paprika stopped floating and resumed to play on his console, putting away her weapon.
The group finally saw the source of the song that had been guiding them. The rocky cliff in front of them climbed several dozen meters and was smooth and shiny, covered by a layer of humidity. There was a massive waterfall, at least 50 meters tall, falling into a deep mountain pond. The water crashed against a massive smooth boulder, that after centuries of erosion was almost a perfectly round dome, coming out from the deep dark blue waters of the pond. Sitting atop this stone there was a figure, obscured by the falling water. The swordsmen lured by the cursed song started walking towards it, but as soon as the reached the edge of the pond Percival rose his hand, signaling them to stop. A cold shiver ran through their spines as they could feel the sinister aura oozing out from the figure. -Something is wrong…- The Old Knight, following his instincts, commented on the situation. -I can sense danger, but there is no way he could reach us here.- Still, he considered the situation he was in and without thinking he threw a piece of the branch he kept with a soft underarm throw. In a split second the branch was gone.
The group took a step backward, not from the disappearance of the branch, but from the horrible sight, they witnessed. The figure had performed at the very least 7 Iai slashes in the span of an instant, displaying speed that made Zan’s previous feats look like a young child swinging a blade in slow motion. The waterfall itself stopped, just from the sheer air pressure of the slashes, climbing upwards for a moment while the branch was turned into sawdust. That moment was more than enough for them to see the wielder of the weapon that had been calling them. His body was rotten, covered in damp bandages and with another layer of sea-life atop that. The sword on his hand wasn’t a Katana, at least not a normal one, it seemed more like a living organism than a weapon, a strange viscous membrane formed the back of the blade, while some kind of insect-like chitin, sharpened into an edge, was the front of the weapon. Veins or some kind of conducts bulged out from the membrane, all connecting towards a massive red eye were the crossguard should be. The weapon was fused to the arm of the Zombie Samurai, tendrils connected into the body, piercing through the skin.
The voice, that they had been hearing, seemed like a distant song when they started noticing it, but now it was clear, powerful and utterly alien, echoing inside their heads.
нєαя му ωσя∂ѕ αη∂ тяємвℓє, вє¢αυѕє му ωσя∂ ιѕ ℓαω
ι αм тнє вℓα∂є тнαт яєιgηѕ ѕυρяємє, тнє ѕωσя∂ ƒσя кιηgѕ
ωнσ αмσηg уσυ ωιℓℓ вє му ηєω нσѕт, ωнσ ωιℓℓ gινє тнєιя вσ∂у αη∂ ѕкιℓℓ
тιмє gяσωѕ ѕнσят αη∂ тнιѕ вσ∂у ѕняινєℓѕ υρ, ι яєqυιяє α ηєω ραятηєя
тнαт ιѕ ωну ι ѕυммσηє∂ тнєє, тнαт ιѕ ωну уσυ ¢αмє
ωнσ ωιℓℓ вє¢σмє тнє σηє ωнσ ωιєℓ∂ѕ мє ιηтσ gℓσяу αη∂ ∂єαтн?
Percival realized he made a mistake coming here, but the rest of the group didn’t share that opinion, looking at the blade with greedy and power hungry eyes. As the sword filled their head with images of glorious battles and impossible carnage. The Old Knight had to make an effort not to throw up, as everything the weapon showed him just stirred old and painful memories. The others didn’t seem to care, and the one who seemed the most interested was Sen, her usual cordial smile and calm demeanor had vanished, her face contorting into a gleeful mask of killing intent. Percival, against his better judgment, decided to attempt to stop them from taking the weapon’s offer. -I think this is a bad idea, we should all leave, right now.- But nobody was listening, still dazed by what they thought was a majestic blade. Chriselda was the first to break the silence. -OH, MIGHTY BLADE! I’LL BE YOUR HOST! TELL ME YOUR NAME! LET ME KNOW YOUR MAGNIFICENCE!- She proclaimed, opening her arms, roaring her words trying to project strength.
