Complex Situations-IC {still accepting}

[Skittle_Overlord]

“Hey kid…KID, you ok? Awake up, c’mon don’t just leave me hangin, nap time is over!” Ayashi grunted and opened his eyes, to be greeted by the most welcoming face he had ever seen. But it was all-wrong.

The initial elated smile he had vanished as he sat up. “Saya? Is that you? You sound different…” his head spun as he tried to concentrate on the lovely face of the woman he nearly killed himself to bring back. She gave a confused look and shook her head.

“Rintako.” She stated simply, pointing to herself.

Ayashi froze as he held his head, staring at Saya’s body, but Rintako’s person. The full hit of the disaster he just caused dawned on the boy. “Holy spirits, what have I done?”

“Well that’s a bit rude! Don’t look at me like I’m some freak show! Here I am concerned about you when I don’t even know who you are, and-“

“Shut up, you’re giving me a head ache.” Ayashi cut Rintako off, he had said it in a way that a grumpy old man would, it had caught her off guard and she had indeed shut up. For a second at least.

“You’re pretty cheeky for someone so small…”

Ayashi’s thoughts returned to the present. His eyes trained on the road ahead; Ayashi swayed silently, thinking of what he was about to do. He was on his way to intercept a battalion of Emperor Kozen’s soldiers. Anybody who didn’t know who he was would think he was crazy; he was with only two other people. But truth be told he could probably take on the battalion without them. A necromancer is never outnumbered, especially in a land were so much blood is shed.

He was reflecting on the first meeting with Rintako, who was now under his care. He had tried to bring Saya back to life, using an ancient scroll and a lot of energy. Instead he had brought someone else into the body of the precious deceased priestess. He glanced sideways at her; she looked like a nervous wreck. This was to be only her second taste of battle, and she had not done well on her first. She was petrified, but the only way to get her ready to fight Kozen was to force her to fight in battle. So far she hadn’t ‘killed’ anybody. If you could really call the way the priestess fought killing; she more or less damaged your soul, not your body. In a way being struck down by the priestess was far more terrible than dieing. A concept she understood, and so hesitated in so much as drawing her power’s energy.

“Calm down Rin, its hard, but-“

“She knows Ayashi!” Habaek spoke sharply, bringing his horse in between Ayashi and Rintako’s horses. Habaek kept his eyes focused on the road, but he spoke to Ayashi.

“She’s worked hard, and you know how difficult battle is for those who have never felt it.” Habaek reprimanded Ayashi. Ayashi frowned, very annoyed. Habaek was smotheringly protective of Rintako, he rarely spoke to her, and he never hung around her, but dare anyone so much as glanced at her in an iffy way…

It made it difficult to get her to toughen up; he was glued to her side during battle. How was Ayashi supposed to get her ready to face Kozen if she was treated like a baby?

“You know why I say these things Habaek, Kozen is not going to think; ‘Aw, she’s worked hard, let me go easy on her.’” Ayashi snapped back. Lately Habaek and Ayashi had been at each other’s throats. Understandably so, Habaek was furious about Ayashi messing with his dead lover’s body, and at first Ayashi didn’t blame him, but after fruitless attempts of sending Rintako back to wherever she came from, the spirits spoke to him. Making it painfully clear that he was not allowed to touch Rintako, she was the second chance. Even Habaek couldn’t argue then, but things had never been the same since.

“OK, I get it, just stop arguing you two.” Rintako said, looking worse than ever.

Ayashi looked away from her, she was so different from Saya. Saya only ever looked troubled when someone was hurt, and as often as that was, her expression still held heartbreakingly effortless grace. Her mannerisms were composed and graceful, always. Her voice gentle, her touch light, her mood compassionate, you always wondered how someone could be like that. Rintako could be described as an idiot at times, she was clumsy, awkward in her new body, had a low self esteem, incompetent, and a dork. Her redeeming qualities were in her compassion and empathy. Something he had to admit was very much like Saya, but just about the only thing, besides the fact that they had the same body.

All three became silent as they neared their destination. Habaek veered off, motioning for Rintako to do the same. Ayashi stayed on the road, he stopped, he was the one who started the attack. As far as Kozen was aware, the priestess was out of the picture. Ayashi attacked his forces every once in a while, so far Ayashi had succeeded in keeping the priestess a secret, but today was going to be her debut. They were going to attack a battalion lead by a demonic woman on its way to punish a village. Ayashi was going to stop them in their tracks, and strike disbelieving fear into Kozen’s heart as Jezebeth told him news of the return on the priestess. He would think Saya came back to life.

