Life in Orchidia had grown slightly stale since his last incursion. The group that he had spent a great deal of his time with had slowly broken apart with Keita and Shichiro going off to do their own thing and Hitomi missing in action for a small period of time. That had left Seika with a lot of time to reflect on his actions and the ideals he had arrived in Fiore with, and soon he was left with a conundrum. What should his next actions in this land of magic and hypocrisy be. Should he stick with the Rune Knights or go join one of those dastardly evil guilds he had been hearing about recently.

Really he had no clue, he knew that in his mind none of this really mattered however. It was all worthless if he couldn't preach the great word of Sol to the world around him, and being bogged down with the rules of the land only made it harder, especially since they worshipped that false idol Illumin. It was without fail that every thought of that Sol forsaken petulant child getting any of the praise of the true almighty made him furious, but he had to reign himself in. For now.

208/2500

The midday sun hung low in the sky, thick clouds causing it to peak in and out of sight. For most people, the day was probably winding down or picking up, but one thing was for certain, Orchidia was bustling with people going to and fro. For the most part, the Rune Knights in the area had gone about their way, doing their own thing. Hitomi hadn't heard from the group of Rune Knights she had been around since the Bosco festivities, and that was in part due to her own family matters. Her grandfather was getting older and it was nearly time to hand the mantle over for the head of the Minamoto Clan.

Hitomi didn't want anything to do with that, she didn't feel like she deserved it even if she participated and won in the tournament held to gain the title. Every day she felt more and more like a stranger within the family, even when strides were made to have her feel otherwise. Hitomi began to distance herself from her family. She even went so far as to send those who were sent to watch over her back to the homeland, she could take care of herself. With that of course she decided to drown herself in her job and that would mean taking on some missions. Today she waited just near Orchidia River for her partner who would be the ever silent Seika.

241/2500

His ever impassive visage strode through the tree line with only a hint of dispassion etched at the corner of his mouth. He had almost forgotten about this meeting in his own self imposed brooding session. The truth of the matter was, he had been requested for another mission. It wasn't something that surprised him, hardly if he were to be completely honest. The fact of the matter was, he hadn't done missions in almost two months and he was essentially coasting by on the merit of his past work and his laurels. He knew however that he couldn't rest on his own for long, he would eventually have to step back into the limelight as an active knight and once again maintain the peace in this hedonistic land.

Jaw clenching and gyrating as he approached Hitomi from behind, he announced his presence by clearing his throat and hailing her with his voice, "Good afternoon, Captain Hitomi, I was pleasantly surprised when I saw the request come across my desk that you wanted me for this mission. I trust that your travels were fortuitous." His true feelings were buried heavily under a mountain of professionalism. He was now on the job, time to act like it.

420/2500

Her mind began to wander as she waited for her partner in crime for the day. How was she supposed to tell her grandfather that she was in fact not even fit to lead the clan? She couldn't even leave the country. Hitomi still didn't know the traditions and culture of Joya and the Joyan people, she felt like a fraud but it seemed her family had faith in her. For all she had worked for in Fiore, she still had unfinished business with that cult who was trying to kill her for her part in their town's destruction. Hitomi had Asmodeus to thank for that and thinking about the demon she started to miss it. Hitomi wouldn't be able to wander in her thoughts for too long though as a voice pulled her back to reality and she quickly turned around to face Seika. He was showing his professionalism towards her and she had to think because this was the first time she heard him speak so many words. Smiling as she turned her body full towards him she held back a chuckle. " I won't lie to you, I wasn't expecting so many words to come from you. "

446/2500

Eyebrow arched, he nodded in understanding of her playful yet accusing tone as she addressed the fact that he had spoken quite a few words to her. He idly remembered the last time they were together, which had been the last S-rank quest he had attended alongside Shichiro and Keita. She had asked him a similar question on his lack of speaking with others. There he mentioned that he would rather not speak as much as it tended to go against his every being, and if he were honest that was still true, however he realized that it was easier to get people to like you, or at least follow you if you were more cordial, professional, likeable, all around someone they could converse with. And as such he had deemed it appropriate to actually learn how to speak to others, at least without sounding condescending or preachy. Those were two traits that were rather difficult to unlearn if he were completely honest. Chuckling however, he returned to the real world and maintained his amicable persona. "You're not wrong. I still prefer not to talk all that often, but if I remember correctly, you like to have conversations, so I figured it was only right.

