Fantasy Legacies: World at War - In Character

[Kumii]

Act I: Blue Skies and a Battle
Chapter I: And So It Begins...Year 2022, March 25th. 685 years in the future...Two silhouettes can be seen duking it out in an empty field. Their clashes producing visible lights that momentarily light them up, one of them wields a rapier and wears red clothing and is followed by a robotic looking thing. Another flash reveals their opponent has long, blue hair that fall around a pair of backwards facing horns protruding from their head. Their features looked dragon-like, claws on their hands and feet.

They do one final clash before both of them fall to the ground, seemingly dead.

Year 1337, March 25th. The present time...(Events from here on happen before the above scene.)
The bustling city of Ironshire was busy as always, it was around noon on March 25th. There were decorations lining the streets and market stalls, the decorations seemed to resemble that of a city. As it turned out, today was the 150th anniversary of the founding of Ironshire, the celebration would go on for a week, ending on March 31st. During this time, all purchases at market stalls had their purchase tax temporarily waived, meaning the markets were busier then usual, but this proved to benefit both the city and the owners as it would significantly increase sales and income and also mean the city would get more imports.

The surrounding towns benefited off this as Ironshire would end up purchasing imports from them, increasing their wealth for the next week.
(Welcome to the prequel!)
SharkBark AlphaBlueWolf

Mika and SkylaLocation: Forest just outside of Ironshire
Mentions: None
Mika leaned against a tree, intently watching Skyla, who seemed to be practicing to try and learn a new Magic Type. Skyla raised her sword to the air and started to gather Light energy into the blade, she groaned as she struggled to keep it contained and it eventually expelled from her blade and she fell to her knees, breathing heavily, "Damnit!" Mika sighed and walked towards Skyla and offered his hand to her, giving her a slight smile.

Skyla looked up at him and took it, getting pulled up by Mika, "I don't get what the problem is, Mika." Mika looked at Skyla, "I don't think it has anything to do with you, Skyla." He said in a low, calm tone.

Skyla picked up her sword and put it on her back, "You think?" Mika nodded, "Yeah, Learning a new type can take a long time." Skyla sighed heavily, "Yeah, I guess. I'm just kinda jealous that you know four types and I only know one, Mika." Mika tilted his head slightly, "I've been working on my techniques since I was 5, you've only just recently got your powers, it'll take time, Skyla. Don't worry." He said with a small smile. Skyla blushed a bit and looked away.

NiaLocation: Ironshire Training Yard
Mentions: None
Nia could be seen in the training yard, practicing her techniques on the training dummies there. She grunted with each punch and kick, when she was finished, she began walking home. As she was walking home, she was approached by a group of men, they looked like bad news. There were three of them and only one Nia, she looked at all three of them, "Can I help you guys?" She had a kind of lower vocal tone then most girls would have but it was still a higher pitch then a mans would be, "For a boy, you're quite cute." Nia scowled at this comment, "Are you sure you're a boy?" Nia growled softly but composed herself and gave them a fake smile, "I never said I was a boy, I am in fact a female." One of the men grinned deviously.

"Oh?" The man towered over Nia, "Then where are your boobs?" This angered Nia but she tried to hold back, "Now now that's something you don't ask a woman." Her toned reflected her annoyance and anger but the men persisted. Instead of talking further, they attempted to grab Nia by the arm but she rammed her knee into the man's junk and made him fall over in agony. This caused the other two to start to attack her.

She swiftly dodged one of their punches, countering by spinning and kicking him in the back. When the last man swung at her, she ducked then form palmed his stomach, sending him upwards a few feet. She stood over them, her expression was furious, "Morons." She huffed and walked off, leaving the three unconscious men lying on the ground.

 

[AlphaBlueWolf]

Aiko was in her usual place, the temple. Specifically, her little hidey hole under the stones of the temple. It had been a long and treacherous process for a Tanuki like herself to dig a hole in the dirt covering the bottom of the temple and she intended to use this place for a long time. After all, she didn't have anywhere else to go. Spirits shunned her for her small, runt size and the fact that she was no longer connected to the spirit world, making her mortal. And, of course, humans didn't like her because she was a spirit. Everyone around her thought of her as a nuisance. The only person in the world who had cared about her had been her father who'd left her for the afterlife way too soon.

Her small Tanuki form shifted and squirmed in the dirt, caking her fur in it. She dipped her muzzle underneath the hole in the stone wall where she had made her den. She watched as some workers rushed by and she flew back into the den, landing on her back with her paws sprawled out. She shifted back up and out again, watching as the workers tried finishing up decorations around the temple grounds. She looked intrigued by what they were doing.

She dipped her hand back into the den and delicately grabbed her leaf in her muzzle, the chain of the necklace dragging behind her small form. She squeezed through the stone gap, her fluffy form making it hard to do so. She dipped behind the wall and stood on her back paws, placing the leaf on her head. She thought really hard and, soon enough, she was the shape of a little human girl. Her tail had come up behind her and she wished again really hard. The fluffy mass was gone a second later. She needed to get something to eat or else she feared the form wouldn't last. Well, it was that and she was just hungry.

She dipped out, stumbling a bit as she had to remember the process of walking on two legs instead of four. Once she remembered and was able to walk without tripping, she headed around the temple looking for a snack, her leaf necklace hanging around her neck. If she didn't have that leaf, she wouldn't be able to maintain her form, that's why she was extra careful with it.

 

[SharkBark]

CODE BY SEROBLISS

Rai Ikari

Location: Ironshire's Slums

A bruise. A bruise on Rai's left eye. Here he was, in the slums of Ironshire, fighting a man with a bounty of 60,000 yen on his head. To Rai's surprise, the man no longer looked like his photo. Before, he looked like a scrawny little guy but now, most likely after lots of training, he was extremely skilled in hand to hand combat and stacked with muscle. Goddamn. Rai lifted his head back up and rubbed his eye.

"That hurt." he said to the man known as The Foggy Bandit. He robbed peoples homes by filling the house with fog, blinding the residents. "The reward money should be enough for me to buy a cream for this."

Suddenly, Rai rushes forward at the man, his hand tightly secured on his blade handle. He watched carefully how the man reacted. The bandit put his hands up in front of him, going for a block. Rai's eyes zoomed towards the man's feet. He took two steps back. He's using a peek-a-boo boxing stance. Basic. Rai leaps up into the air and pulls his blade out by an inch. Thinking Rai would slice him, the bandit raises his hands upwards towards Rai. A mistake.