ωнєη ι ωαѕ ƒσяgє∂ му ηαмє ωαѕ кαgєтαкα ησ тѕυяυgι
ωнєη ι ωαѕ вαρтιѕє∂ ву вℓσσ∂ му ηαмє вє¢αмє ¢нιιкυмσ
ωнєη му мαѕтєя ωαѕ кιℓℓє∂ му ηαмє вє¢αмє кσηяαη кαηαѕнιмι
ωнєη ι ωαѕ яєƒσяgє∂ му ηαмє вє¢αмє кαηαѕнιмι ησ тѕυяυgι
αη∂ ƒιηαℓℓу ωнєη му тяυє ѕєℓƒ ¢αмє ƒяσм вєуση∂ тнє ѕтαяѕ...
ι ωαѕ ρяσ¢ℓαιмє∂ кєη'σн, вℓα∂є σƒ вℓα∂єѕ, ∂єѕтяσуєя αη∂ вιятнєя σƒ αямιєѕ, вяιηgєя σƒ gℓσяу αη∂ вαттℓє.
тнσѕє αяє му ηαмєѕ αη∂ ι кησω уσυяѕ, уσυя ∂яєαмѕ αη∂ уσυя мιgнт
αℓℓ σƒ уσυ αяє ωσятну, вυт тσ ρяσνє уσυяѕєℓνєѕ уσυ ωιℓℓ ƒιяѕт ѕєяνє мє
αѕ ƒσя¢єѕ αттємρт тσ ∂єѕтяσу мє, тσ ѕєαℓ мє, ѕσ σтнєяѕ ¢αηησт вє ιℓℓυмιηαтє∂ ву му ℓιgнт
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Post by othus on Jul 18, 2018 6:55:08 GMT
Akane gave a sigh of relief as she looked at the creature going away. She rushed to take Callis' hand, getting once more on the boat, she politely thanked him as she looked at Ginger, who was still turning back into a human. She raised a brow as she gave an unimpressed look at the speed of her transformation, just thinking how much of a bitch she was, as from looking at her previous fight it was clear she was making time.
Akane understood she was turning into a turtle, but it didnt necessarily mean she had to have the speed of one. She would definitely remember that insult, and, to Ginger's demise, she knew perfectly well how to press her buttons.
As she got up she proceeded to thank both Crevil and Paprika for helping her out, she also took the chance to put Crevil at ease, as she now recognized his strength. "It's ok, the monster's gone, thanks for helping me out big guy." she told him as she gave him a friendly hug, she really was grateful the team was there to cover her mistakes.
Now, back into business, since it would seem Ginger was too thirsty for Callis, and she was Looking to dry herself from the swim, Akane thought it would be a good idea to kill two birds with one stone and mess with her further, after all, she deserved it for playing dumb, taking into account this was the first time she would play her game, she decided to let her know she wasn't gonna mess around. Akane teleported out her battle armor as a single piece swimsuit took its place instead.
Just to give a ballpark on how highly rated Akane would be, she met with Laura Crown a month ago, and when it came to looks, she was on par with the greek Demigoddess.
The black skintight suit left her legs and arms exposed, while it pressed against the rest of her body, the look was...well to put it simply, it was the type of look that would drop jaws and shatter relationships, as even the most gallant and courteous of men wouldn't be able to help but peek at such sight, in fact, at this level it wasn't rare for girls to go after her as well. Akane loved being competitive, but to her, this wasn't a competition, it was a massacre. she was decided to give her the final blow.
"I'll change back when we get to the Island, I don't like being wet after all. Now captain, I would be glad if you were so kind as to find me something to dry myself with"
she told Callis nonchalantly as she proceeded to brazenly hug him by the side.
Callis might be familiar with that type of hug as Ginger had already done it a couple of times, but he definitely would notice a BIG difference with her, as his arm would be found entirely buried onto Akane's personality. The beast warrior might have been able to slip out of Ginger, but not her, not at least without risking touching her all over, he was stuck there and she knew he wouldn't dare to move, cause when it came to that, Akane was sure the knight would rather cut his arm off.