630/2500

She was surprised that he made an attempt to keep her in mind, in fact not only did he make an attempt he actively was working on it. She didn't know if she liked to have conversations like he stated, in fact when she thought about it she couldn't remember many of the conversations she did have. After leaving Eternal Nightmare and Odin she had to learn how to stand on her own two feet and go out into a world with new eyes. For most of her life, she had been a submissive little mouse but now she was coming into her own as a person who could stand on her two feet without having to depend heavily on one person. She did like talking, she liked getting to know people, it was a breath of fresh air for her to make connections. "Thank you for taking me into such consideration. Now let's go over today's mission. A simple one though a problem we've seen before. Rats. and as we know these are no ordinary rats, in fact, they are more of a pain because of the magical properties behind their increasing numbers. " The last time they were here hunting rats they found out these rats were being controlled by some entity. Apparently, the damn thing couldn't die so they just had to keep coming back to clean up its mess.

238/684

Thankful for a change in topic, he would listen aptly to her describe their current mission objective. As he surmised from the missive sent to retrieve him in the first place, they were once again tasked with clearing the local possessed rodent population of Orchidia. For whatever reason, no matter how many times they had been tasked with clearing these fucking things, they always seemed to come back in even greater numbers and as an even more annoying group of fucking pack animals. But that was beyond the point. He needed a bit more information before they could proceed. "Okay that's all well and good, but where, and what's the parameters. Are there any confirmed abnormalities or did the request not specify? Are we the first group going in, or have there been others?" There were obviously more questions just off the tip of his tongue, but he could hold them. He was patient and this talking thing was actually becoming quite tiring. He was slowly starting to revert back to his old self and was more than willing to just drop it if Hitomi herself didn't bother answering any of his rapid fire questions.

831/2500

She didn't even have to ask if he had any questions which were great in her honest opinion. He took the initiative and she knew he would be a great captain one day, much better than she was. Hitomi was a natural follower she was never meant to lead and she had no desire to do so. It was of course unfortunate that her rank and standing gave her that sort of power but she couldn't do much about it but her best. Some of the questions asked she felt were already answered but she didn't want to come off like a smart ass and thinking about it the question was pointed toward the now. Turning her back towards Seika so she could point in the direction where they would be going. " Well, the infestation was said to be coming from a bunker about a mile upstream from where we are now. The rats are started to come further and further away from the affected area and as you know it's becoming an issue. A group did go in before us but they were able to come back out and report abnormalities in the rats, mostly that they are far too big for rats and far too strong. When we get about half a mile to our location we'll need to start fighting rats to get in the bunker, our job is just to clear out the surplus for now..."

245/929

He nodded at the responses to his questioning and properly squared his form to head upstream towards the start of their mission. His body thrummed with power as he began to drag up the dregs of his magic, the air around him warming substantially. Flecks of embers danced around his frame as he broke out into a run to start rushing towards the objective. He didn't know if Hitomi was following close behind still, but he knew that it didn't matter. The rats were a known factor at this point, maintain a certain range and hit them with enough fire and they cease existing. Of course, the last time he had dealt with rats, they had suddenly gained immunity versus fire, but hopefully since this was a different group of rats, they wouldn't have developed that same immunity due to lack of interacting with any fire mages. And so with a grim look on his face, his body twitched as his wrist rotated upwards and his fingers uncurled from their fist like grip as a basketball sized red spell circle appeared over his outstretched hand. Conjured from this magic seal was a glowing red fireball that crackled with intensity.

1033/2500

With the questions answered and their objective secure, the two-headed outwards toward the directions those dirty rats were in. She saw the environment around Seika change as ember flakes formed around him. Her comrade didn't wait and she watched as he ran forward. " Eager as ever huh. " Smiling she readied herself to chase after him but was quickly stopped by a voice. " Captain Minamoto! " The voice was a high pitched on, like a mouse. Quickly turning to address the voice she found herself staring down at a black-haired girl with eyes like rubies. In her hand, she carried a sword, one that Hitomi knew all too well. " Captain Minamoto. The Sword of Valor, Kusanagi has been restored by the greatest blacksmith in the Minamoto clan. Your grandfather has requested you visit him soon as well. " The girl wasted no time in handing over the sword to Hitomi and Hitomi took and thanked the girl before sending her on her way, assuring the girl that she would visit her grandfather. She felt the power that Kusanagi had run through her and her smile only widened. What a perfect day to receive this gift, she could practice on all the dirty rats with it. Quickly following behind as she picked up a burst of speed, her hand placed itself on the hilt of her sword before unleashing it from its sheath. It would be quick work to exterminate those rats now.

