Lighthouse in the Darkness

[HellKnight]

Clara savored her meal, eating slowly and chuckling at Ayato's comment. "Well you don't actually have to transform to be able to fight, you should be able to fight without changing too." She wasn't really informed on the training regiment that weapons went through, but she knew that Charon is able to still fight while in human form. "I can always try to force a change," she pondered a bit, "I figure if I make my Call strong enough, your body will just naturally respond. I'm sure it won't feel that great, but you won't be seriously injured or anything." She hadn't had Koba's cooking in a long while, each bite was just as good as the last and begged to be devoured. "Don't bother trying to compare yourself to him," she laughed. "He was a seasoned Reaper, and you...well you're still coming into your own. Don't think of that as a bad thing, there's still room for you to grow, and as long as you're by my side there will always be opportunities for you to gain some field experience." The last bit was a little bit of a joke, seeing as they were at odds with Demons and Lighthouse. A lot of enemies meant a lot of practice for them.

 

[gogojojo331]

He Nodded at the joke. It was not really funny, but whatever he needed to do to lighten the mood, he had to do something. He had taken some battle training in the Lighthouse, but not enough to fight someone like that. The best he had gotten is basic aura attack. One he found a partner, that's when they teach you your aura nature. Kota and Clara had probably mastered it earlier before they changed the system, as well as them being prodigies. The toxin aura of Kota and the dark aura that Clara had....which would win?

 

[HellKnight]

Clara finished eating and looked to Ayato. "Well either way it'll be good training for you," she said as stood up from the table, "I'm sure he'll have some tips for you. He may seem like a bit rough around the edges or a sarcastic jerk, but he's a decent guy." Clara stretched her limbs a bit and loosened up while still in the living room space of the underground compound. There where a bunch of tunnels and different spaces underneath the city, and Koba had made his living quarters in a section of that underground network. "Regardless if you decide to participate or not, I want you there. You need to see it with your own eyes, and as my weapon you should be able to feel what's going on to." She wasn't sure what Koba had been talking about earlier when she had fist awakened, but she was sure that this little "exercise" would explain it, all that was left was for them to go all out. She waited for Ayato to finish before mentioning him to follow her to the Arena.

 

[gogojojo331]

He finished his meal and looked at her, picking up the dishes. "I guess so." He looked at her, and felt like he was gong to be involved in the fight, no matter what he did. He took off his headband, and took he bowls to the dishwasher.

 

[HellKnight]

Koba was waiting in an overly large room, it was clearly a room where multiple tunnels met. The ceiling was high and there was even a railing at the sides, over the railing there was a huge drop off that seemed to lead to Oblivion. Clara smirked as she entered the room, feeling a bit nostalgic as she looked at a few cuts and chips in the walls around them. "I guess a this is the way you welcome people back, huh?"


Koba was leaning against the wall on the far side of the room. He looked up as he saw her and Ayato enter, but he remained against the wall. "While poison is my specialty, it's safe to say that healing is one of them too, by necessity," he pushed off the wall, hands in pockets, as he slowly walked toward the center of the room, "I'm curious about something...this is merely to satisfy my curiosity." He looked at Ayato for a moment, "You don't give off the feeling of one who is use to combat," he scratched his head as if confused, "I guess you have her to thank for that." He sighed as he looked at the both of them. "Well you need to learn how to defend yourself at some point, so I guess I could at least teach you basics before sending you two on your way."


Clara frowned as he finished speaking, "So you're gonna kick us out? What's your deal?" His attitude was beginning to irk her a bit, but she was just letting all her frustration pile up.


Koba's face went from its normal laid back appearance to a look so calm that it was as if he were in a trance. "We both know that nothing but death comes to those who follow the Lady," his purple aura began slowly emit from his body, but it slowly receded as he inhaled, "Let's see if you can make this interesting, and then I'll decide if you stay or go."


Clara looked over to Ayato, "Feel free to jump in or watch, but either way, keep your guard up at all times." He glared at Koba as her own black aura began to slowly rise from her body.


In an instant Clara had crossed the distance between herself and Koba and was already in mid punch, sending a powerful right hook to his face. Koba, hands still in his pockets, took a half step back, her fist swishing through his hair as he leaned just out of range of her punch. She followed up with a series of quick jabs, straights and crosses, all of which Koba seemed to evade by a hairs breath. The first time he struck back was when Clara became frustrated and attempted a spinning backlist, Koba ducked under the attack and lunged up toward her with a silver 12-inch pointy needle and jabbed it toward her face.


Clara's eyes widened as the needle closed in on her, and she only managed to dodge it by allowing her momentum from spinning to carry her off balance. The needle missed her for the most part, but she felt it knick her ear as she stumbled away from him. However, a few moments later she felt nothing, but when she touched her ear and inspected her hand, there was clearly blood dripping from the her ear. She glared at Koba, knowing that that particular needle must have been infused with some type of numbing agent or paralytic. He truly was a force to be reckoned with.