He could hear the sound of their war drums nearing. It had no intimidating effect on him, his heartbeat didn’t so much as quicken.

When they were within eyesight, he raised his right hand, something blue and glowing gathering in it. He began muttering, his words echoing on the wind. The battalion stopped as the ground began to shake. What happened next was not for the faint of heart. Rotted bodies and half skeletons popped out of the ground. A total of twenty of them, this was simply to announce his presence, more would be summoned as the battalion decided to attack.

“I believe this is our first meeting Jezebeth.” Ayashi called out, although she probably couldn’t hear him.

[The Literate Angel]

Jezebeth bowed before the emperor, her eyes looking at his feet as he gave her the exciting orders to destroy, or as her master called it 'punish', a village that had shown growing disobedience. She accepted her mission whole-heartedly and was quick to assemble her battalion. It had been awhile since Kozen had asked her to do battle and she was ecstatic, she wanted to see the blood flow.

Jezebeth strode through the halls of the palace, heading for the stables where her black Shire Gelding with blood red eyes, Devon, was being cared for. She always rode him when going into battle because of his power and surprising swiftness. She would never go into battle with out him and couldn't imagine riding another horse.

Many of the men in Jezebeth's battalion feared her because of her brutality and disloyalty. She felt nothing for those who served under her, caring more for her beast than them. She was also quick to strike a man down if her questioned her authority. Many of them also wondered how she had become so close to the emperor when he could hardly trust her.

Jezebeth mounted Devon and went out to the palace gates to meet her men. They always found it surprising that Jezebeth wore only a blood red kimono that hung off of her shoulders and a terrifying helmet, but barely got any scratches or marks on her body. Her sword hung from her horses side and it was a dark, demonic sword made from dark magic. Of course they had gone in to battle enough times to know to respectfully bow their heads when she approached and say little. She gave a small, sadistic, smile as she rode to the front. She turned towards them and said in a loud voice,

"This should be simple for all of you. Kill everyone who gets in your way, burn the houses and plunder everything. We bring it all back to the emperor and I'll kill any of you who try to steal from his possessions. Let us move out."

With that they started out. She always wore the horns of her helmet, feeling uncomfortable without it. None of her men knew her full power and none of them wanted to. They simply knew she dabbled in dark magics that one should never dabble in. She looked behind her and her cold, green eyes scanned her men. They were in perfect formation, yet something felt slightly off.

Jezebeth shrugged it off for the moment then ran her hand over her face. The rest of her helmet appeared in the form of a face, one like no one had ever seen. It had an insane grin and twisted eyes set in gray skin. The face was defined and sharp, every feature exaggerated. It instilled fear into those who looked upon.

The rode ahead was clear and they were not stopped. Jezebeth continued to scan the horizon, looking for something that would confirm her feelings. As they neared their destination the drums started and soon after a blue glow met her eyes. Then the dead started to rise from their earthy confines. The men stopped, startled, but Jezebeth only smiled. So Ayashi the monk boy was coming to greet them.

A voice carried on the wind, the owner must have been Ayashi, yet none of her men could hear it. The perks of being associated with demons. She called out to Ayashi as well, her voice projecting clearly and loudly even through her grinning mask.

"It is indeed our first meeting Ayashi. Don't disappoint."

She then motioned for some of the men on the right side of her battalion to move and engage the dead.

"Clear out the dead men, we are after blood and flesh, not these puppets."

She knew there would be more and the few she sent out would probably die, but there was no reason to send them all out to kill twenty undead. It was easier for her to kill the living anyway, their minds were easier to control and they were easier to kill. The dead had no blood so cuts to their body wouldn't work.

Jezebeth started to chant softly as well, her hand raising forward and a small, faint, black mist started to seep from her finger tips. The spell she was casting was one of rotting. It wasn't a powerful spell and would have little effect on the living, but it might be helpful for the dead. She mostly used it on places of siege, rotting the wooden gates or their bows if they were in range. It would reach the bodies, though it couldn't go much further and it might slightly affect her own men.

Still, even though Jezebeth knew her opponent she still felt uneasy about something and it was slightly frustrating her. She scanned the horizon again, but could see nothing. It wasn't odd for the boy monk to come alone, but she wondered why he was stopping her that day. Once again all she could do was shrug it off and focus on the task at hand.