As for Ginger... well, Judging by her previous reactions, this would make her keep the green on her face whether she was transformed or not, then again, if Ginger had left her to die against that monster just because she thanked Callis before, she couldn't go much further other than trying to murder her with her own hands. she deserved it, and Akane was not bothered about the scene if it was Callis, as he was quite possibly the one man on earth who wouldn't dare to touch her.
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Post by Kuma on Jul 19, 2018 4:11:29 GMT
Crevil shyly smiled upon getting hugged. Akane would notice he was built like a brick house, but he didn’t have muscle, he was mostly metal and pretty dense. Ginger finally ended her transformation giving Akane the same venomous look she had been giving her as she said. -Quite the blunder, but don’t worry we can bail you out princess.- The passive-aggressiveness was laid so thick you could cut it with a knife. This would surely only serve as further fuel for what Akane was planning to do. As the Musashi Heiress changed into her swimsuit, both Crevil and strangely Paprika, locked their eyes on Akane. Ginger, who was smiling with superiority, slowly realized her game and her expression went sour. Callis who at first was curious about what she was doing, soon realized what was happening and unlike the others, he looked away. -Me-me-messa Mu-mu-musashi…- He stuttered, doing his damndest to avert his eyes. Crevil was clearly dazed, looking at her, forgetting his fear. Paprika attention was caught enough for her to lift his eyes from her console. As Akane moved closer, the Beast Knight could feel her body heat and catch her scent. Every hair in his body went straight up and a veritable storm of goosebumps jolted his body. -A...ahh...ah…- He tried to reach for something as if he was looking for a towel.
The moment she hugged his arm, was the moment everything stopped working. As if he was a puppet whose strings were cut off, Callis collapsed into a pile on the boat deck, fainting, his face as red as it could ever be. This was a bit too much for the Beast Knight. Ginger, looking at the situation, was also red, but not from embarrassment. -WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO HIM, YOU BITCH?- She shouted, moving towards Akane with flaming eyes locked on the Musashi Heiress. Ginger had it with this bitch trying to steal her prospects. -YOU’RE GOING DOWN PRINCESS!- Without warning her front hand snapped into a jab, with no feedback, pure explosive power, in the lines of Kung-Fu styles. She aimed it to Akane’s neck, wanting to incapacitate her or at least hinder her breathing. Crevil tried to stop his companion but he wasn't fast enough. Paprika returned to watching his console screen, while Chambara, still not caring about anything, stood in the ship’s front.
-What do you want of us, oh, mighty blade?- Sen asked, her eyes reflecting her unstoppable desire and greed, finally coming to the surface. Percival realizing that he wouldn’t be able to make them understand reason decided to stand back, observing the situation until he could act.
єηємιєѕ αяє ¢σмιηg ƒяσм тнє ѕєα, ƒιη∂ тнєм...
∂єѕтяσу тнσѕє ωнσ ωαηт тσ яσв уσυ ƒяσм тнє ¢нαη¢є σƒ ωιєℓ∂ιηg мє...
тнє ƒιяѕт ωнσ вяιηgѕ тнє нєα∂ σƒ σηє σƒ тнє ιηтяυ∂єяѕ ωιℓℓ єαяη тнє ¢нαη¢є тσ ωιєℓ∂ мє ƒιяѕт.