243/1,172

The radiant energy of his magic was only surpassed by the ferocity in which he used said magic. The thrums and crackles of magical fire surrounded him as he began to rain literal hell on the ground beneath him. Squeals and squeaks of terror and pain sounded out like a roaring cacophony as great balls of fire seemingly continuously manifested themselves within his palms like divine arrows. Each shot flowed as truly as the last, and with no end in sight, it was as if the entire forest floor was becoming a yawning gateway to hell itself. The eerie red glow of his flames illuminated the dimming forest as fires raged on in every direction.

It would be the arrival of his Captain for the mission that would cause him to reel in his enthusiasm. Now no longer wildly throwing balls of destruction all willy nilly, if only to avoid striking her with one, as well as to prevent her from suffocating in the stifling heat of a raging forest fire. The land around them was eventually scorched clean of the menace that had plagued them. In his efforts to rid the world of the menace he had unconsciously became one as well.

1236/2500

Before she could even catch up to him she saw the damage he was doing. Not to the forest thankfully, because she would have to explain why her subordinate was causing more damage to the forest than his objective. As she came up behind him though his overall destructiveness was reeled in. Hitomi didn't say anything about it as all that destruction wiped out the rats that were spreading out of the bunker they had to enter. In actual moments he took out what was suppose to be a hoard of rats. A clear path to the bunker was now made, though that path was filled with scorched dead rat bodies it didn't matter as she stepped on them, feeling them turn to ash under her foot. Upon reaching the bunker Hitomi could see that it was open, chewed open in fact. The rats were probably building up a nest in there if she had to guess. Remembering her last bout with these things they weren't in this part of the forest, it was strange that whatever entity had them riled up had them relocating. Moving towards the Bunker she noticed a sound coming from it that sounded human and before she could investigate any further a man popped out, bitten and dirty.

216/1,388

The acrid stench of burnt flesh filled the air as he began to take control of the flames. The fire cracked in unison with his command as the raging flames slowly died down in response to his will. No flame could ignore his call, no flame could ignore his presence, for her was the living embodiment of light, heat and flame. His body was like a testament to the first fire, a miniature kiln in which all flames were stoked.

It took a few more seconds before all of the embers had faded into nothing. The air was once more stagnant and dreary. The air was chock full of ash smoke and it took all he had not to wretch at overwhelming stench of burnt fur and flesh.

Falling into step behind Hitomi, he would survey his work with a small bit of happiness at a job well done. He rarely got to enjoy the fruits of his own labor, and now he was going to witness how his captain fought. He couldn't help himself but to be intrigued. He had never seen Shichiro fight and yet the man clearly had done his fair share. Maybe this observation would shed more light.

1439/2500

" THEY LEFT ME TO THE RATS. THEY LEFT ME TO DIE "
The man spoke, his voice hoarse and cracking, his skin bleeding and festering. He was alive, barely but alive, and Hitomi wasn't about to go around trusting him. Pointing her blade towards him she lowered her eyes to look down at the man. She could hear the skittering and clawing of the rats inside of the bunker. She didn't have time to play 21 questions with this man but as a Rune Knight, she knew it was her duty to help him. " Listen to me... You need to get out of here with whatever strength you have left. There is a town not far from here, someone will help you...Hopefully. Now move, we have a job to do. " Her eyes were devoid of any real emotion as she watched the man scramble away. Holding her sword in front of her in a more favorable position, she cast a spell that would grant her light in the darkness of the bunker. Carefully walking down into the bunker she could see the rats trying to run from the light of her spell, this caused her to dash forward slashing away at any rat unfortunate enough to be in her way.

212/1,600

The sound of a grown man screeching and crying was not something Seika would ever say he would ever been fond of. I'm fact if his direct superior weren't literally standing in front of him, he was for certain sure that he would have immolated the man instead of letting him run free to spread his filthy weakness all around.

Walking past the man, he'd follow Hitomi deeper into the bunker, a glowing ball of fire sitting comfortably over his palm as he watched the woman move swiftly to strike down the tests in front of her. The squeaking chittering mass could only hope to flee from the wrath of the young woman who seemed to be hunting them down with a ridiculous ferocity. The energy in which she went about cutting through the rats invigorated Seika with so much energy that he just had to join in the fun and festivities. The ball of fire in his hands began to burn brightly, illuminating the bunker with its light before it was cast forward in a bout of childish glee. The orb would sail forward, incinerating anything it passed without fail before falling upon a group of rats.