[Skittle_Overlord]

“RUN SAYA IT’S TO LATE!” Ayashi screamed at Rintako. She squeezed her eyes shut and she lowered her head, pulling on the reigns, trying to get the horse to stop, but it wasn’t going to listen to her when she was in danger. Ayashi had no time for her fretting, he panicked and called her Saya instead of Rintako.

A white horse and a gray one raced threw the thick forest, dodging trees and crushing roots that were in their way. The two of them were running away, retreating would be the technical term, but they were running away in Rintako’s mind. They were running away and leaving someone behind, on his demand, but that didn’t make it right.

Habaek was keeping Jezebeth, that demon woman, busy, all so that Rintako and Ayashi could get away. Rintako couldn’t bare it, how could they leave him behind?! In the chaos that ensued after Ayashi uttered just one word, Rintako could barely believe that his plan went so south. He had uttered just one thing ‘rise’ and no less than two hundred corpses had risen right in the middle of Jezebeth’s forces. It had sent them in a frenzy, they were petrified. For about five minutes, they had struggled with the undead army. Rintako could barely keep herself from barfing then and their, but she had managed to do as she was instructed before. Riding out from the trees with Habaek, she had gathered her transparent energy into a single force in her palms, and shot it at Jezebeth like an arrow, totally missing her (on purpose), but getting her attention. Whether or not she had surprised Jezebeth she never found out, because a second later the corpses Ayashi had summoned started rotting away. They fell apart, leaving a battalion against only three people. It was perhaps a miracle that they were three powerful people.

Habaek had immediately drawn his sword, blasting a stream or fire at the nearest soldiers. His quick actions had saved them. He smacked the white horse Rintako was riding and sent it rushing away, he yelled something at Ayashi, Rintako didn’t hear what, but the next thing she knew, she was riding threw the forest. Ayashi swerved his horse into Rintako’s, making her stallion veer off to the left. They rode on for the next fifteen minutes, Rintako felt numb.

Ayashi had to grab her reigns to stop her horse. Her head was spinning and she looked like she was about to pass out, it was too much for her to handle. Ayashi managed to summon some more ‘zombies’ to block the soldiers, how was beyond her, he had explained how necromancy worked to her, and he shouldn’t have been able to summon anymore.

The soldiers were hot on their heels now, no telling how many pursued them, but it was obviously enough not to be bothered by a couple of corpses.

What happened next was another miracle, Ayashi and Rintako burst out of the trees onto another rode, both horses leaped out simultaneously. Only to find themselves in the presence of help, Ayashi grabbed Rintako’s reign’s and stopped her horse, steadying her horse and staring at his an old friend. Rintako didn’t recognize this person, but introductions had to wait, the soldiers burst out of the trees, one of them shooting an arrow that narrowly missed Rintako’s head. She screamed and ducked just in time, falling off her horse in the process and blacking out…

[Eternity]

It was only to be explained of, as a magnet. Some force, like a tether, attached to the soul. It pulled on her days before. As though she knew, deep down, that her life was about to change once more. As though her circumstances were about to shift, hopefully for the better. And so it had been decided, then, that she was going to go. To search...

And my, what she'd find...

What she had run upon, thought not directly, was her old companions. And they were all headed in the same direction. She saw a young monk boy riding fast, away from what had instantly appeared as trouble. She could hear the sound of clattering battle, and searched for answers. What she saw, was Saya. She didn't say anything though, she didn't want to give herself away. Because right now, this woman was the wind. She was invisible to the eyes of all, and moving through the trees like a summer's breeze, impossibly fast and terrifying to anyone who could even feel her presence dancing by.

She burst from the trees, invisibly, and silently as well. One soldier shot an arrow at Saya's head, and it missed. But the girl fell and passed out, and the woman ground her teeth.

Suddenly, one soldier began to dance in pain, his head swinging to one side before he doubled over in pain. And then, amazingly, blood burst from a magically appearing gash in his stomach. The other soldiers stared in wide-eyed amazement, before he too, was destroyed quickly, his throat slit while he tried to step back and flee. Another, and another, and four had been taken, but the numbers were very many. The woman danced invisibly over towards Saya then, and picked her up, lifting her and wrapping her arm around her waist to hold her with her.