The three entranced by the blade song nodded, while Percival just looked at the surroundings thinking what to do. Zan, wiping his tears, spoke to the Cursed Blade. -How sad, how terribly sad, that I will have to wait until I take one life to wield you.- He bowed with utmost reverence, turning around and starting to move down the mountain. Sen placed her hand on his shoulder, stopping him. -No brother, the blade will be mine… tₕₑ bₗₐdₑ wᵢₗₗ bₑ ₘᵢₙₑ, ⱼᵤₛₜ ₘᵢₙₑ... ₘᵢₙₑ, ₘᵢₙₑ, ₘᵢₙₑₘᵢₙₑₘᵢₙₑₘᵢₙₑ.... ₖᵤₖᵤₖᵤₖᵤₖᵤₖᵤₖᵤᵤₐᵤₐₕₐₕₕₐₕₐₕₐₕₐₕₐₕₐₕₐₕₐₕₐₕₐₕ- Zan’s sister started talking in a normal tone, but soon her voice started to break, becoming harsher and higher, like a violin out of tune performing a frantic solo. The image Chriselda saw before was visible to everybody, a demonic silhouette overlaid with her body, as on her forehead a third eye opened up, bursting with bluish flames. Her back and neck arched in inhuman angles as her sinister chuckle came out from her mouth, like water crashing through a crack in a dam. Zan teary eyes were also brimming with insane determination as he locked them to his sister’s. -How sad sister, how terribly sad… for you to be so…- A flash of silver moved like a blur between them and Sen’s hand suddenly had a deep cut, one that allowed her brother to shrug her off. -To be so terribly wrong!- He ended his thought as he rushed down the mountain. Sen followed behind him, her strides being as inhuman as her flexibility, leaning forward and moving less like a human and more like a beast, using her now clawed hands as support.
Chriselda had used their argument as cover to leave first, but soon both siblings managed to overtake her. Percival the only one remaining around the pond realized that he couldn’t take on the creature, at least not alone. His plan was to find out what the song he had been hearing was about and act according to his findings. He wasn’t as affected as the others by the corrupting power of the Cursed Blade, so he kept his sanity, yet that sanity granted him the common sense to know he was outgunned. Thus he decided on a three-step plan, first, he would do something in the pond to hinder the host of the cursed blade. Second, he would follow the others and third he would try to join up with whoever the blade sent them to kill as if the weapon considered them a threat it meant the would be strong enough to destroy it. With that in mind, Percival did step one, taking a bit of his holy oil and spraying it with a flick of his fingers on the pond, doing the sign of the cross and leaving before the blade could ask what he was doing. He made the pond Holy Water, hopefully, that would damage the undead host the Cursed Blade was using if it attempted to move. With that set he rushed down the mountain, complaining about the lack of a path or stairs as his old bones creaked with each step.
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Post by othus on Jul 19, 2018 5:41:14 GMT
Akane did not notice the burden was too strong for Callis to bear, it was when she looked at him, rather than at Ginger when she noticed she went overboard, Callis fainted into the ground, scaring the living hell out of Akane.
"NOMENE SAN???!!" she looked at the beast warrior reduced to nothing, she was gonna reach out for him when Ginger called her a bitch, Akane stood her ground waiting to see if she had the guts to actually do a thing, and much to her surprise she did, Akane leaned back a little out of reflex, but the punch connected...against her armor.
"Hoo...you must have some serious balls, trying to hit me out of nowhere" Akane said as she looked down on Ginger with an arrogant grin, she moved back out of her reach as the rest of her armor materialized. Unbeknownst to the beast girl, the slayer model had a protection against sneak attacks, and it would materialize whether Akane wanted or not. hitting Akane's armor bare handed was akin to punching a block of steel, In fact, during her brief fight with Takashi Katsuo a couple months ago, she noticed how the Ki user had to gimp for a while just because he kicked her in the stomach, she readied her Blades as she warned her. "don't even bother transforming, the second i see you try anything funny I will slice your head off" Akane looked at her screen to confirm the point count, she had more than enough to escalate the conflict, but Callis was first. "Fighting you is beneath me," she turned back to help Callis incorporate, but before that, since things were so obvious already she had to lay it flat out:
"If you really cared about Callis you would have gone right to his side as he collapsed, you don't deserve a man of his stature, you are just a whore."
Akane kneeled down to incorporate Callis."Nomene-san, are you ok? please respond!" she looked at Crevil and Paprika, wondering if they were gonna help as well. Chambara was simply out of the question, he was a guide, not a helper.
