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Post by Ziya on Aug 22, 2018 13:22:16 GMT -5
Jennifer sighed at Neku's vague answer, deciding not to use Aspect unless she was backed into a corner. She really didn't want to accidentally kill him, after all. As they neared the Training Grounds she pulled a hair tie out, putting her long hair into a high tail as she glanced over at Neku again. "I'm not used to holding back very much, so I wanted to know where to draw the line."
Jason put his hands up apologetically and shook his head once Tori explained the rules more. "Sorry, I didn't know bet's were lumped in. I'll be fine without then." He was impressed they had seen through his plan -if they actually had- but it was mainly curiosity anyhow. Maybe he was losing his touch a bit...
Meanwhile Lucia could sense Jason and her sister approaching as she continued to chat with Conrí. "I don't actually know what it means to be an apprentice. I was only one for about a month, and you're my first. For now, let's just focus on getting through whatever is going on here."
As the others finally came into view, Lucia pondered his last question before giving a quick answer. "I don't know, but I doubt it. A memory is not enough to wield a keyblade, and from what you said her's isn't the same as yours. We'll have to see."
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Post by therunawaygirl on Aug 22, 2018 13:34:41 GMT -5
Neku simply shrugged, and Tori didn't glance back as they got in the Training Grounds. Once there, Tori pulled her hood off, knowing that it was a safe place within school grounds. Neku simply grabbed his blade, and looked at Jen, and then back at Tori. He noticed Conrí and Lucia, and simply smirked as he looked back to his challenge.
"The moment you give your first strike, we'll start" he told Jen, and then looked at Tori, "You'll count the time, right?" he asked. "Yeah, sure" Tori shrugged back, taking out a small phone, "5 minutes, right?"
Although she was talking to Neku, she was glancing at Conrí, Lucia, Jason and Jen with quick views, feeling targetted. She knew that a lot of things weren't explained to them yet, but she had no other choice but to keep quiet. Otherwise, she wouldn't be able to live another day in that island. That was a reality she'd lived with for 7 years now.
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Post by Conrí on Aug 22, 2018 14:05:59 GMT -5
Conrí nodded slowly. Unlike the druids, who all took him under their wing and guided him with their experience, Lucia had her experience, which was vaster than his, by far, but still limited. So, the wolf boy decided to simply go with the flow of things. He also nodded when she mentioned about Tori's Keyblade likely being the real thing.
When the would be king saw Tori standing in the Training Grounds, looking at him, he shuddered. Something about her from this angle seemed so conflicted and sad. Now that he wasn't facing the strife in his own heart, he felt bad, but, he knew the others were ready to watch the fighting with Neku and Jen. Still, though, he wondered if it would be worth it to try and get her to talk to him, or, at least hear him out about the decisions he came to.
Neku and Jen had entered the ring, though, so, there wasn't really anything Conrí could do, other than watch the events before him unfold.
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Post by Ziya on Aug 22, 2018 14:35:58 GMT -5
Jason quickly moved over to join Lucia and Conrí, nodding at the look the former gave him. That look meant discussion later, though he didn't know specifically what. "She's probably not going to use Aspect. The kid never gave her a straight answer on how hard he's been hit before." Now it was Lucia's turn to nod, grateful that her sister hadn't gotten too into it, though she did decide to clue her new apprentice in. "Aspect is a form the three of us can use that multiplies our power by six and gives us a new set of abilities. While Drive forms are similar, we're unique with these since we're the last three Celderatians."
As all of this went on Jennifer joined Neku near the center of the area, running through some light stretches before bouncing on her toes. Once he mentioned she was starting she summoned her armor with a bright flash and a savage grin before mentally activating her Aura Celica. The twin gauntlets rapidly expanded as she slammed them together, the Soul-Forged Orichalcum/Mythril alloy ringing as she dropped into a ready stance. "All right, just let me know when you've had enough."
She stood still for a moment, eyeing her opponent before suddenly charging forward using the blasts from her weapons to accelerate rapidly, each one having the force of a shotgun blast minus the shell itself. Ten feet away she fired at the ground instead, launching herself into the air as she began rapidly firing at Neku's location. "Let's start things off with a bang! Lightstorm!" The blasts peppered a ten foot area, leaving behind a mist of pure Light that would mildly burn anything weak to it and blind nearly anything else. She landed on the other side of where Neku had been in a crouch, sliding a few feet as her momentum carried her.
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Post by therunawaygirl on Aug 22, 2018 19:02:50 GMT -5
Tori started the clock as soon as Jen began attacking, ticking down from 5 minutes flat. As she did so, she noticed that Jason went to meet Lucia and Conrí, and she glared at them. She was still rather bitter about her own suspiciouns, seeing that Jason was after something about her.