Rai throws his left leg forward and slips it between the man's block, kicking him straight in his throat. With a rasping sound, the man clutches his throat and falls to the ground. He struggles to breath and gasps for air.

"No worries." Rai says. "When I turn you in, I'm sure the people you stole from won't be that mad." Rai chops the back of the bandits neck, knocking him unconscious. He touches his bruise and winces. "I need to study my targets better next time." He looked at the road ahead of him. The slums he grew up in were worse than ever. He wishes he could do something about it but, he couldn't go around giving out money. The order would surely stop him. They believed that hard work is what gets you out of the slums. But look at these people. They work their hardest just to get a meal and stay alive, yet they still eat scraps thrown away by the rich. The system was sick.

Rai, unsheathed his katana, picked up the Foggy Bandit--who was extremely heavy-- and began to make his way into the central city of Ironshire.

Interactions: None

 

[Kumii]

Mika and SkylaLocation: Forest just outside of Ironshire
Mentions: None
In Battle
It wasn't long before a snake-like tail came whipping in from nowhere and sent Skyla flying back and slamming against a tree, yelping in pain, "Skyla!" Mika called out. Thanks to her blade being on her back, it took most of the impact but also cracked in the process. Skyla didn't notice this however, Mika looked around and saw a Lamia with a devious grin and a murderous look. Mika readied his Katana as Skyla got up slowly, the lamia didn't hesitate however and sent its tail straight at Skyla. She drew her sword and attempted to deflected it but only barely thanks to it breaking in half due to the compromised structure from the crack.

Skyla had a terrified look on her face as everything seemed to move in slow motion for her, her mind processing why her sword broke, if the Lamia decided to attack again, Skyla would surely die. Sure enough, the Lamia recoiled its tail and sent it darting at Skyla again, she closed her eyes and waited for death...

But it never came for her, instead she heard a shrill shriek and the crackle of lightning. When she opened her eyes, she saw the end piece of the Lamia's tail and Mika, "Seventh Form..." Mika sheathed his Katana, "...Thundering Strike." Mika gave Skyla a reassuring smile then glared at the Lamia. Mika unsheathed his Katana, put his left foot in front of his right foot and placed the Katana on his shoulder, a fiery aura flared up for a moment signifying that Fire Stance was active. The Lamia slithered back a bit and shrieked at Mika, accepting his battle challenge.

NiaLocation: Ironshire Streets
Mentions: SharkBark
Nia walked along the streets when she noticed a tall, African-American man with a Katana and a man slung over his shoulder. Looked like fun where that man was coming from, Nia decided to catch up to them, "Hey! You-" she stopped herself after getting a closer look at the man over his shoulder, "The Foggy Bandit..." she said under her breath. She looked at Rai, "So you're a bounty hunter? I mean... you look like one." She looked him up and down, well built and quite handsome she thought, "Obviously you're a Katana user, do you know the Way of the Katana? Or are you just good with a sword?" She asked as she followed him, folding her hands behind her back as she walked with him.

 

[AlphaBlueWolf]

Aiko tried to find some food around the temple, but everyone seemed too busy with the preparations that no food was really being prepared. She could usually snatch away some food that would be prepared for offerings, but she guessed not right now with this whole festival thing going on. She'd either have to go steal from a farm or go directly into Ironshire for her meal. Both were risky. Her transformation probably wouldn't last much longer. She was good now because of her five-hour long nap but if she didn't get some food into her system...

She didn't want to think about getting outed as a spirit. Instead, she tried to decide. She was too hot with the farm. She'd recently gotten a bad whack to the rump with a broom in her Tanuki form. She'd just wanted some fruit. They didn't have to be that mean. Some berries sounded really good right now. Well, berries in Ironshire. It seemed like the best bet. And with the whole festival thing starting up, people probably won't notice a little kid running around with a leaf on a necklace, or the fact that half of their food stock had gone missing.

So, Ironshire she went. She didn't really have to sneak around the temple since everyone was too busy with last minute decorations. That was at least one good thing. She passed some guy who had flyers on her way out. Parchment probably to advertise the festivities or something. She didn't think much of it. Aiko ran into the streets and looked at all the people buzzing around. There seemed to be much more people than there usually was. That could either mean really good things for her or really bad. No one would be noticing her, but she also felt uncomfortable around so many humans. If she were revealed as a Tanuki, she had no doubt there would be an angry mob coming to strike her down.

She pushed through crowds of excited people, trying to follow the scents of food as she went. Her mouth watered and she could barely hear her stomach rumble over the crowd, though she knew it was. As she went, she noticed the guy from before, posting up those flyers. She followed him and snatched one up from the wall when he went. It was a job post. She'd been excited too. She thought it was something about the festivities. If it'd be fun, maybe she'd even hang around. But it wasn't. The only thing that kept her reading was a familiar description. One about a Tanuki running wild on temple grounds. A call to exterminate the pest. Her limbs went numb, and she felt a horrible feeling. She crumpled up the flyer and stuck it in her pocket for future reference. It hadn't just been a call to eradicate an annoying, food stealing animal, but a potentially dangerous spirit who was disrupting the peace of mortals.

She felt sick, not even wanting food anymore. But it would be big trouble if she couldn't sustain her transformation. Besides, maybe stealing would get her spirits up. So, she headed on in the streets for some food, her stomach giving another rumble.

 

[Kumii]

Mika and SkylaLocation: Ironshire
Mentions: None
Battle Concluded
The Lamia made the first strike, sending its tail at Mika. It had grown back its tail due to it's regenerative ability, Mika's blade become engulfed in flames as he side stepped the attack and spun down the length, disguising the 'Spirit Severance' within to severe its connection. The Lamia was mortal, Mika now had to finish it off. The Lamia recoiled and slithered towards him, Mika lowered his body and placed his left foot a good distance ahead of his right foot while also shifting the right foot's placement to be perpendicular to his left foot, a lightning aura flared up signifying he was now in Electric Stance.

Just like that, Mika disappeared in a flash and appeared behind the Lamia who he kicked into the air before using Flashpoint Strike to strike the Lamia midair then switching to Fire Stance, "First Form..." Mika dashed midair at the Lamia and sliced with a flaming sword, he did that 6 more times before ending the fight with a final 8th decapitation. He landed on the ground with a decapitated Lamia dead on the ground behind him, "...8-point Flame Strike." Mika flourished his Katana as the flames dispelled then sheathing it.

