Lee was alone with Lector in the surrounding forest of Baska, while she was taking a break from sleuthing. She had some time to train before Tadashi arrived. She needed the break from all the stress. The kitsune lay in the tree, she closed her eyes letting her mind soothe. Ragtime was quiet today, just how she liked it. Personally, he was too chatty sometimes. The birds chirped in the quiet woods, calling out to each. “Where is he?”

Ryu was always late when he was given a time and place to be. He was always fashionably late, as per usual. She hated waiting for him, it was always a chore waiting for someone who didnt even care to show up. She gotten him to stick around around bit longer with enough persuasion. Lee was very good at convincing Ryu to do certain things since he valued his secrets and not crossing dad's or Hikaru's wrath. They were forces that were not meant to be crossed. Certainly, he knew she had him wrapped around her fingers. Lee twiddleled with her hair locks until he showed up. She. He finally arrived, she gave a glare.

"You know damn well it's rude to keep a lady waiting, bro" she ridiculed. Ryu rolled his eyes and mocked her a little. Sticking his face towards her space bubble, they both fumed. "I. Don't. Care" he spoke, clearly. Making it clear that he was not happy, Lee stood aside to prevent a further issue. She bad already pushed him enough. No need to do it further. She didn't want to push her only ally right now. Lee jumped from the tree branch with Lector floating downward.

"What's today's special," asked her brother. Lee cleared her throat. "Training," she spoke. Ryu also knew how Solomon functioned during a fight since they used to spar on the family training grounds all the time. She needed to know exactly how he mentally functioned during battle so Ragtime and her can predict or come up with a plan. Right now, they had no idea what shit he could come up with. All she could file together was he was very much a person who played with his food. Mentally, he little to mentally toy with their minds to throw them off such as the Hikaru puppet. That, itself, was freakishly terrifying. It still gave her nightmares seeing how it cried when it was forced to attack LeeAnn. The single tear expressed with a sad face made her heart jerk a little.

"You have fought Solomon before correct?" She started with her arms crossed.

Ryu raised an eyebrow. "Yes? You want to know how he functions in a fight, i am guessing?" Lee nodded her head. Without a word, he gave a long and heavy sigh then thought back to his last spar with him. Solomon was crazy and malicious. There was no saying what he would do to his little sister. Even if he didn;t care for her much, this still bothered him to some degree as seeing that he would be on the chopping block with their father and not to mention, the rest of the family. His step-mother, Miles, and Hikaru were all extremely terrifying. Ryu was very much a lone wolf within the family and rather it be that way forever. Though, he still got pulled into his sister's antics. Though, this was much more grave than he really anticipated. "Solomon is an unpredictable character that likes to mind fuck with people. He will do anything to throw you off your game. The last spar with him went with me hallucinating for several hours. Now, let's get going to this spot you mentioned", he told her. Lee had lead him and Lector to an open field with flowers and flat ground to give them enough room to battle. Ryu cracked his knuckled and his neck before battling.

"Remember, the first person to call quits, loses. This is to train you and your mind enough to prevent you from being thrown off. Are you ready?" he called out to his sister. LeeAnn stretched her legs and body for about 15 minutes before starting. She stared at her brother with a cocked eyebrow. "What are you doing?"

"Oh nothing..."

711/200 for spell

She cocked her head to the side. "What do you mean by nothing, Ryu", she said.  She could smell the suspicion going through his teeth. He was clearly lying to her about something. Growing up, LeeAnn hated him so much to the point they had to be separated at all times on the clock. The family members had to moderate them on shifts like a second job. Nowadays, she can control herself from hatred. Ryu knew all too well to stay away from her, otherwise, he might meet his demise with Hikaru or their father. She was daddy's little girl and loved it. She knew all too well.

"You know, I think you and Solomon have some things in common" she spoke. Ryu cocked an eyebrow really doubting what she was saying. Lee quickly lunged at Ryu at 12.5 meters per second. With a split of a second, she slammed her fist into his stomach. This was simply a dirty trick they used to do to each other, but it had been a while before they had done anything. "That you both are idiots" she smiled.

Ryu coughed a little, gasping for breath like a fish. Once he regained his breath, he laughed a little. "Oh, really sister? I know one secret that you don't" he smiled. Lee knew they were both going to play mind games with each other. They were going back and forth punching and kicking each other. She raised her hand, panting. "Let's take a break" she huffed. Ryu nodded without saying a word.

She laid on her back looking at the sky, the grass tickling her face. Lector walked up and laid with her. "Nice day isn't it" he smiled. Lee picked up a scent of death. Lee perked up. Her sniffer lifted into the air as she picked up on something disgusting. "Ryu….do you smell that?"

