The duo had used up a lot of mana and was barely in any shape to run; but they tried anyway. Half way along, Haru had to stop. The boy may be fast, but he was not cut out for marathons at his speed. “Sorry… Give me just a minute,” he said, panting. And that’s when the fateful night took an even bigger turn. If the two thought they had had their most difficult fight for the day, they were terribly wrong. As Haru sat down on the bench under a tree, a muscular red-haired man came into view from behind the tree. The healer wouldn’t be able to see him as the man was behind him, but he could definitely hear him. “You guys did quite the number on my friend back at the artisan’s,” the man said, his voice seemingly amused and friendly, but exuding danger. The man’s mere presence would send waves of fear through the duo, their every muscle screaming at them to flee.
...You Must Endure [Social | Akira]
Fri Feb 02, 2018 2:39 am
The duo had used up a lot of mana and was barely in any shape to run; but they tried anyway. Half way along, Haru had to stop. The boy may be fast, but he was not cut out for marathons at his speed. “Sorry… Give me just a minute,” he said, panting. And that’s when the fateful night took an even bigger turn. If the two thought they had had their most difficult fight for the day, they were terribly wrong. As Haru sat down on the bench under a tree, a muscular red-haired man came into view from behind the tree. The healer wouldn’t be able to see him as the man was behind him, but he could definitely hear him. “You guys did quite the number on my friend back at the artisan’s,” the man said, his voice seemingly amused and friendly, but exuding danger. The man’s mere presence would send waves of fear through the duo, their every muscle screaming at them to flee.
Fri Feb 02, 2018 3:39 am
'Give you a minute?' she echoed, mocking his request and scoffing. He was faster and took longer strides, she had barely been able to keep up and even then, she was sure he had to be compromising on their speed to make up for the long distance. Her legs felt like lead. 'How about we take an hour instead?' she said, only half-joking because she did understand the implication of what they'd found out... But she was also panting so much, she wondered if her lungs were going to explore. After the battle that ensued to save Ser Jackson, she felt drained... She just fell splat, on her back under the tree and closed her eyes, couldn't they just wait till morning? 'Or the night?' At least it was dark now... was it nearing midnight? How long ago had the red orb stooped away and lost itself behind the horizon? Her eyes fluttered to a close.
She hoped, that the darkness may aid in her rejuvenation. At least the air was fresh, the night was moonless... There was a high chance she'd succumb to slumber, using her magic did make her drowsy... But then, a grating voice sent a chill down her spine. The eerily jovial tone, that was used to utter the very foreboding words. Her eyelids to snapped open wide. A very large figure loomed overhead. Her legs flailed till her feet found grip so she could scurry back to the tree. Leaning against it, she hoisted herself to a standing position, backed up against it, she watched him... And softly asked, 'And you're here to return the favor?' the fear was pretty apparent, that was it... She was sure, this is where she'd die. She just hoped he'd make it quick.
Fri Feb 02, 2018 7:29 am
Seeing the man raise his left hand, Haru’s eyes widened and he yelled at Akira. “Get out of there Akira.” But Akira wasn’t his target. His hand instead pointed towards Haru and four large stone arms shot out of the ground and held all four of his limbs, completely immobilizing him. “I don’t want you meddling around. Thanks to you, I couldn’t see who really was the strongest,” he said, talking to Haru, but all the while looking into Akira’s eyes. Haru struggled and struggled, but couldn’t move an inch. “I wouldn’t recommend moving if you want your limbs intact. The more you struggle, the tighter its grip,” he said. His tone wasn’t threatening, but more of a mild concern. It would seem, he really didn’t want them hurt.
“Now! Before we begin… Introductions first. I’m Benjamin. You are?” he asked Akira. Once she answered, he wouldn’t bother asking Haru his name and continue speaking to her. “Time to see if you really are stronger than Valencia. And if you are… I have a gift for you,” he said, with that innocent smile he had all the time. It was not condescending or cunning, but a powerful mixture of charm and intimidation. Despite the warning, Haru kept struggling and he could feel the stone grip tighter and tighter. “Stay away from her!” he groaned through gritted teeth, but was completely ignored by Benjamin.