He stared at her with an emotionless gaze. "Now that you've gotten some of the dust off, shall we begin?"

 

[gogojojo331]

He gasped in surprise as the hit struck. He must have infused his needle with Aura or something to make the cut more vicious. He decided to try and use his basic aura skills. "Aura Skill 17: Pillar!" He thrust his hands forward, creating a dense but weak cylindrical shaped aura blast. He panted after he used that blast. If it hit, good. If not, then it could at least give Clara an opening.

 

[HellKnight]

Koba was so sure that the young man with Clara wasn't going to be an issue that he wasn't prepared for his attack, although lacking in power, the unexpected attack knocked him off balance. As he wavered to gather himself, Clara took the opportunity to strike, her dark aura exploding fans she dashed for him. As he regained his footing and turned to strike back, Clara buried her palm in his chest, a vicious explosion of both her black aura and his purple aura mixed together, and a moment later Koba's body was sent flying across the room. Koba gathered himself and performed an aerial backfill, landing on his feet and skidding backwards an extra 15 yards before he came to a stop. A smoldering hole in the front of his shirt and a nasty bruise where her hand made contact with his flesh.


Clara turned back and smiled at Ayato before returning her attention toward Koba, who was pointing at her as if to get her to look at something, she followed his finger to her right arm to find a needle stuck in at the side of her wrist. She scoffed as she realized he had managed to stick her as she blasted him across the room. 'That bastard!' she thought to herself as her dark aura former her Death Robe, she wasn't going to let him take the pace of the match. As she took a step forward, leaving the needle where it was for fear of making matters worse, she saw that Koba was now covered in his poisonous aura, it wavered around him like an armour of mist. She paused momentarily and in that instant he came dashing toward her, and she met him. The power of each attack thrown and block sent shockwaves of black and purple energy shooting about the room, and the two of them were quickly moving about as well.


Their pace was rapid fire, never staying still, as they both attempted to get the upper hand on the other. Their last exchange was in midair, nearly at the ceiling, the explosion sent a powerful shock wave through the entire room. They were both sent careening into opposite walls at each end of the room, Clara ended up on the side with Ayato. She had blood coming down the bright side of her face, 3 needles in her right leg, two in her left side, one in her chest, and one in her left shoulder. She coughed up a little bit of blood as she forced herself from the wall. Her anger and will to when numbing the pain and blocking out anything unnecessary, her dark aura slowly becoming stronger.

 

[gogojojo331]

"Clara!" He said, running near her. He knew that he needed to help her due to the strength of the Call. He touched her hand, and felt another resonation, and a super powerful sensation took him over. One that he didn't know had happened before. It felt like a thousand lightning bolts coursed through his veins as the turn a bit black. It felt...Funny..

 

[HellKnight]

Koba pulled himself from the wall, staggering as he got his composure back. There was an enormous burst of aura coming from the other side of the room, and as he shielded his eyes from the howling wind and dust, he could see that the two were resonating with each other. Now here comes the tricky part. She's like an ocean of dark energy and that kid feels like a bottomless pit, this is going to be difficult. Could these two be a more difficult pair. I've got to be careful here, I think I can close off some of her pressure points without getting cut in half or swallowed by this darkness. This power, if it got out of control, would either destroy them, destroy us all, or possibly both. Now the fun part, placing these needles precisely while avoiding death. It wouldn't be exciting if it wasn't this way, right? This is what Koba was thinking as he watched the two of them resonating, his next task was a Herculean one. If successful, he could put a lock on the door that held back Clara's power while also holding her back from finding that door.


Clara let out a surprised gasp as she felt Ayato's hand in hers, a powerful surge of energy shooting through her body. The feeling was at first like a growing fire, but quickly became like a soothing breeze, touching every inch of her body. She felt light, she felt like if she were to hop that she would possibly shoot through the ceiling. She could feel the power surging through her, and she liked it. Seeing Ayato beside her made her feel invincible, but she decided to leave him be. Even in this overpowered state, she knew it best to let Ayato get a feel for moving about and acting independent of her. That and she had a desire to crush Koba with her bare hands, looking down at them she could see what looked like black streaks wrapped around her arms like a patterned tattoo. As she gathered herself she stood and glared at Koba for a moment, then crack a small smile before looking to Ayato. "Tag, you're up!"