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Post by Kuma on Jul 21, 2018 4:12:49 GMT
Ginger’s closed fist clashed against Akane’s armor. The powerful technological marvel appeared out of thin air, surprising the Chinese Huntress, who luckily out of her shock, didn’t put her whole weight behind the attack, pulling back at the last second, just giving a glancing blow to the armor, still it hurt like crazy. For a moment she seemed to be about to wince in pain, but she swallowed the scream she was about to let out and forced her tears back inside her eyes. She listened to Akane’s chastising of her actions and the confusion vanished, once again feeling her blood boil inside her veins, her tear-filled eyes slowly shifted into feline eyes, but before she could anything or say anything Crevil finally managed to reach them, putting himself in between the two, his back turned to Akane, arching down to talk to Ginger face to face. -Calm down little one, you letting beast inside come out, remember the cage, the cage we talked about before.- He whispered to her, with his broken Japanese, a thick Russian accent making it even less understandable. -But, but…- She childishly said while grabbing his arms, trying to move him away, but Crevil was more or less like a brick wall. -No buts little one, you can not do this time and time again.- The Russian Hunter put his massive hands on Ginger’s shoulders and turned her around. -Go, calm down and then return, apologize.-
Ginger grumbled away going towards the front of the sailboat. Crevil turned around, lowering his head, scratching the back of his head with apologetic eyes. Quite the contrast with his current look, basically a bigger and more intimidating Terminator. -Sorry, she is very passionate and powers sometimes go to head, she can get dangerous, but I control, don’t worry.- He made an effort to speak a bit more clearly, to get his thoughts across. -We do need work, so please don’t dismiss us.- He asked Akane, not understanding Callis was the one who could dismiss them. -I go now and talk her down… do not worry.- He paced slowly on the boat, always trying to stay in the middle, the boards buckling under him with each step. Callis, who was still down and out, didn’t hear any of the commotion, his face was strangely relaxed. After some moments of prodding by Akane Callis opened his eyes, dazed and confused looking around until he realized he was on the floor and the Musashi Heiress was sitting beside him, calling his name. Still, a bit confused he thought they were under attack, so without any kind of hint beforehand he exploded from the floor into a standing, two white blades appearing on his hands as he looked around, fully awake. -ARE WE UNDER ATTACK!?- He asked, frantically scanning the area, realizing that everything was calm.
His hands slowly let go of their tension, the blades turning into particles of light floating away as he finally looked towards Akane. For a moment his eyes locked on her, his face was locked in a mask of deep thought as if he was trying to remember something. Suddenly he started opening his eyes, gradually, until his blue eyes seemed almost twice as big. -Ah…- He exclaimed finally remembering what happened, blush climbing up his cheeks. -Ahhhh.- This time around he sounded like a balloon slowly deflating, as the memories came rushing back to his head. -Ah...ah…- He turned away from Akane, clearly too flustered to even talk. Without making eye contact he slowly moved towards the place he made the knot for the anchor and started removing it with shaky hands, still doing his damn best to ignore Akane was there. He was truly, truly embarrassed by the situation, this was the first time in a very long while he fainted like that. A lot of really bad memories started flooding his brain, after the dam that blocked them was cracked by the whole situation. Callis couldn’t face or talk with anybody, at least not for a while. He lifted the anchor and then lowered the sails, doing everything in his power to avoid looking at Akane. Without a doubt he was absolutely mortified about what happened, fearing it would damage the image of the JHWAB and the BHA he was representing, he didn’t actually care about his own image, he clearly had serious self-esteem issues.
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Post by othus on Jul 21, 2018 5:43:49 GMT
"Stop it Crevil-San, as embarrassing it is to admit, this too was my fault...thanks for stopping all this nonsense," she said as she looked at Callis still unconscious, she kept worrying until he finally opened his eyes, before she could even speak to him Callis jumped into action as if he had had a bad dream, she felt really bad for him, especially when he further began blushing after he saw her, Callis moved away without saying a thing which made Akane feel even more uncomfortable, she had to set things straight despite how embarrassing the whole situation was, she moved towards Callis as she noticed he kept avoiding her, she bowed before the beast warrior, herself being quite red as well.