Fri Feb 02, 2018 8:42 am
While she didn't sense malice in her new opponent, it was apparent that he wouldn't shy away from hurting the duo if it served his purpose. The only thing left to determine now was what his purpose was. While fear still hosted itself in Akira, strong and solid, if he just wanted to kill them, he would've attempted that already, what more could two meddlesome Rune Knights offer anyways. She let his words linger in her mind as she observed his demeanor for clues. For the most part, the large man was... practical and confident, too confident. He must have had reasons too, from the looks of him, he had far more experience than they did in combat, he did look a lot older too. Was he really going to expect them to believe that he was here to aid after calling that Valencia woman a friend? It made no sense.
Akira was aware of the kind of use the man was talking about, he'd held the noble hostage for money. Threatening to inhibit him and his family from leaving the Capitol while the war was waged on it unless he paid up... Or something along those lines, she wondered if the man had a larger purpose attached to Ser Jackson, he sure made it sound that way. Akira attempted dashing away, heeding Tsuru's earnest suggestion but could hardly make it out of the large man's range.
Instinctively held her hands out protectively and flinched. But when nothing hit her, she wondered it if was a ruse before opening her eyes a crack and noticing Tsuru in the distance. If her lids opened any wider, they'd probably fall out of their sockets, those stone arms... It couldn't have been pleasant. She winced, as he strained. This guy was definitely not the average mage, she wondered if he was affiliated with some guild. They probably couldn't defeat him, not in this state... The only hope was to either give him what he wanted or hope to attract attention and get help. The second seemed unlikely, they were in a pretty isolated area this man had it planned.
'Tsuru... Don't move. You'll be of no use without your arms... Won't be as fast without your legs either.' she said, her voice still a little shaky. He offered her a gift, so this was some kind of a recruitment test? Well if he expected greatness or something, he'd picked the wrong girl. 'I'm sorry about hurting your friend, we were just doing our job. But I assure you, I am no great mage, and Tsuru's a bit of a loser too, sorry to disappoint, but I guess that makes us ineligible for your gift. If you have no other business with us, can you let my partner go?' she said flatly, appealing to his apparent sense of logic. She wasn't sure what he wanted from her anyways? Did he want her to throw some punches at him or something? From the way he looked, her knuckles would probably break before she so much as elicited an ow from him.
Sat Feb 03, 2018 10:33 am
Meanwhile, Benjamin chuckled at Akira’s response. “Don’t apologize, please. I’m glad the fight happened,” he said. When Akira said neither her nor her partner were great mages, Haru frowned; especially because she called him a ‘loser’. He wondered if she felt that way because he didn’t fight. Even though he had worse things to worry about at that moment, for some reason, the fact that Akira had such low opinion of him took undue priority on his head. Benjamin laughed at Akira’s comment and waved his hand casually. Haru thought it was another spell he was going to cast, but it was a simple gesture of dismissal.
“Lack of confidence? Or is it humility?” he asked, grinning. “No matter. Besides, if you feel that way, then all the more reason you shouldn’t deny my gift. It’s not optional anyway.” His tone and expression changed just a little for the last sentence, proving that he was not kidding around with anything he said. “First… Hand to hand combat,” he said, and immediately charged towards Akira. Haru did not see the movement at all. One moment he was five feet away from his partner, and the next, he was right in front of her with his fist at her gut. He would moderate the power of his punch such that it doesn’t do great damage; but if it connects it would definitely knock the wind out of her and she would find herself knocked back about ten meters. “Come on! Don’t be shy… Hit me with the same punch you hit Valencia with,” he said, stretching the arm he punched with and removing the long cloak he was wearing. “Been a while…”
Sat Feb 03, 2018 11:48 am
'Right.' the girl said. So there was no choice after all. Slowly, she walked in an arc around him, like two fighters would in a rink, except at the moment she was the only one moving. She maintained the same distance between them, but moved towards Tsuru at an angle, to see if she could find some sneaky way of freeing him. Also, to prevent herself from being cornered by the tree behind her. The plan she had brewing in her head now was the riskier sort... And it would require her to... endure, or die probably, one of two. She sucked in a lot of air, as he relayed the first test he had in mind. Hand to hand? What a fair way to start!