Koba looked shocked at this change of events, but he was also a bit curious. What can this boy do without Clara to guide him? Should I try to get his pressure points too? No, he'll be of more use to her at full strength. I need to get to her and close off as many as I can though. This duo is truly something, if they came at me together I'm not sure how long I'd last. I'm sure she'll jump in and interrupt her partner though, I can tell she's itching to test out this new strength. This was the internal monologue running through Koba's mind as he prepared to attack and defend. "The blood in my veins is a river of life, within it there lies a dark seed. The seed is a poisonous one, from which you're all to drink," he began as his aura began to get more violent and the air began to fill with his poisonous aura, "Lets see how well you two hold up in my Poisonous Blood Mist."

 

[gogojojo331]

He took a defensive stance, and looked around for an opening. He knew that he needed to take precise movements. Do an unnecessary movements, and that might make the poison spread faster in his body. He had to let him make the first strike. He took calm deep breaths.

 

[HellKnight]

Well it seems he's not a complete idiot. Koba rushed Ayato staying off to his left and quickly throwing 7 poisonous needles for the boy's legs. The aim was to get him moving and focused on evasion, if he was able to keep his focus on trying to evade then it would be easier to slip into a good attacking range. The boy's power was still unpredictable though, so Koba was cautious about getting too close to him.


Clara smirked as she watched, glad to see that Ayato seemed to properly analyze the situation. On that note she knew that she would have to interrupt at some point to finish Koba off, her dark aura wasn't invulnerable to Koba's poisonous aura and the effects would eventually take hold. For now, like Ayato, it was wise not to make any unnecessary movements. She watched carefully, waiting for the right time to hop in.

 

[gogojojo331]

He did a vertical slash with his hands. Attack #21: Gale slash. A wave of basic energy was shot at the needles, diverting them off course a bit, just missing a leg. He must not make needless movements. Koba has to come to him. Then it was all about countering efficiently.

 

[HellKnight]

Koba smirked as the needles were deflected, "You seem to be capable," he pulled out another hand full of needles, but can you evade everything, I wonder," he stuck himself with the needles in his pressure points. These weren't tipped with poison though, they were medicinal ones meant to further enhance his abilities. "With my pressure points punctured with these special needles my power will grow exponentially for a short period of time, and in that time my poison even more potent," he smirked, "Aura Manipulation: Serpent's Bite." Koba pulled out 8 needles, letting them go as they seemed to float in a purple dense fog of his aura, which seemed to come alive. 4 snake-like beings formed within his aura, each with two needles as fangs, abruptly sprang forth from the aura about Koba. They serpentine toward Ayato quickly, the needles completely embedded with his poison.

 

[gogojojo331]

He jumped back a bit. Aura shield! A giant circular bubble appeared to block the snakes for as long as the could. This would hopefully also block out some of the poison as well. Now what...He said to himself. Now he had to make new plans, and fast.

 

[HellKnight]

He has a sense of battle prowess, I'll give him that. Now let's see how he handles this. Koba held out his right hand toward the barrier, his aura accumulating in front of it, and as he closed his hand around the aura, it appeared as if he was holding a spear formed from it. "Spear of Achyls, go forth and seek that which I wish to wither away." The spear seemed to pick up sudden velocity as if the aura in the room were propelling it forward. The acceleration was so powerful that even Koba's clothes were violently fluttering about. As the spear screened toward Ayato, Koba withdrew a dozen needles as he prepared a quick second attack.


Clara was positive that Ayato's barrier couldn't withstand the attack, and she readied herself to step in. Her dark aura had slowly been spreading out around the room in thousands upon thousands of small slivers that would converge on a moment's notice. She knew that Koba always had a plan on top of a plan, so she had to try to outwit him on top of beat him with sheer force. She waited to see if intervention was necessary.

 

[gogojojo331]

He dispelled his shield to conserve energy, and dodge-rolled...He brought up the shield to block the needles even though the force of whatever that spear is, was going to throw him back. He realized that this was just going to be a stalemate unless someone does something

 

[HellKnight]

Clara was her opportunity to strike as his attack was boring down on Ayato, and she took it. She had been slowly stretching out her black aura about the training room. The black aura like hundreds of strands of darkness swirled about Koba's attack, extinguishing it with a powerful explosion. "Care to try your hand at this!" The strands of darkness uncoil and take aim at Koba. Looks like I've outsmarted you this time, there will be no draw this time around. Clara smirked as her dark aura went on the attack, striking and lashing out at him violently. The ground being ripped up and scarred as the strands of darkness connected with the cieling, walls and floor.


As Koba's attack was destroyed by Clara's trump card, Koba had to Mae his final preparations. As her attack took aim at him, two fairy-feather aura like wings appeared at his back. Her attacks were fast as were his movements, his maneuverability being helped along by the poisonous wings at his back, their flapping adding and churning the poison in the room. I have to be able to lock that door or anchor her to the bottom. Anchoring her is probably the safest bet right now. Koba was dodging her attacks expertly for a while, the scene appearing to be blinking rapid fire movements followed by a whip like sound and then a scar to mark the place where the attack had taken place. He had underestimated the quickness of her attacks and before long realized he was in trouble, as he had sustained heavy damage to his arms and legs.