He walked over Skyla and picked her up, "It's okay, everything is fine now." He picked up her blade pieces and handing them to her. She could barely stand, she was still terrified but she took them anyways then walked to catch up with Mika who had already departed back to Ironshire, "We need to a blacksmith and get you a new sword, Skyla." She nodded in silence and she looked at him. As if her love for him couldn't any stronger, that act just made him even more attractive to her.

As they arrived in Ironshire they began looking around for the blacksmith.

 

[SharkBark]

CODE BY SEROBLISS

Rai Ikari

Location: Ironshire's Streets

Rai let out a "huh?" as he heard the voice. He looked over to see a short, what seemed to be a boy-ish looking girl, standing next to him. Rai could tell they were a girl due to their not very noticeable distinctive features. Her eyelashes were pretty long, she may have seemed to be bird chested but she had a slight curve in her hips, and her voice was lady-like. She said something about the Foggy Bandit.

"Oh, yeah. I just caught him." Rai said in a low, bored tone.

The girl then asked if Rai was a bounty hunter, saying he looked like one. Rai just nodded his head to this. Then, she said something about his katana.

"Yeah, I know about the Way of the Katana." Rai said. "Hey, miss. I'm gonna call you that for now. I have to turn this bounty in and, I need to do it fast. Some people might try to fake getting his body. I have the real one. So, please don't distract me."

Rai walked up and grunted as he struggled to hold the 230 lb man. What type of extensive training did he do to get so big in a week? Rai squinted his left eye, as the bruise stung. Great. He was in a threshold of pain right now. Some giant guy on his shoulder, his eye is bruised, and some monk looking girl won't stop bothering him.

Interactions: Kumii

 

[Kumii]

NiaLocation: Ironshire Streets
Interactions: SharkBark
Nia's eyes widened a bit when he said he'd call her 'miss', 'Miss? He... he knows I'm a girl?' she thought but she didn't have time to be happy when his next set of comments came, she sighed. She stood straight up and examined him, her lavender eyes searched him up and down again, noticing the bruise on his eye and the wince he did, looked like he was pain. She dug around in her little bag and pulled out a fruit then offered it to him, her cheeks were pink, "Here. It'll help with the pain. It's a Kaguya Fruit." she motioned to her eye with her free hand, "I noticed your eye was bruised. You look like you're in pain. This is only a temporary solution but it should help you for now." she continued walking alongside Rai.

 

[SharkBark]

CODE BY SEROBLISS

Rai Ikari

Location: Ironshire's Streets

The girl gave reached into a bag and pulled out a fruit. She said it was Kaguya fruit. What the hell was that? Then she said it'd help ease the pain in his eye. Rai sized up the fruit and then the girl. Surely she wouldn't try to poison him, right? Nah. She doesn't seem like that type of person. But, you can never be too safe. So no. He won't take it.

Rai winces loudly as his eye stings again. Forget it. Rai grabbed the fruit and took a small bite. It was, good. Like, really good. He felt the pain in his eye decrease and his head became clearer. He looks over at the girl with wide eyes.

"Wow. This is..impressive." He tells her. He then puts out his free hand. "I'm Rai. Rai Ikari. Nice to meet you..."

Rai had no interests in making friends or partners right now but, the least he could do is learn the name of the person who helped him. No need to be rude. She wasn't like anyone he's ever met. For starters, her knuckles looked conditioned. Like she knew how to fight. And she was dressed like a monk too, so she must have some type of training. Shaolin? Does she use Wushu? Or maybe Wing-Chun. He had so many questions for her but, he couldn't ask them all right now. Or probably never.

Interactions: Kumii

 

[Kumii]

NiaLocation: Ironshire Streets
Interactions: SharkBark
Nia gave him a small smile as he ate the fruit. Rai told her it was impressive, "Right?" she said happily, her smile widening a bit. Then Rai gave her his name, "Oh uh, my name's Nia. Nia White." She took his hand and shook it, "You know... you're the first person besides my parents who hasn't mistook me for a boy. Despite me looking close to one, it kind of made me happy that you did."

They walked for a bit when Nia noticed something, a bounty board. She saw something eerily similar... Nia now had a bounty on her head. She ran up to the board and took her poster off it and looked at it, her eyes widened, "Huh? A bounty?!" She continued looking at it, "Dead or alive?! 10,000 yen?!" Nia had a look of disappointment on her face, 'Am I really only worth 10,000?' she thought, 'Regardless, it has to be those three guys who attacked me earlier, the gall to put a bounty on me though...' She sighed, Rai said he was a bounty hunter so he might come after Nia. Not that she was afraid of him but she wondered how he'd go about it if he knew. Should she tell him now or later? He'd find out eventually. She sighed and walked up to Rai and showed him the Bounty poster of her, "So apparently, you're talking to a criminal, though I have a pretty good idea who might've put the bounty on me..." Nia almost looked bad, she couldn't eye contact with Rai.

"Since you're heading to the bounty office anyways, i'll come with you. I don't entirely agree with the poster as I think it's unjustified against me but you're a bounty hunter so, as long you get paid, you don't really care." She said waiting for his response.

 

[SharkBark]

CODE BY SEROBLISS

Rai Ikari

Location: Ironshire's Streets and then the Bounty Bar

"Nia, huh?" Rai said. "Nice name." Nia said something about people confusing her for being a boy and how she was happy he got it right. Rai gulped. He almost did mistake her for a boy. "Oh, no problem."

As they got closer to the inner town of Ironshire, Nia ran over to a poster, seeming distressed. When she came back over, she showed him it. She had a bounty on her head for 10,000 yen. Rai stopped walking and let out a sigh. He thought over whether or not to turn her in. Then she said that because he was a bounty hunter, he wouldn't really care that she thinks the poster is unjustified. Rai continued walking, not saying a word.

At the Bounty Bar

Rai and Nia walked into the bar and Rai threw the Foggy Bandit onto the floor. The bar was filled with out bounty hunters who looked their way. There were people such as the Shadow Hunter, Igor the Crusher, and even Amethyst, the poison hunter.

"Give me my 30,000 yen please." He said. Some hunters groaned and let out annoyed comments.