When in an instant, he flashed towards her, she was sure... she was a goner. Besides, even if she could dodge, the plan was to not anyway. She hoped, that maybe if he had evidence that the two of them were, in fact, not too skilled, he'd move onto bigger prey, from what they knew of his plan with the noble, the man should want bigger fish to fry. Of course, this did come with a very large risk attached, he could still get frustrated and choose to break them like toothpicks... She clenched her eyes shut tight as she braced herself. One hit... you can take one hit... she chanted in her head
When his knuckles made contact... A wave of anguish overwhelmed her. The long breath she'd inhaled, was expelled in an instant. Her eyes rolled back into her head as she flew. Thank god there was no tree, otherwise, this would have meant death. The pain was intense and she landed on her side with a thud and then skidded on the ground. She felt the minor friction burns beginning to sting, on the outer side of her limbs, which she'd extended at an angle in an attempt to minimize the damage from the fall. More than anything she felt the nauseating pain on the inside.
No! He's such a Liar! All this was just play for him! Ruthlessly toying with his prey before taking his slow sadistic revenge! He just hid his cruelty better than the other! her darkness screamed, condemning her for her stupid plan. Her eyes were red, the pain had caused tears to roll down the side of her face. Her new plan was to play dead, like any other poor prey, which had happened to garner the attention of a predator it had no chance again. She laid there motionless. I'm going to be... unworthy and hope that it convinces him, that he... gets bored... she retaliated against the dark entity inside of her. The large man mocked her, lucky for Akira it had no effect on her, upon taking a hit like that, it definitely wasn't out of shyness that she wasn't fighting back...
Sat Feb 03, 2018 6:30 pm
Seeing how Akira was motionless on the ground, the old man chuckled. He knew the girl wasn’t knocked out; after all these years of combat experience, he knew what would knock someone out and his punch couldn’t have done that. “You can either fight me and it will be a simple spar… Or… I could hurt your friend there until you get angry enough to come at me,” he finally said in a very bored tone. “I would rather not do that,” he added, sincerely hoping it didn’t come to that.
Haru watched as the fight moved further away from him. Now, he had no chance of doing anything. At least before, he had hoped Akira would come close enough to his hands when she was in need of healing and he would provide assistance. But that no longer seemed to be a possibility. Angry at his severe lack of strength, he struggled against his binds violently, but had to stop again as it gripped him tighter.
If Akira did not get up and agree to fight him fairly, Benjamin would sigh softly and point his hands towards Haru. Another stone hand, similar to the initial four, would shoot up from the ground and this one would curl its way around Haru’s neck. The healer’s eyes widened as the cold stone snugly fit between his shoulders and jaw. It was only mildly uncomfortable at the moment. But if this one was just like the other four, which Haru reckoned to be highly likely, it would slowly begin choking every time he makes even the slightest movement. Haru gulped out of fear and it made a momentary bump in his throat; even this slight motion caused the stone hand to grip tighter. Realizing the implications, the healer relaxed immediately, not moving a muscle. He knew he couldn’t even talk anymore if he wished to live through the night.
Sat Feb 03, 2018 7:17 pm
Then came the ominous chuckle and the threat. Mentally, Akira recoiled at the harsh sound of his chortle, at the thought of him hurting the helpless Tsusu, she did want to spring up, her spirit tugged at her, to rise and just obey... But her darkness and her muscles screamed in protest. By the time she accumulated the strength to begin sitting up, it was too late.
A rumbling sound marked the fifth arm of stone, that held Tsuru's neck. He was rendered speechless and his life was completely in this man's stone hand. From the distance he had put between her and the healer, she could only see silhouettes, the darkness made it even more difficult to gain clarity... She rose, time for plan C. All her plan revolved around the same basic idea of proving to him that, she, in fact, wasn't worth all this effort and neither was Tsuru. She definitely didn't want him going after Tsuru's eclectic piece of magic, it was rare and had too many potential uses, most of them devastating.