He paused. He sniffed the air and covered his nose with his face going pale. She knew that smell. "Ryu let's go! Someone might be in trouble" she called. Lee and Lee dashed in the direction with Lector lifting Ryu into the air to the location. With the bird's eye view, they were able to keep up with her. Immediately, they paused when Ryu landed. A campsite was seen with tents torn down, bodies ripped apart. There was a fire still going on with a cooking pheasant still smoldering in a pot over the fire. Corpses lied everything dismembered and chest cavities open. The stench was horrid. It made all three of them . A tall, slender creature stood before them. One that made Lee seethe in a mix of horror and anger. The creature had a wide toothy grin when it stared at the two of them. “Nakamuras…” it smiled. The siblings froze.

“Shit.” They both spoke in unison.

Immediately, Lee put both of her fists and put them together. A red magic circle appeared against her mouth that was 2 meters in diameter. A stream of fire that was 2 meters in diameter. The fire singed the creature with A-rank damage pretty well. Ryu aimed his lightning magic towards him causing some minor damage. The damage from the fire seemed to do much more damage to its fur. The creature was tall and lanky with patches of fur and skin showing as if it had mange. Its face was that of a deer-like skull with a dog-like appearance to it and large antlers. It looked as if it was in pain but at the same time a sinister twist to it. It's fur and skin was singed with bright embers glowing from the fresh attack. The smell of burning flesh made both of them cough, especially LeeAnn. It brought back sad and lonely memories to her.  

LeeAnn swung her arms trying to have it step away. She was just wanting it to leave. She formed a fist with her left hand, having her arm out from her right side. A red magic circle formed underneath her at 0.25 meters in diameter. Quickly, her left hand became engulfed with fire then formed into a fire-like blade. She swung her left arm from side to side, trying to get the beast to step away. Though, it only side stepped, not even making more distance, but coming rather closely. “Leave! Go away” called LeeAnn.

“Kill it!” Ryu cried in fear and horror. The first instinct for him was to kill the darn thing, but he was surprised that Lee didn't want to kill it.

Before LeeAnn could react, the creature swiftly, swung it’s claws at Lee and pinned her to a tree. Its grin turns even more sinister. She got a better look at the creature. It looked as if its face was withering away. The antlers had rune markings on them then glowed with a sinister glow and fur that looked to be once a glowing green now a forest brown-green. “Kill...Nakamura….Lee...leader” it spoke in broken human language. Ragtime then spoke. “Lee...that’s not just any creature. That’s a corrupted one, burn it now!”

Lee couldn't move. No matter what happened, she could not budge her arms or make any movements to cast any spells. She was pinned like prey. The creature growled as it licked her face, tasting the flesh. Ryu yelled. “Hey! Skull face, have some...thunder” cried Ryu. He cast a lightning bolt into its face and caused it to let go of her. Lee was too stunned to move, in fear and horror.

Ryu managed to scare the creature off. He ran to Lee and stared at her. “Sis! Sis? Please tell me something” he yelled.

“It’s...corrupted…” she whispered. Their attention was broken when they heard a child crying. Ryu was cautious, but Lee instantly ran towards the source of the crying. A child was hidden under the shredded tent. A young five-year-old girl with long blonde hair cried. She had her eyes covered, finally realizing what had happened. Dried trails of tears ran down her face as the girl sniffled. She didn't look to be hurt at all, but they knew sometimes the injuries were also on the inside. Ryu knew that all too well with being a doctor in the family.

“Are you alright? Sweetheart?” Without a word, she hugged Lee’s waist and cried. She stared at Ryu, not knowing what to do. This was one situation she wasn't equipped to handle. “Let’s take her back to the hotel room and see what we can do. I will look her over to see if she is okay.”

Lee picked her up and let hte girl cry as she carried her back to the hotel room. She looked back at the campsite, She finally saw the girl’s parents dead and carcasses were eaten alive. What a sad fate to have. Blood was everywhere, she stood still with the five-year-old in her arms. Lee didn't know what to exactly do in the situation. The girl's face turned away from the disgusting scene.  She could feel the girl shivering in her arms, scared like a hunted rabbit. Ryu even had a pale face with what he saw. Only Lee could comprehend what was going on. Ragtime was silent for a few moments.

"Kid, that was not just any spirit. That's a corrupted spirit. A spirit that can not be redeemed most of the time. It was hunting for blood, mostly your blood. I feel this was a trap. If this was Solomon's doing, I hate to see what will happen when we face him. Why it spared the girl, I don't know. I could sense it wanted one victim to live" told Ragtime, inside her head. Lector hadn't moved from the spot when he saw the creature. The exceed stood there in a shocked expression with his jaw almost to the floor, still gapping like a fish. "I fear something is in great surprises for us" spoke Ryu. Lee gulped, feeling the dread already being felt in the pit of her stomach. She turned away from the scene with the girl in her arms. "For now, let's make sure she is okay. That's our top priority" spoke Lee. Everyone agreed to her statement, the girl looked up from Lee's shoulder, looking at the demi-human then at Lector. They were her savoirs for this trip. They made it out of the woods and back into the small town. It was liveler than earlier and much more of a security that would all survive...for now.

2127/2000

Fire Dragon Mine: Trained 2127/2000

2125/2350:

-Exit-