1640/2500

She didn't know how many rat bodies she had gone through, her sword moving as if it had a life of its own. The pests kept coming out of every crack, corner, and crevices there was in the building. After what felt like fifteen or twenty minutes of slashing, slicing, and dicing through rats A noise caused her to halt. It was guttural, and once it filled the space they were in every small rat vanished and the bigger ones climbed to the highest point in the room and stared down at the two. "What the fuc...." Hitomi whispered the words under her breath but before she could them out the guttural noise she heard before was taking form into more of a panting, screeching noise. The floor below their feet began to shake as thudding noises that sounded like it came from the back of the room caused her to get into a stance that would protect her core, her sword front and center across her. She didn't know what was coming but she knew damn well it was probably what got these rats in a frenzy. " You ready for whatever is about to come Seika? Cause it sounds like the cause of all this nonsense. " Her voice cut clear through whatever noise the creature was making, her eyes darting from the sound's location to Seika to make sure he was ok.

236/1,836

The room was solely illuminated by the dancing flashes of Seika's fire as he burned his way past the rodents his Captain's blade had missed. It wasn't nearly as exhilarating as it had been before he had left for the war, but now even more than ever be could feel the cool sensation of death sit deep within his stomach. Maybe it was his previous experiences with the beasts, or maybe it was the constant worldly experience he was getting, whatever it was, he could feel something ominous coming. Something wanted them. Something had it's eyes on them. And it's presence actually terrified the fire mage just a bit.

Crushing a group of rats underfoot, his head snapped up to his Captain to call out to her but the words died in his throat at the bestial growl or roar, either one was valid really, that shook the bunker to its very foundation. It seemed they had caught the attention of this broods much more powerful denizens and unlike before where the menace seemed content to control an unending wave of the beasts, this presence was likely far more hand on. He could only nod dumbly in Hitomi's direction as he awaited their target.

1850/2500

It felt like time stood still in that bunker as the chittering sound of the rats grew louder, almost matching the pitch of the guttural growls of the beast that presented itself before the two Rune Knights. Hitomi felt like she was being surrounded, the room seemed smaller as rats that had previously vanished into the walls, returned from those same walls, circling the two rune knights in a massive pitch black mass. Hitomi wasted no time in slaughtering down their numbers when they appeared, she couldn't be caught being overrun by these things while whatever was coming their way was still alive. She needed to make sure their numbers were down but no matter how much she cut down they just kept coming and soon a black mass was upon them. In the farthest corner of the bunker, the monster that had been threatening them had finally appeared.

It was a rat, a rat so large it filled the other half of the bunker with its mass. Its fur was as black as a starless sky, with glowing red eyes, and its stomach seemed to be writhing. A stench filled the room that almost made Hitomi gag but she kept it together. Around the rat beast seemed to be a sea of smaller rats that kept growing in number, like an actual sea of rats was rising from the ground, all spawning from the beast. For once fear took over Hitomi as she witnessed this eldritch horror in before her. They weren't safe, this wasn't a part of the plan at all, in fact, she was certain this was a trap. Quickly raising her Katana into the air a storm whipped up outside of the bunker. The storm happened upon the area around the bunker so quickly that anyone in the area would think something weird was going on. Every rat in this place was just an enemy and so without any warning the room filled with a booming noise as thunder rained down on every single rat in the bunker. It was deafening of course but effective as all the rats except the large beast died instantly. The only change that was made to the largest rat in the room was the fact that its stomach was now still. Hitomi mentally deducted that it was probably a brood queen and she was the one producing all the smaller rats. Looking over at Seika to make sure he was ok she gave him a nod as she pointed her sword in the direction of the brood queen. They would have the kill this thing now before they could leave.

443/2,279

His acknowledgment of the situation was immediately postponed however as a shambling grotesque mass made its way forward through the dense writing masses of rodents that had blocked the view of it. Their black matted fur was twisted and entangled, and the rotting putrid stench that it had been giving off was now washing over the two knights. It was a sense of dread and displeasure that truly shook Seika to his core. It wasn't the same feeling that the small white rat had given him. No this was effectively much worse than whatever monstrosity that being had been. The pulsing, bulging mass of flesh and miasma seemed to inhale and exhale with every sluggish movement it took, the nauseating gurgling noises that accompanied it only seemed to further drive home the fact that the beast was otherworldly. Tentacles seemed to seep out of various 'pores' in the beasts skin... fur... hide... whatever it was that covered the foul creature. The leathery texture only added to the various reasons that this beast was clearly not something to tangle with even on a good day. A drooling maw seemed to whisper and babble something fierce as the creature slowly sludged forward, its dripping mass coating the floor in some black substance that seemed to corrupt and erode even the stone surface beneath it. It was odd honestly, the floor didn't sizzle or melt, it just... disappeared into whatever that foul substance was. But back to the mouth, something was coming out of it. Words not yet heard, commands not yet understood. It was a vague mess of eldritch abomination and Poe like mystery that seemed to compel and demand those of a lesser stature to obey and conform. It was a trying to speak or say something coherently, yet Seika couldn't make it out over the constant chittering and squealing that could be heard around them, but the fact that the massive creature seemed to actually utter somewhat human speech told him that this was no longer a situation he wanted any part in.