'Ok... Whatever.' she said, with not much emotion in her voice, as she began pulling herself off the ground, slowly. She didn't want him to continue using her partner as bait. 'I don't care if you kill, hurt him or whatever because it won't change anything.' she said softly 'We were forced to work together, I couldn't care less...' but at the last line, her voice cracked, she couldn't mean those words anymore, she did care. 'They might give him that medal for dying on duty, that may annoy me...' The girl tried making up for the slip. She could just try and hope that it went unnoticed. She was crouching now, slowly rolling up her spine to stand. One hand still wrapped around her abdomen, the other hanging limply by her side.
'But your punch... That kind of hurt my pride.' she said flatly, stupidly trying to distract him from the healer. She hoped he'd just stick to taunting her, which wouldn't really get a true rise out of her anyways. She growled. She sputtered the exertion already reminding her of her state. Nonetheless, she took a deep breath and walked towards him. Frowning to pretend like she was mad she said. 'Now you've really got me riled, you should not have, punched me out of nowhere like that...' she muttered while keeping her eyes downcast, hoping to hide her panic and set up a sinister feel.
Lifting a shaky arm and curling her fingers into a fist she dashed towards him and attempted to land a simple jab. 'Now you're going to get it!' she exclaimed while charging so. If it would connect, he'd have enough proof of her inadequacy in hand to hand combat... Despite her alleged anger... Maybe then...
Sun Feb 04, 2018 9:36 am
Meanwhile, about fifteen feet away, Benjamin was focused on Akira. He cocked his head and furrowed his brows when he heard her say she doesn’t care about his partner. That was not what he expected to hear, but he was glad to hear it. If what she said was true, then all the more reason she was a better candidate for assassination training. After all, the very first step in his training is to detach oneself from any kind of emotional relationship. “Good! I’m glad you fight for yourself and have not fallen for the fallacy of ‘protect the world’,” he said, smiling. He stood there as she charged at him with a weak punch. Once she was in range, he would attempt to simply parry the punch, catch her punching hand with his left hand, and then throw her over his head to the other side using his other hand. “Are you sure that’s all you got? I was sure you packed a lot more in your attacks than that. After all, you did knock her out with a single punch,” he said, wondering more to himself than her. “Anyway… Let’s move on. What about your magic?” he asked, before placing one hand on the ground.
The instant he put his palm to the ground, a huge stone pillar will rise from under where Akira was and attempt to knock her high up into the air.
Sun Feb 04, 2018 11:08 am
She didn't get a chance to ask, of course, he just blocked her punch, held her fist and hoisted her overhead. She let out a girlish shriek of shock, it was a real one, she didn't expect to be plucked off the ground again. As he threw her though and placed his hands on the ground, the air was torn with the rumbling again. She didn't want to take the chance to hit the ground hard again... Plus if he was using his magic, whether she wanted to or not, she'd have to do enough to keep herself from getting hurt.
She rubbed her hands to create her trusty chain Kunai, and mid-air she threw it, near enough to the man, but missing him entirely. It was meant for a branch in the tree, the moment the kunai lodged itself in, she rotated and pulled herself towards the tree again, now hanging off of a branch and swinging, while the stone pillar erupted from the ground where she'd have fallen, she stared at it white eyed... Imagining the bloody mess she could have been had she hit it. Breathlessly she clung to her dark chain, surprised that her she had managed to curb her darkness and have it aid her, maybe because their goal was aligned... To live through this somehow. So he really was making this do or die... Guess she'd have to try.
The girl let it go and fell to the ground in a bit of a slump and pulled the chain out of the tree, this swinging the kunai at the end as she whirled the chain. She let it lose just as the Kunai was aligned towards the large man. 'Take this.' she growled.