Neku noticed that Jen was using armor, and shuddered at a seemingly strong aura, yet that wasn't the worse he'd seen. The few blasts that managed to get to him were parried back with a black as coal greatsword. Firm in his grip, he then dashed forward towards Jen, dragging the blade on the ground. As he neared her, putting all of his strength in the blade, and, as he raised it from the ground, created a slow moving shortwave near Jen's position -Shockwave.
"Well, I guess I didn't say anything about armor" he said, smirking, "But since you'll be holding back, then I guess there's no problem."
While he placed a cheeky facade, he did struggle with the blinding mist in order to aim, so it was possible that the shockwave didn't aim where it should've. Yet because of the mist, he wasn't able to see exactly if that was true or not.
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Post by Conrí on Aug 23, 2018 9:24:22 GMT -5
Conrí noticed the blinding flash that Jen sent out, and his body tensed in anticipation. Neku seemed to parry the ones that reached him away. Then, there was a mist that shrouded the Training Grounds. The wolf boy wondered if being hidden would be Neku's best bet or not. Staying hidden worked both ways in this case, and, despite Jen holding back, she was clearly strong enough to deftly handle the situation.
The would be king's gaze went to Tori, and he realised that she was glaring at them, although, he couldn't tell which one of them.
Fen, do you think I screwed up again?
The wolf looked up at Conrí with something that appeared to be sympathy. You did what you had to do, now, watch. You just might learn something.
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Post by Ziya on Aug 23, 2018 13:34:32 GMT -5
Lucia and Jason watched from the stands, both cheering for their companion as she rocketed across the battlefield with the recoil. Only she could have been crazy enough to make weapons that could literally throw her around if she chose, then develop a fighting style revolving around them.
Lucia noticed Tori glaring at them, seemingly at the two of them specifically, and smacked Jason lightly on the back of the head. "Tori's mad at us. What did you do?" Jason rubbed where she hit, lowering his eyes somewhat. "I ah, did a sloppy job trying to get some answers about something."
She sighed before pointing at him with an annoyed look. "Look, so long as we're here we are her guests. If she doesn't want to tell us something then don't push it. We all have secrets, Sahar." Her use and emphasis of his Elemental Title rather than his name brought home just how badly he had messed up, and her voice had been loud enough to likely have been heard by Tori, if just.
Jennifer's grin grew once she realized that Neku had blocked her attack, responding to his taunt with one of her own. "I'd take it off, but you might manage to tear up my normal clothes. Wouldn't want to give you a show~" She finished with a wink before noticing the Shockwave heading toward her. Firing her left gauntlet spun her to the right at the last instant before it would have hit her, though she did lose a few hairs as it passed just behind her. "Nice try, but this is a shockwave. Scorched Earth!"
A double blast at the ground combined with her own jump launched her a dozen feet into the air, where she fired yet again to propel herself down to the ground about three feet from where Neku should be. The impact combined with her Element to send out a shockwave of Light 10 feet in all directions from her kneeling form.
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Post by therunawaygirl on Aug 23, 2018 15:54:38 GMT -5
Neku flinched, and barely managed to block. Even when raising his blade to protect himself, he got quite a lot of damage, and staggered a bit. Yet instead of looking afraid, or even giving up, he chuckled. He looked at Jen, with a smirk, readying his sword once more.
"Heh... Not bad" Neku said, amused, "Didn't think you'd be serious about all this. The way you act threw me off, that's for sure."
Standing back up, Neku held his greatsword with one hand, and his free hand was imbued by dark magic. He then swiftly moved his hand over the blade, imbuing the sword with dark magic.
"Y'know? I noticed something" he said, calmly, as he looked at her, "You're aligned to the Light, right? Your moves show as much. Too bright" he shrugged, "So, if someone uses dark-aligned magic, how do you react? I kinda wanna know" he winked, before dashing towards her with his sword imbued in darkness -a technique he liked to call "Darkblade".
As he dashed, he quickly slashed at Jen with an inhuman ammount of strength behind his attacks -Demonic Chaos. 3 slashes were directed at her, all of them imbued in darkness, trying to get at least one of the slashes hit.
Tori kept an eye on the trio sitting and spectating the match, overhearing a word. A quick flash of Jason's past with that name got hold of her mind, but she quickly dismissed it with ease, focusing on the timer of the match. However, she did have a few things to settle with him after that. If she had time afterwards.
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Post by Ziya on Aug 23, 2018 16:44:15 GMT -5
As Neku spoke Jennifer's smirk faded a little. She hadn't thought that she would meet another user of Darkness here, and to only find out partway through fighting him gave her little time to prepare. She managed to dodge the first slash cleanly using the same recoil trick from before, only to be forced to block the second. Her arms were thrown aside by the impact, leaving her open for the third and final strike, giving her a deep gash across her right arm and her torso.