And like a mirage in the distance becoming reality once more; Naomi regained her appearance to the world. She was a very intimidating woman by appearance; and also a seemingly shameless one. Her long dark hair was pinned up in a tight bun, with a set of bangs brushed aside along her face. Her eyes were a rich blue-tone, and her skin a smooth tan. Her breasts were covered in one silver plate of armor, with a black halter-top underneath that only reached just beneath her breasts and breast-plate, leaving her firm navel open for ogling. Her legs were covered in a pair of shorts that only reached just to her thighs, with laces down the open outer sides, and a belt of pouches- and a small sheath on each side of her hip. Her boots rose up past her knees, smooth black and with small kunai slid down in thin little belts around the tops. And across her lips was a smooth- like satin- black veil, tight and tied behind her bun.

She shifted to support Saya better, picking at her top until a yin-yang necklace fell down onto her chest. Naomi then reached into one of the longer rectangular cases on her side, pulling out an oriental fan of black silks with a golden dragon upon it. She raised it and opened it, then flushed it down. A billow of smoke seemed to appear, curling and furling, effervescing into a set of four shadow-like soldiers, that stood like her, and each drew two black short katanas, and readied to fight.

[Ethereal]

White smoke escaped his lips with every heave of breath. Kyosuke had trained non-stop ever since he turned away from his duty as Saya's guardian. She had died, and along with her, his heart too. He had just finished another day of training. His training ground, once flourished with flora was now reduced to nothing but a mere grave of ice. Plants and the very soil were covered by frost and the atmosphere, chilly. But it was just right to Kyosuke's emotions. He closed his eyes and listened to the wind. Moments later, his eyes shot wide open upon the news the wind brought. Saya was revived by the boy monk Ayashi. Wasting no time, Kyosuke sheathed his blade and bandaged his superficial injuries. It will take him a good while to find them but he had already made up his mind...

~~~xxx~~~

Battle, it has that distinct sound that never fails to attract attention. A blur swiftly traversed a complex path snapping a stray twig or two and left a trail of blown dry leaves. Kyosuke had been traveling through the forest using his light foot technique and was hot on the trail of where the battle was taking place. He feared for the worst yet he believed that he could make it in time. As he drew near, Kyosuke readied to draw his blade.

After days of traveling non-stop on foot, Kyosuke had finally managed to find the people he was looking for. As soon as he emerged from the bushes on the side road, Kyosuke's deep blue eyes laid upon an unconscious priestess and two others, a guardian like he once was and Ayashi the boy monk. The soldiers who were ready to attack immediately came to a halt as Kyosuke's figure emerged from the forest. He was wearing what was left of his tattered white lower kimono and nothing but bandages up top which spanned the length of his arms, his dark blue hair had grown longer than he usually allowed it to, but was still kept in place with a top knot. At first glance, he looked like one who would topple over a strong gust of wind but that was not the case. Kyosuke had tremendously grown in power compared to his former self.

"Where is Habaek?" He asked Ayashi.

Kyosuke then turned his gaze towards the soldiers who looked like they were itching for a fight. The guardian whom he had known as Naomi indeed struck fear into them. Kyosuke looked at the disemboweled remains of the other soldiers as he readied his blade.

"I don't have time for small fry like these..." Kyosuke mumbled.

He then struck his sword to the hard ground, moments later, a white glow emanated from his arms and swiftly traveled down his blade. A second after, a large wall of ice emerged and separated him and his companions from the incoming soldiers. He then turned around and faced Ayashi and Naomi.

"Hurry and take her to safety. My wall of ice won't last longer than five minutes..."

[The Literate Angel]

Jezebeth's green eyes blazed under her mask. She couldn't believe it had turned out like this, though it wasn't exactly the worst situation. After the few undead had risen she had cast a spell of rotting, finding, to her pleasant surprise, that the spell worked wonderfully on the undead army. Then the little brat had sent up about two hundred more soldiers in the midst of hers, sending the fools into a small frenzy. It didn't take her long to reassemble them though and her spell made the undead weak enough for her men to kill them quickly.

Then she saw one of the worst things she could have ever seen. Saya and her little lover Habaek ride out. It had taken her completely by surprise since she had witnessed her beloved emperor slaughter the priestess. Yet her lover, Habaek, was next to her, though he looked a little strained and she didn't look to well. When she saw her drawing her energy though to send off a shot, she knew she didn't have time. The woman was accurate and usually aimed to kill, especially since Jezebeth was one of Kozen's strongest allies.