"C'mon, Rai. Save some bounties for us." said Igor.

"Yeah, we need some money too." said the Shadow Hunter. "Wait." he looked at the poster in his hand. "You brought in two bounties? Hey, she's only worth 10,000 yen. She's not useful to you. Lemme have her reward."

Many hunters exclaimed, saying that the reward should go to them. Some people stood up and started walking over to them.

"You know what? I think I'll just steal her from you." Amethyst said. Many other hunters talked in agreement and began to stand up.

Rai unsheathed his blade at pointed it forward at everyone.

"I'm not turning her in." he said. "And if anyone tries to claim her, I'll have no choice but to put a few thousand volts in you. Or I can leave some cuts on you. Or in you too. Whatever you'd like."

Many hunters snorted in disgust and glared at Rai.

"Don't tell me you think you can beat all of us."

"Bring it on. I'd love to kill someone of your race."

"Was that a threat, Rai? It better not have been."

Rai got into a defensive stance with his blade. If they attacked, he'd just release enough volts to immobilize the entire bar. But if he did that, the bounty hunter would have a bounty on his head. He questioned if he should just hand her over. Why put himself through all this trouble for someone he just met?






Interactions: Kumii

 

[Kumii]

NiaLocation: Bounty Bar
Interactions: SharkBark
Nia walked alongside Rai, who said nothing. She looked down, 'Is he mad at me?' she blushed a tiny bit, 'Wait... why do I care if he's mad at me? I'm just money to him, I'm sure...'

At the Bounty Bar...
She and Rai arrived at the Bounty Bar, 'This is it...' They were approached by some hunters, then Rai said something that surprised Nia, 'I'm not turning Nia in.' This resonated in Nia's mind for a minute, 'Why?' The bar started getting rowdy and Rai unsheathed his blade, 'Why is he going through this trouble for me?' Nia quickly cleared her mind as she began sensing the impending danger, she Focused her mind and got into an defensive stance, her Fist of the Serpent stance, "Sorry, Rai. I don't why you're doing this for me, you should've turned me in to avoid the trouble."

Despite wanting to defend herself, she didn't want to cause Rai anymore trouble right now, so for now she only waited to see who would make the first move. though, the tension was high and Nia was at the center of it, they were all wanting her bounty. She could feel the eyes on her and it made her a bit uncomfortable. She heard the door open behind her, she turned and her heart dropped as she was overcome with anger, "YOU three!!" Nia rushed them and pinned one of them against the wall, "This is YOUR fault, you bastards! YOU put the bounty on me because YOU attacked me first!" Her anger was insurmountable, "Now EVERYONE here wants me either dead or alive!!"

One of the other two men tried to calm her down, "H-Hey, c-calm down-" he was cut short as Nia socked him in the junk again, causing the man to fall over in agonizing pain, she turned her glare back to the man she had pinned to the wall, "I should kill you..." she let him go though, "...but I promised myself I wouldn't cause trouble for Rai, so leave." She said sternly. All but the man who was writhing in pain on the ground left, "I can't have kids anymore..." the man said through the tears in his eyes.

 

[AlphaBlueWolf]

Mateo was currently getting lost in the woods. His trusty map in his hand wasn't doing him any good. His cat friend walked alongside him, trying to lead him through the forest. But both of them were pretty confused. Suddenly, the cat that was walking by his foot suddenly gained speed and ran. Mateo silently put away the map and started closing the distance, navigating the forest like a champ when he had been born in a desert. That was what those months and months of training in the ways of nature magic had done for him. Able to traverse forests with ease.

His cat led him to the corpse of a dead Lamia, head missing. He had taken the Lamia's tail in his mouth like he had proudly caught an adder. "No!" He exclaimed and took it out of his mouth. He felt bad for the spirit, not knowing what it had attempted to do. "C'mon. Let's bury... them." He couldn't tell the gender of the Lamia and he was absolutely not going to try to find out.

So, they got to digging. His cat started with a hole and he helped, getting his hands thoroughly dirty with well dirt. Though, the gloves on his hands helped. Its not liked he minded much even if it had been his bare skin. He just wanted to make a proper burial.

Once they were finished with the hole, he dumped the Lamia's body in, being careful with them. The blood was mostly dry, but some got on his blue ruana. It sort of blended in with the gold accents but it was still a dark stain. He was used to getting the thing dirty but he would much rather it be clean. He'd had the thing since he was a baby so he was especially attached to it.

Another several minutes and the Lamia's corpse was covered in dirt. He found a large rock and struggled to bring it over, using it as a head stone. When he was finished with his burial, he kneeled and pressed his hands together like he was praying. He closed his eyes and dipped his head. The cat beside him did the same, but just dipped his head since he didn't have hands. When they finished their send off, the began walking again.

It took another couple minutes for them to actually get to Ironshire. When they were in the city limits, he gasped and his eyes seemed to sparkle. It looked so festive! He prompted the cat to get inside the satchel he kept with him, which he did. He didn't want to get separated from his friend in the crowds, which he figured would happen. Mateo then ran into the streets, trying to find a place to hunker down. Maybe an inn he could sleep in, in exchange for his healing abilities.

 

[Kumii]

Mika and SkylaLocation: Ironshire
Interactions: AlphaBlueWolf
The pair walked around, trying to remember where the blacksmith was when Mika bumped into someone. Mika barely budged but was a bit surprised, he simply stared at the boy with a stoic look. To anyone else it was kind of scary but then a kinder, more gentler face popped into view from behind Mika. It was Skyla, "Hey, why'd you-" she noticed the boy and dropped her sword pieces and rushed to the boy's side, "Hey, are you okay?"

Mika turned around to go and pick up Skyla's sword pieces that she so carelessly dropped, "Take better care of your sword, Skyla." Skyla turned her attention away from the boy, "Yeah well you watch where you're going, Mika!" Mika turned and sulked in a very anime fashion, "Sorry..." Skyla sighed then turned back to the boy and gave him a smile, "Sorry about him."

 

[AlphaBlueWolf]

Mateo had stopped trying to look around and felt the bump from behind. He stumbled but luckily regained his balance using his staff. The wood curled at the top where it looked like you could fit in a sizeable gem as a decoration. Though, if it had had a gem inside, there wasn't one now. He wasn't nearly as important to have such a thing like that. Not rich enough too. He was a mere traveler looking for teachers in the arcane arts of magic.