Reflexively she launched herself backward a few feet clutching her injured arm with the other hand as she wobbled slightly, her head down with her eyes shadowed. "You want to see how I fight Darkness users?"
In the stands Jason groaned at the sight. "Ah man, here we go." Lucia tensed slightly, ready to jump in if she had completely lost it.
Jennifer raised her head as green healing magic appeared in her right hand and pure Light in her left, revealing that all traces of humor had left her face. "Light Mage: Holy Curaga." She brought her hands together, blending the two magics into a new form that both healed her wounds and granted her a glowing white shield that halved all physical damage and nullified Darkness. "Your Darkness means nothing to this."
Now recovered, it was her turn to charge forward, running at an angle to circle around Neku as she brought her hands together again. "Double Barrel!" Both gauntlets fired at the same time, blending the blasts into a 6 inch wide one that continued toward Neku's feet, detonating in a three foot radius on contact. Twice more she did this as she circled him, hoping that at least one would hit.
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Post by therunawaygirl on Aug 24, 2018 6:34:20 GMT -5
Caught off-guard by her snap, Neku wasn't able to dodge her attack completely. While he managed to avoid one of the shots, the others caught up to him, and he was tossed aside. This time, he managed to sense danger, yet, in face towards that danger, he kept strong.
"Well, then, never mind..." he said, chuckling a bit, "Guess it pissed you off more than anything... But keep it down a bit, alright? We both agreed that there's no killing involved."
His Black Blade was still imbued in darkness, meaning that he still had some advantage over her. He noticed that she had a barrier surrounding her, and all damage he'd done dissapeared as if she never recieved a scratch. Readying himself, he began to quickly analyze his options.
"A barrier, huh...? Guessing that's she's using that as a trump card..." he thought, "But I think she got something wrong... I'm not using Darkness darkness... I'm using black magic... There's an opening!"
He grabbed his sword firmly, and headed on to another attack. He did have a few scratches here and there, but they only stung a bit.
Tori looked at the clock, seeing the time running out. The timer marked 3 minutes left before the match would be over by time-out.
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Post by Ziya on Aug 24, 2018 11:42:12 GMT -5
Jennifer hadn't noticed when the fog had faded, thou it didn't matter since they were both out of it anyhow. Her eyes narrowed as Neku reminded her about the "no killing" rule, a confident smile turning the look into a truly devious one. "Oh, don't worry. If it looks like your gonna die I'm sure Lucia will patch you up. For now," she channeled more of her Light into herself, "let's see how you deal with the next level. Light Augmentation: First Style!"
The Light rushed into her body, doubling her strength and speed for a time, before she met his charge with one of her own. Just out of sword reach she again launched herself into the air, this time achieving over 20 feet of air as she aimed at her target with a single gauntlet. "Let's see you get out of this: Binding Shot!" The blast headed straight for Neku's chest, and on contact with either him or the ground it would rapidly expand into three feet of Light Forged chain wrapping around him.
Usually she would follow up immediately with Light Blitz, capable of punching through a steel wall without the Augment, but she hesitated as she landed on the other side of Neku trying to see if he was truly bound. Even now she was trying to go easy on him, after all.
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Post by therunawaygirl on Aug 24, 2018 13:26:30 GMT -5
"That's enough!" Tori yelled, stopping the fight as Jen landed behind Neku, "...Time's up." "You're lying" Neku said, snapping back towards her, "There's still time. Are you that worried that I'll get my ass kicked? You could've said so sooner." "...No" Tori shook her head, stepping forward, "But there's something I noticed that would make it impossible to win. Isn't a draw better than a loss, anyway?" "Like I care" he shrugged back, "What's with you? Suddenly calling the time out, and acting like that..."
Tori didn't reply, and, tucking her hood up, she began to leave the Training Grounds, but Neku, quickly saving his blade back to its sheath, grabbed her quickly before she even got away, sternly. Even when she was caught, Tori didn't look back, giving Neku an even bigger reason to be mad.
"What is it? Speak up already!" Neku demanded. "...I need to make another run." "Now? In the middle of a match? They can't do anything here, remember?" "It's not only them I'm worried about anymore..."
Tori pulled her hand from Neku's grasp, and left to directions unknown. Neku groaned, seeing that all of Tori's responsabilities were passed onto him, when he didn't even agree to it. But since Tori wasn't going back for the time being, he had to deal with it for the time being, until she decided to come back.