Jezebeth quickly formed a dark shield around her, though she knew it wouldn't stop her from getting wounded by the priestess. Then something interesting happened. The arrow flew past her head, like a warning shot. Most people would be to shocked to move, she knew how close she was to death, but not her. An evil smile formed on her lips, though none of them could see, and she quickly started forward, drawing her blade out of its sheath. Her battalion followed close behind her.

Habaek sent a shot of fire towards them, hitting the front of her battalion, causing enough of a pause from her men to allow them to escape into the woods. She cursed slightly and then charged forward. The three were within her sights when Habaek turned to face her. She smiled under the mask again and ordered the rest of her men to follow the other two. She had always wanted to fight a guardian one on one.

"Don't disappoint me like your little monk friend did, Habaek."

She was quick to put up another protective barrier on herself, this one stronger then the last. It would protect her from most of his fire attacks, to a point. She then charged Devon at him, her sword glowing faintly with dark powers. A hit from her blade could cut deep and the worst of it was it was seeped in poisonous powers. One hit, even a graze, could fell a horse in a matter of minutes and that was what she was counting on. It would only work once since casting that particular spell took time, so she would use it wisely.

Jezebeth was met by a large stream of fire. The heat scorched her, licking at her clothes, but her skin did not burn and she was left with only a small mark. The force of it did almost knock her off of her horse though, and Devon was frightened slightly. Habaek did not hesitate in casting another fire spell, but this one had less magnitude as the last and was easy for her to brush off, allowing her to charge forward, her blade aiming for him.

He managed to evade the blade himself, but it wasn't enough of a maneuver to save his horse. The beast suffered a shallow cut on its flank, allowing all of the poison to seep into its veins. It didn't take long before the thing fell, leaving Habaek at a disadvantage. The guardians had never really fought with her, she had usually been by Kozen's side in battle, protecting him, sending her magic out across the battle field. Her strong suit had always been distance. It was rare that she ever got in a confrontation with them and they didn't know her powers or tricks. It was perfect.

It took Habaek a minute to regain his footing, but it was long enough for her to dismount and poise. She smiled as his breath was labored and she could tell the fall from his horse had wounded his right leg slightly. She had been using quiet a bit of magic so she could feel it tasking on her body, but not as much as him. She would save her magic for later and would simply use her sword skills.

"Come on Habaek, if you don't kill me now, I'll just kill her later."

Habaek was the first to move, his anger fueling his attacks. That would be his downfall. She parried his blows, her small body allowing her to move with him easily, especially with a hurt leg. She toyed with him for a few moments, allowing the small fire spells he unleashed to graze her. She soon was leading him, he had to block now instead of unleashing his own attacks and it was evident that he was losing. She could see the pain that it was causing him, knowing that she was beating him and it only made her moves quicker.

A slash to the chest practically finished him, he stumbled back and fell down. They both knew it was the end. She walked over to his weak, pathetic, form and stood over him. She reached up and took the mask that covered her face off. He stared up in anger, defiance and hate at her beautiful, yet sinister face. Her green eyes shone with excitement.

"I'm so disappointed Habaek. You all have a second chance, a second chance to kill emperor Kozen and this is what happens? You all are weaker then ever. You can rest assured, though, I will be sending your friends after you. One by one. Until all that is left is your precious priestess. And when her heart is so far gone, seeped in sorrow and pain, I will make her Kozen's puppet. I will use her and then, when she loses her usefulness, I will kill her as well."

Habaek's face was stuck in horror and anger. He drudged up as much of his power as he could as she was about to bring her sword down, and sent it up at her. A huge inferno shot up, burning her badly and causing her a lot of pain, but the barrier she had made proved to be her savior and she brought her sword quickly down on his heart, stabbing it clean through. He screamed the priestess' name to the heavens before the inferno died and the Guardian of Fire was no more.

Shortly after the drums signaled a retreat. She knew that the others had escaped and there was no real reason for her to stay. She needed to quickly get back to the palace and tell her emperor of what she had seen. Her men would be following behind, but she would not wait for them. They would bring back Habaek's body as proof and to make sure the damned monk didn't try and do anything with it.

Jezebeth arrived at the emperor's palace and quickly went to her master. He had to know that the priestess was still alive and she knew he would be happy that she had killed one of the guardians, especially the lover to the priestess. Her news was good and bad. The priestess was back, she would probably be that much easier to kill.

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