Clara smiled as she could see trails of blood splattered about the room, trying hard to ignore the copious amounts of poison coursing through her system. She was determined to keep this fight long distance until the very end, and at that time she would deliver the finishing blow personally. She watched as Koba finally stopped dodging her attacks, as he came to realize that he had become completely surrounded by her dark tentacle-like aura. She would finish this battle here. The darkness compressed behind Koba, forming a sharpened speaker's tip and drove into his back, propelling him toward her. She raised her right hand, it immediately became engulfed in her dark aura, the ground crackling under her feet as she prepared her final attack.


Koba was caught off guard by the assault at his back, but the wings acted as a thin veil of armor. As he soared toward Clara, he removed a golden needle from his pocket, and snapping his left fingers. It's now or never. The first strike he had made against her earlier had been a gamble he was going to bet on at this moment. It was a poison that would slowly take root and form a tiny seed, and would feed off and absorb all the other poison released during their fight. When the time was right he would activate the seed, which would then explode, the concentrated poison effectively attempting to take hold of her.


Dark purple veins cascade over Clara's body as she tilts her head back and shouts in pain. Her dark aura at Koba's back dissipating as she uses what strength she has to fight off whatever is happening to her. As she struggles to fend of whatever is attack her body, Koba flicks the needle at her, which slices through the air and pierces her at her heart. The impact seemed light, but the effect was powerful. The moment the needle struck, all the power in the room seemed to be extinguished, leaving a bloody Koba standing before a stunned Clara. The golden needle seeming to slowly evaporate. "You've come a long way since we first fought," Koba said, blood staining his shirt and pants, "You're still not ready to outwit me yet. You should just stick to overpowering your opponent." He chuckled as he fell back on his butt.

 

[gogojojo331]

He looked at the two. H could see that Clara was strong, but strength does not equal wits. He looked at the two, and wondered if he should call a medic. No way any of them were gonna walk this off. "I'll call a medic..." He said, walking over to the phone. "You two...Just do what you do..."

 

[HellKnight]

Koba laid back, staring at the ceiling. "Good call, and perhaps see if you can find your partner here some common sense. I think she really tried to kill me just now," the pain in his voice was apparent, but he was managing, "Let's hope you always keep a level head on the battlefield, because your partnered with a powerhouse". Koba was physically exhausted and close to losing consciousness, but after quickly sticking himself with a few needles here and there he managed to stop the bleeding and restore his breathing to normal. This of course was only a temporary aid until real help arrived. "I have the number of a doctor on the desk by the phone, we can't risk having Lighthouse send someone and finding you two here, now can we?".


Clara was still in shock from what had just happened, and was laying on her back with her hands and legs splayed out. What the hell was that last attack of his, and why did my body suddenly feel like I had lost control? I was sure I had the advantage. Clara was a bit confused, but overall she was satisfied that Koba was in the shape he was in. She felt drained of energy herself, but was thankful that his last attack wiped all traces of poison from the room and their bodies. Had it not been for that fact, then her and Ayato would've been in some serious trouble, though Ayato may have been able to finish Koba off in the state the Reaper had found himself in. "That last attack...what wa-," he interjected.


"More like...What the hell were you thinking!" He yelled as he attempted to lift his head off the ground and look at her, "You could've actually killed me, ya know? I seriously don't understand you, but the sooner you two are back on your feet and get yourselves together, you're gone. I can't have Lighthouse breaking down my door asking me questions about you two, I don't want to have to die to protect your whereabouts." Koba went back to staring at the ceiling, his blood very slowly pooling about him.


Clara wasn't sure if it was an effect that the last attack had on her or just the fatigue from the entire experience, but she felt a lot heavier. Like there was some invisible weight atop her or gravity around her had doubled or tripled. A few moments after she realized the feeling, she wrote it off as battle fatigue and thought nothing more on it. It only made sense to her that her body felt like it weighed a ton after a heated battle like that, Koba did always make for an interesting sparring partner. He had told her once that his fighting style was for the long game. She never understood quite what that meant, but it appeared to correlate with the fact that at the end of each of their fights he somehow managed to take the win or bring the match to a draw of sorts. "I'm sore...and tired."

 

[gogojojo331]

He looked at Clara and walked next to her, calling 911. "What happened? Maybe some type of paralysis poison? And that battle was brutal..." He looked at her, and reported an 'Accident'. Fun thing about the Lighthouse and regular cops and medics were ht they seemed to work exclusively apart from one another, as if they were two warring factions for peace. So they weren't going to be caught by Lighthouse.