Mon Feb 05, 2018 7:15 am
However, the following attack with her kunai was a little too direct. Benjamin simply side-stepped to avoid the kunai flying straight at him and shook his head. “Your attacks are too direct. You should attack from my blind-spot if you want to hit me with it,” he said. Immediately after saying that, he would point one of his palms towards where Akira was and then pull it back swiftly; this would cause the ground under her to move like a wave, pushing her forward towards him. The man was testing her battle aptitude, to see if she knows when to defend and when to attack.
Now, all the duo had to do was hold on for a few minutes before back-up arrived.
Mon Feb 05, 2018 3:59 pm
From the sheer difference in the aptitude of that darkness wielding woman and this earth-shattering man, Akira gathered that the one guarding the noble had worked for this large man. But then, maybe that fight had been easier because she was fighting with Tsuru... 'Too bad, direct attacks is the best I got... Told you this wasn't my thing, I've practically never fought before... you and your friend.' she tried. This man wasn't letting up. She groaned in frustration as he lifted his arm, it was safe to assume he had another trick up his sleeve.
She jumped in the air as high as she could to avoid the first rumbling waves under her. But if she landed there was no escaping the second. Sighing softly, while still in the air she held out her hand, straight in front of her to create the dark disc of darkness underneath her opponent. The sky had already pulled the blanket of darkness over itself, hopefully, that would have made it She tilted it away from herself, to knock him back and hopefully stop him from channeling his spell briefly enough to step down and get out of his range.
Mon Feb 05, 2018 5:32 pm
“The first thing we are working on after you become my trainee is on that low self-esteem of yours,” he said.
Mon Feb 05, 2018 6:40 pm
My job is to prove I'm not as talented as he's assumed, which shouldn't be tough because its true, but I can't obviously give up my life for it.
She clasped her fingers onto the opposite forearm, breaking into darkness, just as the rocks came in touch with her, they smacked each and crumbled to dust, while she reformed into herself about five meters diagonally downwards and collapsed onto her knees upon hitting the ground. Her energy was running on empty, it physically hurt her upon trying to gather her darkness to cast spells. She heard the man's words, there was no if or when in his sentence, it was apparently a given that she was going to be his trainee.
The girl wondered if just complying will end this misery. She could find a way to escape betwixt here and whatever destination he chose to take her to... As his trainee. If she could find a way to leave Tsuru some clues, maybe he'd be able to get help too. 'Fine then, if that is all you want, tell me what I have to do to become your trainee... I'm convinced that you can teach me great things...' she muttered, croaking, her tone quite dry, she hoped he'd assume it was her exhaustion and not because she had no intent to become his minion. He looks like quite the slave driver... It'd be a drag...
Mon Feb 05, 2018 7:55 pm
Meanwhile, Benjamin grinned at Akira as she dispersed out of his attack. Even though he found her lack of drive a huge negative, her basic survival instincts and reflexes impressed him. Besides, he saw great potential in her darkness magic. He would have loved to push her further and see where her limits lie; but it seemed he had run out of time. He ignored Akira’s muttering and looked towards the new arrival. “Well well… What do we have here?” he whispered. He then turned towards Akira and spoke apologetically. “Looks like we have to end this dance sooner than I thought,” with those words, he dashed next to her with all his speed, which was a lot faster than what he had displayed so far. Once he was close to her, he would put his gloved hand on her head and the other hand on the ground. A huge stone dome formed around them, and if the glove hand touched Akira, she would experience a splitting head pain; like someone was hammering her head incessantly. Soon after, her darkness magic would begin to go haywire and an internal battle would ensue. “There… It’s a painful process. But you will thank me later,” he would say, before leaving her head and walking out of the dome. Once he was out, the dome would immediately seal itself back.
Murasaki, the Rune Knight lieutenant would attempt to cut through the dome with his katana, but it wouldn’t even make a scratch. Gritting his teeth, he dashed backwards and away from Benjamin once he got out. “Who the hell are you? And what do you want?” he would ask the red-headed man. Benjamin would simply ignore the man and walk towards his cloak. Angered at being ignored, Murasaki would dash towards the enemy with his Katana at the ready.