Nonetheless, he positioned the staff in a swift motion which made it function more like a cane despite it being taller than him. His satchel took the brunt of the force, and a hiss could be heard from inside as eyes peered out from the flap. "Shhhh!" He shot in the direction of the bag. "It's alright.." He murmured. He then turned to see a scary looking man peering over him. He looked older, but he wasn't sure by how much. He was kind of scary too, carrying around a katana like that. But Mateo was used to scary looking guys from his travels. He'd had to deal with scary looking guys, one of the reasons he was short on change at the moment. Bandits were a great thing while out on the road.

He steeled his nerves, ready for the worst as he had experienced bad people before. A girl's voice could be heard and his attention shifted to the newcomer. Possibly a companion of the other. She looked much more gentle than the other. She dropped pieces of metal that clattered to the ground and went to Mateo's side, asking if he was alright. Her companion went to pick up the pieces, telling the girl to be more careful with her sword. Wait that was a sword? The girl rounded on him, spitting back a comment in response. Through these interactions he learned the girl's name was Skyla and the boy's was Mika.

He watched the interactions between them, then Skyla turned back to him and apologized about her friend he was guessing. "It's alright. Nothing hurt here." Well, they'd shaken Cora, but he'd be fine. Maybe crushed him a bit when he was bumped into but hopefully the cat was fine. "A bit of my fault too. Don't blame your friend too much. I probably shouldn't have been standing still in the middle of the road." He gave a chuckle and then extended a gloved hand. "I'm Mateo, a newcomer around these parts." He gave a soft smile. He didn't make any indication of hearing the hiss from Cora earlier. He was in cat form, but Mateo would still rather not out his Bakeneko friend he practically smuggled into the city. He knew how mortals felt about spirits and they probably wouldn't care about Cora being friendly.

 

[Kumii]

Mika and SkylaLocation: Ironshire
Interactions: AlphaBlueWolf
Mika thought he heard a hiss coming from the boy's bag, Mika glanced at Mateo for a minute. Skyla sighed a sigh of relief as he said he was okay, "That's good." Mateo proceeded to give his name, "Mateo?"

Mika turned his body to face Mateo, "So then he'd be no help to us." He said, to which Skyla gave Mika a swift chop to his head, "Don't be so rude, Mika." Mika recoiled a bit and held his head for a moment, "Skyla! What'd you do that for?!"

Skyla leaned down a bit, "Because you're being mean!" She said in a scolding tone, Mika looked at Skyla and turned his head, "Regardless, the boy reeks of Spirit." Skyla scowled, "Yeah? So? If that is the case, then we should help him!" Mika looked at Skyla with surprise. "What? Why?" Skyla simply stared at Mika, who sighed in defeat, "Fine. We'll help him after we get your sword repaired. I'm useless without you." Mika turned to walk away.

Skyla smiled happily at Mika then turned to Mateo, "There you have it, Mika's sense for this is pretty good. If he says you reek of Spirit then we can't let you wander around like this, people who can smell your odor will know and it'll be trouble for you. So could you follow us for the time being?" She offered her hand to Mateo, waiting to see if he'd take it.

 

[AlphaBlueWolf]

Mateo caught the stare from Mika. He was used to smuggling Cora into places since they met, but for some reason this guy made him nervous. His stoic looks just made him more intimidating and that katana gave him the feeling he was skilled in a fight. Besides, he looked like he'd be able to slice through Mateo in half a second. He gave off the impression that he was probably a swordsman for a living. He was just glad the girl, Skyla, seemed way more gentle and nice. Just focus on her and he should be fine.

Skyla seemed relieved that he was fine. He nodded when she said his name. Mika made a comment which prompted them to go back and forth with some hitting on Skyla's part. Still, it didn't seem malicious. They must've been good friends to be able to argue and bounce back so quickly.

The comment didn't hurt as much as Skyla made it seem. He was kind of used to it. Still, he didn't like to be useless. He wanted to help as much as he could. That's why he'd taken up being a traveling healer after learning his nature magic skills.

Mateo just stood there, waiting for the small argument between friends to die down. He kind of tuned out a little, looking away and suddenly becoming very interested in his staff. He immediately tuned back in when Mika mentioned he reeked of spirit. Oh, no. They'd had this problem before and now it was coming up again. Mateo never noticed spirit scent because he wasn't attuned to it. He hadn't been trained to pick it up. As a Bakeneko, Cora mentioned scent a lot. But he was pretty much clueless in that as a human. Now he realized why scent was such a problem. He felt unnerved for that second, figuring he'd be cut open with that big katana Mika kept on him. But Skyla surprised him. She talked about helping someone who they figured was a spirit, which was surprising. He figured all mortals hated spirits. Well, he was mortal and didn't hate them but still. That was the general thing with mortals. But Skyla seemed so unbiased as a clear human that it amazed him.

Mika gave some push back, but Skyla didn't seem to want to budge so Mika begrudgingly agreed. He was glad, he swore they were probably going to kill him and then eventually find out it was Cora. He'd be on his own and he hated that idea. Even if he was capable, Cora was pretty innocent to the world and needed Mateo to explain a lot of things for him. He'd never grown up in high society but he knew that Cora had been sheltered for much of his life so he wouldn't push it. Despite their differences in both background and race, they were still able to be good traveling partners and friends.

Mika said something about a sword repair, which made a lot of sense from the broken pieces on the ground. Mika turned to go off and he was left with Skyla who still seemed friendly with him. She talked to him about 'his' odor. How people who could pick it up, like Mika, would definitely cause trouble for him and that's not what he wanted. So that's how people kept figuring it out with Cora. The perceptive could tell he wasn't just a cat or boy. Made a lot more sense to him.

Mateo was seriously considering running when Skyla offered her hand. They knew, and that other guy was pretty scary. He didn't seem as accepting of spirits as Skyla did. But he really didn't know where he was going, and these two seemed like locals who could actually help him. Besides, they thought it was him rather than his Bakeneko friend. He'd like to keep it that way. And if they were being nice about it, not immediately trying to kill someone they thought was a spirit...

"Uh, sure." He said and took her hand, a little nervous to do so. He caught Cora's gaze, a look that said, 'what are you doing?' He glared back, trying to silently communicate for the cat to stay in his satchel. He did so, but he was still as unsure of this all as Mateo was. With his staff in one hand and Skyla's hand in the other, he walked alongside the two as they tried to find a blacksmith capable of repairing the broken katana.