"Please forgive me for my shameful actions Nomene-san! I promise it won't happen again" Akane would not release the bow until Callis addressed it, she just now realized how embarrassing the situation must have been for him.
Speaking about embarrassing situations, it was at this moment Akane remembered the virtual machine must have recorded the entire thing, she counted on her sister not being interested enough to check the footage, for if anyone ever saw that she would surely try to commit seppuku.
Unbeknownst to her, the person on the other side of the screen was not her sister but Ann Parker, the virtual warrior had a fully reddened face as the stoic image she had of Akane was completely shattered. Even though checking Akane's status was the work of Akane's sister, she rarely ever did it, so Ann decided to take the role, thinking she could learn a thing or two from looking at her friend do the missions.
"Akane don't do that!! That's so embarrassing!!! god, nobody must see this!" she told herself as she kept looking. A sudden voice that came from the back sent a chill down Ann's spine.
"Nobody must see what, nee-san?!" Mai replied as she entered the command center
"M-M-MAII¡?! what are you doing here?!!" she had not expected to see her here, it was probably the first time since she arrived that she saw her at the command center
"What? I wanna check on my sister, despite her being an ass, I still worry when she leaves with a total stranger" Ann immediately jumped into her as she pushed her out of the room
"EVERYTHING IS FINE!! ummm...I know! could you get me something to drink, please??! I will probably be staying all night looking at this boring footage"
"ehhh? so its been boring like always? fineee, I'll get you some coffee, if you ever get bored let me know, you know you don't have to be here"
"I-It's ok! thanks!"
Ann pushed the button in order to close the door, she slid down the door as she ended up sitting on the floor, wondering what would have happened if Mai had gotten a glimpse of that footage
*Phew...Akane will owe me one after this.*
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Post by Kuma on Jul 23, 2018 3:55:08 GMT
Callis wouldn’t even attempt to look in Akane’s direction. The Beast Knight was beyond embarrassed, fearing that his abject failure to keep his composure would be a stain in the reputation of the JHWAB, a reputation he swore to withhold upon being hired by them. He was trying to block out everything around, focusing on getting the sailboat back in track, to leave the dangerous shark behind, or at least to avoid encountering it again in open waters. The Beast Knight managed to peek for a moment, seeing Akane bowing. That hit him like a bus at full speed rushing to her side, stumbling on every word he said. -N..nono..no.. ne-ne-need to a-a-a-apo-apologize.- He raised both hands really ashamed of being the cause of Akane lowering her head. -I-I-it was m-m-m-y fa-fa-fault.- He bowed as low as he could. -Y--y--you d-d-id-didn't’ d-d-do an-an-any-anything w-w-w-wrong.- With that said, incapable of saying anything else, he returned to the wheel of the ship.
Meanwhile, close to the front of the ship, Crevil was trying to calm Ginger, who muttered insults and curses while bandaging her hand. -Uppity bitch… getting in my way… I’ll show her… I’ll skin her alive…- The Russian Hunter, who knew Ginger’s violent tendencies and their source tried to talk her down. -No Ginger, no violence, you need to stop.- He leaned towards her, trying to force her to look at him. -Your powers, stop using them, just for a while, they mess with head.- His broken accent made it difficult to understand his words, but his meaning got through. -You use powers, you get violent, you ruin jobs, I need money to send to family…- He made her remember why did they ended up teaming up, the trio, with their very different outlooks on life, powers, and skills had something in common, all of them were supporting family members they had to leave behind.