Mon Feb 05, 2018 10:05 pm
No such luck. He noticed the guy pretty quickly, given his control over the earth, it was likely he was attuned to the vibrations that the man's steps created. Despite his fair warning, Akira could barely finish her startled backstep before his palm made contact with her forehead. Is he going to crush my head? He didn't. But it sure felt like he did. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head and a soft shriek escaped her lips as the pain made her vision blurry. Her eyes wouldn't be necessary anymore anyway... Considering the dome that closed over her... She crumpled to the floor again, her cheek against the ground once more, hopelessly she watched as he left the dome, the light from outside shrinking till it vanished altogether.
She clenched her eyes shut. Fear engulfed her, her fingers twisted into her hair as she was left alone with the worst headache... There was no sound, there was scent or sight... Just her and her darkness... and something else. It invaded her mind, like headlights in a pitch black tunnel. She pulled her knees up, feeling the need to curl into a tight ball, to avoid the explosive feeling of discomfort that welled inside her... I'm going to die. she thought, convinced this was officially the end...
Tue Feb 06, 2018 6:32 am
The lieutenant was an extremely short-tempered one and was not at all pleased that he was being treated like a pest. Once he rolled out of the wave’s path and got back on his feet, he gritted his teeth first, but then breathed and calmed down. “I would have stayed away had you stayed away from my men,” he said. “Now… If you don’t want a problem here, you better free the young lady inside that dome immediately.” Benjamin simply smirked and shrugged. “What’s done is done. Even I can’t stop it now. Her magic is powerful… and after this, it will only get stronger. If you are here, then that only means there are going to be more on the way. You Rune Knights are annoying… Guess I’ll have to come back for her later,” he said, sighing heavily.
The huge man was about to leave without another word, but the lieutenant wouldn’t have it. He charged at him again, and this time jumped up into the air to avoid the earth wave; there was no way he was going to fall for the same trick again. Benjamin did nothing but stand as the lieutenant thrust his Katan through his chest. “Like I said… So annoying,” he muttered, before hitting his attacker at the back of his neck, knocking him unconscious with a single strike. Murasaki’s vision blurred and couldn’t believe what he was seeing. The man he just impaled with his katana was not bleeding, but was simply crumbling into sand. As he fell down losing consciousness, his katana fell beside him on top of a heap of sand and earth.
All along, it had been nothing but a clone of the real Benjamin.
Tue Feb 06, 2018 7:46 am
It was only after her darkness began fighting back, that she realized this allegedly foreign entity, had actually appeared from within her. It felt alien and something like a contagious infecting pathogen, only because of the immediate insecurity the darkness harbored towards this power. It brewed negative feelings inside her... The battle that ensued threatened to tear Akira apart. As the warmth of her began feeling more like a burning sensation and the darkness elicited the feeling of being frozen. It was darkness on the fringes and light in the middle now, expanding, taking its revenge... It felt like molten lead in her chest cavity, being surrounded by liquid nitrogen in her limbs...
Akira's nails clawed at her scalp she screamed quite a few times, but they just echoed hopelessly with the dome. She was alone in enduring this, no one could even hear her. The feeling built and built, till all of a sudden there was a crack... The dome above her began crumbling and then vanished. She felt herself being swallowed by a silvery-grey light... And then there was nothing... No more feelings, no more sensations... No more fighting... Just nothing. Am I dead then?
The noise from commotion outside had barely been registered and recognized by her brain before she faded into unconsciousness. To anyone watching, there appeared to be a silhouette of a dark dome left behind, accentuated by a glowing silvery white light behind it. Like a section of the new moon had sprouted from the ground...
Tue Feb 06, 2018 8:06 am
The guards rushed to the three of them, checking each one’s pulse. While Haru’s and Murasaki’s pulses were weak but stable, they were very worried about the waning erratic pulse of Akira. “This one is in a much worse state than the other two… Go get help! Quickly,” one of them said to the other. It took another fifteen minutes; but, finally, the three of them were at the closest hospital being treated at the emergency rooms.
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