 

[Kumii]

Mika and SkylaLocation: Ironshire. Later, the Blacksmith's Shop
Interactions: AlphaBlueWolf
Skyla grabbed Mateo's hand and caught up with Mika. Mika glanced over at Mateo and Skyla, they were holding hands, Mika looked ahead without saying saying anything. Skyla on the other hand looked happy as could be, it didn't last for long as they were approached by a group of people.

One of them stepped out, sniffing the air, "Smells like Spirit. And its coming from that boy!" The man pointed at Mateo. The man got closer but Mika intervened by stepping between them, giving the approaching man a glanced, "He's with us. Got a problem?" The man stepped back in surprise, "M-Mika?! S-Sorry! Didn't know it was you!" Mika glanced back at Mateo, 'What a pain. The odor is too strong. Nothing like a dead Spirit has...' he paused as he stared at Mateo, "Don't fall behind." He said after a minute before he turned to began walking towards the blacksmith shop which was just ahead.

Skyla looked at Mateo then to Mika then back at Mateo, "Don't worry about it, Mika's really strong!" Skyla smiled at him before looking at Mika who was walking away, 'Something's bothering Mika...' Skyla pulled Mateo along as they caught up to Mika.

At the Blacksmith's Shop...
Upon arriving at the Shop, Skyla let go of Mateo's hand, "Hey, Isiah!" She said as she waved at the smith, "Hmm? Oh, hey Skyla, Mika. What brings you here today?"

Mika placed Skyla's sword pieces on the counter, the blacksmith examined them, "I'm sorry, it's broke beyond repair, your only other option would be to buy another." Mika looked Skyla to see what she wanted to do. She pointed to a pretty looking great sword (See Skyla's Character sheet for reference), "That one!" Mika looked at the Smith and nodded. The smith took the sword down and gave it to Skyla, who see how it fit. Mika smiled a bit then turned back to the smith, "We'll take it."

Smith nodded, "Sure thing, that'll be 150,000 yen." Mika reached into his wallet and pulled out the money and handed it over.

 

[SharkBark]

CODE BY SEROBLISS

Rai Ikari

Location: Bounty Bar

Nia had gotten into a defensive stance. It resembled a serpent. Guess Rai was right, she does know how to fight. Suddenly, the door behind them opens. 3 men. Rai paid no attention to them but Nia? Nia became enraged. She rushed the men and pinned one on the wall. She screamed about how they put a bounty on her even though they attacked her. Guess that's what happened. Then, Nia said she wasn't going to kill them because she had promised Rai no trouble.

Rai couldn't help but blush a little. No one had ever given him this much respect.

"Rai's blushing!" said Igor. "Aw..looks like he has a boyfriend!"

"B-Boyfriend?" Rai said. "She's a girl."

Igor froze for a moment. He stared at Nia's face for a moment. Then her chest, then her hips. He let out a small chuckle, and then another. Soon, those chuckles turned into loud laughter and everyone in the bar laughed with him. People said things like, "Haha! Not even any boobs!" or "She has no female features! How depressing! Couldn't be me!".

"Hey." Rai said. "Chill out alright. Don't make fun of her."

But the laughs ceased to stop. They pointed and made inappropriate gestures, and someone even took off their shirt, pointing to their chest and saying that's the type of chest Nia had. Rai felt bad for her. But attacking them now would only make things worse. He looked over at Nia to see how she was reacting to this.






Interactions: Kumii

 

[AlphaBlueWolf]

Mateo kept catching the glares from Mika. He felt anxious around the guy, like he would discover the truth about the cat in his bag and start hacking at Cora with his sword. Hopefully Skyla would stop him if that happened. She seemed the type of person to do that.

He couldn't really worry about that for long. A group of people was approaching them. A man in the front pointed the spirit scent out and he knew it was coming directly from him. Really, it was Cora in his bag, but everyone thought it was coming off of him since Cora was hanging to his body from the satchel. He could feel the bag squirm as Cora moved in it. They were close enough that it seemed as though the scent was coming from him. Besides, there was only him in their line of sight, so it was logical that they were making that mistake. That didn't make him any less worried as the guy approached, looking like he was about to attack with the intention of killing. Luckily, Mika stepped in. He was surprised, thinking Mika hated him. Or maybe he was just protecting him because Skyla would give him another slap if he didn't. He looked up at Mika as the man backed off. The taller guy in front of him seemed to have a reputation if the man was backing off so easily. He was kind of glad, but Mika still seemed scary.

He was fixed with another stare by Mika. What was with this guy? Probably the spirit thing, but still. Spirits weren't even bad. They were just like mortals. Some were bad and some were good. The one with him happened to be one of the good ones, even if he had grown up dense when it came to poverty and other troubles he hadn't had to face. Mika even told him to not fall behind, which felt insulting. But he had a point as Mateo was the tourist here. He could easily fall behind from being new. However, he took that a different way. Skyla told him about Mika being super strong, but he was still on the comment about not falling behind, so he barely heard her. He essentially pulled her forward with his cheeks puffed out. He was not falling behind! He was going to prove that spirits were just as capable, even if he wasn't a spirit himself. He felt like he was basically representing them. Plus, he felt protective since his best friend was a spirit.


He'd stopped pulling Skyla once he had made his point and slowed down to allow her to take the lead as he was the newcomer. They led him to the blacksmith and he watched as Skyla let go of his hand and went about her business. As Mika and Skyla took care of that, he stepped off to the side and acted like he was viewing a rack of daggers. He secret he moved to his satchel so he could talk to Cora. "Mateo, I don't think this is a good idea." Cora said. He could talk even while in his cat form, but kept his voice low.

"It'll be fine. Besides, we really don't know where were going. And, from what I've heard, this place is huge. If they can help us find our way they we won't get into any trouble." Cora didn't look reassured. "Remember that group, they would've killed us for sure had the scary looking one not stepped in. They respect him here and we'll get a free ride as long as we're with him."

"The girl is... alright." Cora admitted. "But the other one wasn't as accepting. What if she's not around? What if he's bidding his-"

"Cora." Mateo whispered. "You're being paranoid again. Look, they'll help us and I'm pretty sure we'll part ways. Besides, this is just one stop on our tour of the world. You wanted to see everything right? The whole world? Well, this is one place in the world. And wouldn't it be nice if we had some tour guides?"