Paprika sent money to his brothers and sisters, to keep them from a life of poverty and slavery. Crevil sent part of his earnings, too much of them, to his parents back in Russia, to help them weather the last years of their life after they spent so much to protect him. -Remember Ginger, you need money, money to protect child, your child.- The mere mention of his son made her drop a couple of gears. -Yeah, remember him, remember and calm, you need to think, not act, think…- She stopped muttering curses through gritted teeth, lowering her head in shame. -You’re right big guy… But the voices keep bothering me, each I use my powers, the 4 Beasts take a bigger bite out of me… understand?- She whispered, scared, grabbing Crevil’s metallic arm. He patted her head, understanding the situation. -I know of voices, I had own voices, shouting in ear, telling me to kill capitalist pigs.- Crevil seemed to be a bit older than what he seemed. -Just push them away, think about child, child is focus, child is compass, you think about child, like I think about mother and father.-
She nodded, sitting on the deck. -Sorry for making a scene big guy, and sorry I did it in a boat, I was too dazed to realize we had to take off in one of these and you wouldn’t like it.- Crevil shook his head. -Do not worry, water won’t harm, water will only slow, I do not fear death, I fear being late, I fear not being there to help.- Seemingly Crevil’s body rendered him incapable of swimming, as he was too heavy and dense to float, he would sink to the seafloor if he fell overboard. He sat in front of her, waiting for Ginger to get her act together. Chambara, kept standing like a statue, while Paprika kept playing, the bipping of his console being the only thing that broke the awkward silence. The coast was getting closer and closer, and from their position no details could be seen, unless somebody had enhanced sight, they would notice people on the coast. 3… no, 4 figures.
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Post by othus on Jul 23, 2018 17:35:37 GMT
Akane couldn't help but wonder what had happened to the beast knight, he sounded so sure of himself just some minutes ago, and now he had the body language of a teenager, it was quite the sight to see him shift every time a woman was in the picture.
Akane decided not to bother the man further, for now, she needed to focus on the mission, Akane sat on one side of the boat as she began to meditate, whenever she felt too anxious meditation was the answer, she calmed her senses as she let her mind be cleansed of any impurities, she was able to listen to her body at will, and that was exactly the moment she finally caught up on a feeling.
Bloodlust, aggression, the island suddenly seemed all the more ominous, Akane opened her eyes wondering what was awaiting them, as this was no ordinary killing intent, whoever was awaiting them did so ever so anxiously, Akane stood and unsheathed her blades, it was still somewhat far from the island, but she felt the need to, leaning her Masamune blade on her shoulder, she went on to speak with Callis, now in a far more serious tone than earlier before.
"Can you feel it? the thirst for blood? something is coming, someone is aware of our presence."
The expression on Akane's face now was entirely different, her beautiful features were masked under a cold, heartless stare. It was as if the princess aura she had all this time was nothing but a facade, her golden eyes turned into a deep red, something that happened to all the Musashi when they were ready for battle, after all, from the elders down to her younger sister, the blood of the once strongest man under the heavens flowed through their veins. Akane couldn't hide any longer the bloodlust of her own. Her 13th-century blade looked as if it was newly forged under her hand, and it shone with a bright blue aura, the Kaneshige blade was well known for the fact it would cut whenever it pleased it, sometimes the blade would be unwilling to cut even a slice of tofu, it was almost as if it had a mind and morality of its own. The only person it would listen to was Akane, whenever she told it to cut it would do so without question, and the blade knew Akane was ready to cut.
Akane closed her visor as she zoomed into the island, there were four figures, one, much to her surprise, was perfectly recognizable. what was that man doing here?
"Nomene san...are you acquainted with the BHA? there are four people awaiting us at the shore, and I happen to recognize one of them, he is a bounty hunter that goes by the name of Percival Peregrine, I met him some time ago in Hetian, he seemed like a decent enough man at the time, but right now he seems to be accompanied by hostile forces, their killing intent is palpable all the way here, we should get ready for battle."
Akane was properly puzzled at the sight of Percival, the way Ann spoke of him and his deeds at the tomb showed he was not evil, perhaps this was also work of the blade? if the confrontation was inevitable, she would have to take him down, she just wished her gut feeling was wrong.
*Forgive me, Ann.*
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