Hands clenching at his side as he stood there locked into a sense of fear and apprehension that he hadn't felt since he was a child, Seika unclenched his fist suddenly as a great spark of heat seemed to manifest from his being. Eyes burning a bright golden, he forced himself to ignore the whispers as he turned to Hitomi to try and speak and yet words couldn't leave his mouth. He could feel his chest burn as he screamed and screamed to try and get her attention, yet nothing came of his efforts. Finally, fed up with the absolute ridiculousness of his situation, he would snap and attempt to point his now glowing hand in the direction of the beast that was shambling ever closer to them. And yet as he did so he could only watch in horror as the his hand pointed not at the beast, but at himself. Things had now gone terribly wrong for the Rune Knight as the very spell he was preparing to cast to try and burn away the creature was now unleashed onto his very frame.

He didn't know if Hitomi could feel the searing heat and pressure, but he knew he could as the temperature began to grow exponentially just before the whole room suddenly filled with light as the hand pointed at his chest flashed suddenly. Burning heat and pain was all he could feel as his body was launched backwards from force of expulsion. He flew through the air before slamming into the far wall with a bone chilling crack. The heat from his body slowly dimmed as he laid their in a heap, his body slowly being covered by the now swarming rodents who were eager to pick a their brand new meal. His mind was swimming as he tried to understand what just happened as his vision dimmed slowly. He could only hope that Hitomi fared better than he had as he laid there beat and broken.

2530/2500

Well, this was just great. The rats had gotten to Seika just before Hitomi could set off her spell. It was troublesome of course and she was tired but at least the small fries were dead, though dead right on top of Seika. They came here to clean out the rats and that's what they did but this big bastard was the cause of the uptick in rodents and rodent activity so she couldn't just leave it alive. Lunging towards Seika she scooped him up and bolted out of the bunker. The beast behind her was still alive but in shock at her attack, its body not being able to produce any more of those retched rats. Once Hitomi got outside she gently laid Seika's body on the ground. He was still breathing which was good enough for her right now. Sliding back in the bunker she pulled out her sword, used every spell attached to it, and sliced up the body of the eldritch horror until it was nothing but charred ribbons on the ground.

The beast was nothing without its brood and so Hitomi was able to get rid of each quickly. Having completed their task she was tired but knew she had to take one more look around the bunker in order to clean out any stragglers. It was no issues when those rats got hit with her last attack but the bigger problem was the area that big beast came out of. She tried to find something to cover the whole but she could not. Making a note to send a bigger team back here to take care of it, Hitomi made her way back outside and carefully inspected Seika. He had a few bites on him but nothing too serious to the eye. Stopping him up in her arms she headed off back into town to take him to get medical attention and get their missions documented and completed.

327/2,606

-exit-

His mind was clear as he laid up in Hitomi's arms, no longer considering the world around him as his mind wandered over thoughts and situations that were often forgotten or disregarded. He considered this to be a rather awkward time to be drifting if he were completely honest. But was the subtle way his thoughts shifted and changed that truly brought piece to the lumbering giant. It was the sweltering light of the Sun up above and the calm way the rays of sunshine greeted his face that let him know he was just fine. His eyes were closed for some reason, and yet he could see all around him clearly which prompted him to actually open them to the world around him.

The sight that greeted him was that of what could only be described as an abstract paradise. There were beautiful vistas and sweeping landscapes, amazing architecture from various periods in time dotted the landscape, giving it a bit of flavor. Sitting up from his laid out position in the grass, Seika could only stare in wonder and confusion as he could feel the numbness that spread out from his limbs, his body clearly still sleep as he wondered truly where he could be. It was as he turned around that he received his answer and could only utter one word before everything blanked from his mind once more.

"Holy-"

[Exit]