"Fine." Cora huffed. "But if this goes south it's all your fault. And if they seem like they'll turn on us, I want to get as far away as possible. And-" Mateo cut him off as he dropped the satchel's cover back onto him. It seemed as if they had finished their shopping and Cora and him had come to some kind of agreement.

Mateo walked back over and saw the great sword, making him a little nervous that they both had blades. All he had was a glorified stick and some half-baked spells. "Wow. Did it uh.. used to look like that?" He said nervously, unaware of the transaction that took place.

 

[Kumii]

NiaLocation: Bounty Bar
Interactions: SharkBark
Current Weather: Thunderstorm
Nia's face was covered by her hood that she pulled down a bit more. She began trembling but not with fear but with anger. She grabbed a hold of Rai's hand, specifically grabbing his pinky like a little kid would. She was trying so hard not to break her mental promise to Rai. She glanced at Rai, there was a single tear in her eye, it was out of frustration with the conflict she was currently holding in her mind to hold back. Her magic energy began to go wild inside of her, summoning a Thunderstorm outside. It began pouring and flashes of lightning could be seen with the thunder afterwards being heard.

"I'm trying... so hard.. R-Rai." She mumbled, hoping Rai would hear her.

Mika and SkylaLocation: Blacksmith's Shop
Interactions: AlphaBlueWolf
Current Weather: Thunderstorm
Skyla put the sword on her back then jumped to hug Mika, "Yay! Thank you, Mika!" Mika just took the hug, "R-Right. St-Stop that, Skyla." He said. Skyla let go and pouted, "Aww, you big meanie." Mika brushed past Skyla and approached Mateo, simply staring at him for a few seconds, "You. Why do you smell like a Spirit." Skyla watched the exchange before deciding when to intervene, "The reason people are so suspicious is because they smell a Spirit on your person. Dead and Alive Spirits have different smells. You smell of an alive Spirit. So. Explain."

 

[AlphaBlueWolf]

Skyla seemed happy about the sword, and they exchanged a quick conversation, one that sounded like it came from good friends. It was hard to be intimidated by the guy when he was being squeezed tight by Skyla. Though, the intimidation factor came right back when he sauntered over to him with that same stoic expression. He stared up at the big guy as he stared down towards him, an awkward few seconds for him and he averted his gaze, not being able to hold it. Well, at least he had tried.

He didn't like when Mika was so talkative either. There was something just so unnerving about the guy, especially how he was interrogating him. Mateo was under the impression that they had already figured it out from the spirit scent hanging around him. But maybe if he could play it off. "Oh, I just came back from burying..." He trailed off. That was probably not going to work. He was going to use the burying a Lamia defense, because that had actually happened, but he could smell an alive spirit on him. Which meant that wasn't going to work. He would smell like dead spirit then. Great. Well, he had to take the heat off of Cora. The Bakeneko squirmed in the satchel and he moved from side to side to make it seem like a natural thing. He was getting the hint. Cora wanted to take the fall. He wanted Mateo to allow him to reveal himself so he didn't have to deal with this. He put a hand on the satchel to keep it shut. He was basically saying, 'no way is that happening!' But both of them wanted to take the fall for the other's sake.

"Ok. Fine." He looked away nervously. This could either end in them getting a pass or he was going to die. He hoped for the first option. "I-I'm a spirit." He totally lied. He looked towards Skyla for some help. She seemed like the nice one, hopefully she wouldn't kill him. Better yet, maybe she could prevent Mika from killing him. "I don't hurt people, either. So please don't kill me!" He continued, remembering his abilities and the fact that he was a traveling healer. "I-I even heal people. If you two have wounds I could show you! I-I'm a traveling healer, I swear!" He stepped backwards as he heard a lightning strike. He was usually brave, well he tried to be, but right now he was running the risk of getting both of them killed by very skilled swordsmen. He was definitely nervous about his white lie. In fact, he stepped away from Mika who made him way more nervous and went closer to Skyla.


Aiko looked up as splotches of rain dripped onto her thin amount of clothing which had grown raggedy from her years on her own. She stayed in the same clothes, since she was an orphan. She definitely looked like she belonged in the slums. Now, she was wet on top of dirty. She managed to grab a small scrap of food that she had grabbed before it hit the floor. Half eaten orange. She liked oranges.

Though, she'd like a full orange. She was heading to the marketplace when she heard the lightning. She crashed into an alleyway and hid away from it. She liked the rain, but thunder was different. Her father had tried to get her accustomed to it when he was alive, but she never did like the loud booms in the sky. She was scared, dirty and wet. What was worse, her transformation wasn't holding. She ate what remained of the orange, but it didn't fill her up. At least she didn't turn into a full Tanuki, but her tail had been revealed. She cuddled up with it and tried to wait out the storm.

 

[SharkBark]

CODE BY SEROBLISS

Rai Ikari

Location: Bounty Bar

Rai closed his eyes for a moment and sighed. Fellow bounty hunters were all dipshits. Suddenly, Nia grabbed his pinky. When Rai looked at her, his heart broke in a matter of seconds. A tear came from her eye and she was trembling. Then, outside, a thunderstorm began to form. Was that Nia? Or just natural circumstances. Seeing Nia tremble and cry enraged Rai. He couldn't stand to see people judged just because of the way they look. And what made Rai snap was when Nia quietly muttered:

"I'm trying... so hard.. R-Rai."

Rai threw down his Katana and charged Igor. Igor's laughs quickly stopped and his eyes widened. Igor had tried to put his hands up but he couldn't do it in time, Rai had already grabbed a beer bottle and slammed it against the side of his head, knocking him back. People exclaimed and cheered.

"BAR FIGHT! Get his ass, Rai!"

Igor' was engulfed with anger and charged at Rai. He was 7'0 tall and extremely wide. He lifted Rai by the haori and slammed him into a nearby table, making Rai cry out in pain. Next, Igor punched Rai in his left eye, the same one that was bruised. Rai was temporarily blinded in his left eye but still had enough strength to retaliate by kicking Igor straight in his left eye. Equally blinding him.

As Igor and Rai stood in front of each other clutching their eyes, people handed them weapons. Rai was given a stool and Igor was handed a wooden club. Seems like people are picking favorites.

"Don't you even think of stepping in, Nia." Rai said.

Igor made the first move and swung his blunt weapon at Rai which Rai swiftly dodged and followed up by slamming the seat of the stool into the bottom Igor's Jaw. After that came a vicious combo. Rai broke off one of the stool legs and jabbed it into the giants neck, then he took the flat side of the stool and smashed it into Igor's nose, making Igor fall onto the floor. Blood flew onto Rai's face but he didn't mind. He then jumped on top of Igor and started to punch in his face. Blood splattered onto his arm and face as a cracking sound was heard.

The bar went silent, only the sound of Rai punching Igor could be heard.

"Okay, Rai." said the Shadow Hunter. "Y-You beat him, alright man?"

The punches continued as Igor let out groans of pain.

"Oh, fuck. He's gonna kill him." said Amethyst.

Rai pulled his arm back as far as possible for a final punch when his elbow is grabbed. He looks up and sees an S Rank Hunter. The Quiet Hunter, Lucifer. Lucifer lifts his foot and stomps into Rai's face, and pushes it all the way onto the floor. Rai tries to pull his face back up but Lucifer pushes harder. At some point, Rai stops trying. He can't beat him. He looks over at Nia.

"Leave.." He barely sputters out. "Quickly."

Lucifer looks over at Nia.






Interactions: Kumii

 

[Kumii]

NiaLocation: Bounty Bar
Interactions: SharkBark
Current Weather: Galeforce WInds
In Battle
Nia watched as Rai nearly killed Igor, or did he actually kill Igor? At this point, Nia couldn't tell anymore. Rai was stopped by Lucifer, who had Rai pinned. 'He did so much for me... He...' Nia looked at Lucifer stared at her. Wind swirled around Nia, "I'm not.." Lightning began striking around Nia, eventually striking her directly, "I'm not.." Nia let out her anger and at the same time wind got more intense around her, "I'm not leaving you!!!" Nia sent the wind outwards as it began to slice everything around her but somehow avoided Rai.

Nia got low then dashed at Lucifer and spun in a torpedo-like motion, expelling all the lightning strikes that hit her, "Opening Strike, Calm before the Storm: Storm Torpedo!" after landing she quickly changed the weather from Thunderstorm to galeforce winds, "Calm before the Storm: Galeforce!" The energy that was going wild within her was being unleashed all at once. Before Lucifer could get a counter attack off, Nia vanished thanks her boosted speed with the high winds active.

Nia appeared above Lucifer and quickly released a powerful spinning kick that was different from her Tornado Kick, it seemed to also have traces of Lightning in it. After the kick, she vanished once more and appeared a good distance away, on all fours and a pissed off look on her face, she still had swirling winds around her. She waited to see what Lucifer would do in response. The winds are howling.

Mika and SkylaLocation: Blacksmith's Shop
Interactions: AlphaBlueWolf
Current Weather: Galeforce Winds
Mika looked at Mateo as he said something burying but cutting himself off before confessing he was a Spirit. Skyla looked at the two as the conversation continued, her usual smile was gone and she had her hands on her head, she got off the wall she was leaning on, "A Spirit, huh? So it was true then?" She said with a somewhat disappointed tone, "You realize that us humans are basically at war with Spirits, right?" She put a hand on Mika's shoulder, "And you had the balls to come to the single most populated human and elf city to do what?"

Mika glanced at Mika then back at Mateo, "You got balls, kid." Mika sighed, "But you're a fucking idiot." Skyla nodded in agreement, "We pulled you aside to prevent something bad from happening to you, not everyone is as accepting as we are. Even Mika accepts Spirits who aren't hostile. Even if he doesn't exactly show it."

A few moments ago...
Something at that moment caused a quick flashback to when Mika said, 'Don't fall behind.' and 'He's with us. Got a problem?' to Mateo.

Back in the present...
Skyla smiled at Mika, "He's just one big softie deep down, I know he is. He's my Best friend after all." Mika looked away out of embarrassment but his face didn't show it.

 

[AlphaBlueWolf]

Mateo was glad they were taking him for the spirit. They seemed to believe his word which was either really good or really bad. They had swords, hell they were in a blacksmith with lots of weapons. It would basically be a death trap had things gone differently. But, to his shock, they didn't immediately whip out the swords and start stabbing him. That's what half of him was expecting, honestly. He knew humans and elves hated spirits. Well, a lot of them. But he was essentially getting scolded like a kid. Yeah, maybe it was dumb to come here with Cora. He'd been ok with it, considering he had the goal of going sight-seeing all around the world, but it had been pretty irresponsible. He was the traveler; he was supposed to inform Cora about all of this. But he was too focused on his pursuit of magic to consider the risks for Cora. He'd have to give him a good apology when they were alone, because the two in front of him were right.

The words from Mika hurt. He was brave, but an idiot. Well, that was the nicer way of saying it. But maybe he did need a reality check. But it was still harsh coming from the scary guy. He didn't deserve to be called brave. Cora deserved it more, the Bakeneko who had left his comfortable life to go traveling with some human kid obsessed with learning all the magic types. Cora was the brave one. He was the one that was the idiot, plain and simple.

Skyla continued, saying they were accepting, and he was glad. He looked up when Skyla talked about Mika even accepting non hostile spirits while not showing it. Something clicked inside of him. The guy had been sizing him up, but even when he was suspicious of him being a spirit, he still had protected him. Mateo suddenly didn't think Mika hated him as much as he had previously thought. Skyla even said he was a big softie deep down, which made sense. He had met people like that on his travels. You tend to meet a lot of different people when traveling from place to place.

Mateo smiled as Mika looked away. Ok, he knew they were accepting, but he'd keep with the charade. It should be Cora's choice to come clean, not his. And he knew Cora was more suspicious than he was, being the actual spirit here who knew what humans could be like. If they didn't just drop him off at an inn, he'd have to have a talk with Cora in private about telling them who the real spirit was. Only if Cora was comfortable with that, though.

Mateo gave a sigh of relief. "So, I'm guessing I won't be getting killed today? Great." He said with relief in the last notes of his speech. Despite that, his expression looked bright. He was no longer feeling threatened by Mika, knowing he would at least not kill him. So, he was his regular self. "It's true.. I really don't know anything about this city. I'm probably out of my mind crazy for coming here, but I figured it'd be a good opportunity." He gave a nervous chuckle. "If you two are accepting, mind helping a crazy spirit out here?"