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Post by Ziya on Aug 24, 2018 13:57:58 GMT -5
Jennifer looked at Tori in confusion, knowing full well that five minutes hadn't passed yet. It seemed the fight was over regardless, so she dismissed the chains that had missed and allowed her Augment and Holy shield to vanish as well. "What the heck just happened?" Her Aura Celica folded back into bracelets before she ran off after Neku.
Lucia and Jason were just as confused, quickly standing and moving toward their companion to get answers. Lucia quickly memorized the feel of Tori's aura and Heart, just in case they needed to find her again. Once they got close Jeson bowed to Neko in the old style, hands to his side and bending nearly halfway over. "I don't know what happened, but if it's thanks to me I'm really sorry."
The two sisters shared a look of surprise before Lucia sighed and Jennifer shrugged. "At least you didn't use Aspect." "Of course not! I didn't want to kill him!"
Turning back to Neku with a concerned expression, Lucia apologized as well. "Like Jason said, if this is on us we're all sorry. Is there something we can do to help, or do you just want us to leave?" She had a strong feeling that Conrí would go with them when they did, but his sense of honor might keep him there until he fixed whatever happened.
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Post by Conrí on Aug 24, 2018 14:28:07 GMT -5
Noted. Never piss Jen off. Conrí thought this with a wry smirk and a partial shudder. Just as the fight seemed to be warming up, Tori called time, and, Neku started to complain. The girl seemed frantic, and, something within the wolf boy sank. He knew the look. She'd be running away. The would be king had seen the look often with his fellow druid trainees. He leaned his cheek on his right hand before sighing and deciding to rise.
I can't believe you trusted her.
Shut up, Fen. She has her reasons, I'm sure of it.
So, are you going to chase her down this time?
Conrí bit his lip and shook his head. He looked at Neku and smiled in a half-apology, realising that Tori had also stuck the boy with her duties. He switched his gaze to Lucia and nodded slowly. It was best they knew what had happened earlier. Before Tori left and he found himself guilt-tripping himself for not having the truth be said.
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Post by therunawaygirl on Aug 24, 2018 16:38:07 GMT -5
"Even if you try followin' her, you'll lose her immediately" Neku said, sighing, "And if you DO manage to find her, then odds are she'll kill you. Period."
Neku looked towards the direction Tori had left with a mix of concern and bitterness, but it wasn't like he could do much about it. He stretched a bit, seeing that Jen had made significant damage to him, and, remembering that, he glared at her.
"You're too damn strong for your own sake" he stated, "And if you're that strong, guessing that you two" he looked at Lucia and Jason, "Are pretty freaking strong. Geesh... Great way to learn something new, I tell ya... Gonna be asking Ashe if sh can patch me up later. For now... You guys have anywhere to stay?"
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Post by Ziya on Aug 24, 2018 17:00:40 GMT -5
Jennifer finally noticed how much damage she had done to Neku as he spoke. "Hey, you okay?" She turned back to her sister with pleading eyes, only to be met with another sigh. Lucia channeled healing magic into her right hand for a moment before tossing it idly at Neku and Jennifer both, fully healing them. "Sorry about that, she can get a little rough when she's fired up."
Now that everyone was fixed up Jennifer dismissed her armor and grinned, back to her bubbly self after the battle. "Heh, you haven't seen anything yet! I still had another trick up my sleeve, and Lucia here has two!" Jason chose that moment to join the conversation, rising from his bow before speaking up. "No, we actually just got to this world a few hours ago. If you want us to stay, we'd be grateful for a recommendation."
As Jason spoke Lucia noticed Conrí's nod and faced him. "Do you know anything about this that could be useful, Conrí?" She was hesitant to mention the decision they had made in front of Neku, but if Conrí chose to call her "Master" again she'd go with it. Either way, that night would be a good time to explain things to the others.
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Post by Conrí on Aug 25, 2018 12:19:22 GMT -5
Conrí thought back to when he first got here himself. The wolf boy shook his head slightly and wondered what he could do to help. Tori was pushing herself away from him quite a bit then, too. He looked at Neku and sighed, walking up to the island boy. "She can be a handful sometimes," he placed a hand on Neku's shoulder softly, "but, Tori's strong."
The would be king stepped back and heard Lucia's question and simply shook his head. "There was this one tree house, but, I don't really know where it is."
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Post by therunawaygirl on Aug 25, 2018 16:57:04 GMT -5
Neku looked back at the group, and looked shockd as Conrí mentioned a tree house. The only one he knew was his Guild's HQ, but... Did he know where it was? Although he said he didn't, Conrí must've been there before.
"Treehouse? Was it by a shoreline with a single cherry tree?" Neku asked, waiting for his answer, "If so, there's 2 reasons as for why we can't go there. Number 1: it's a Guild's HW. My Guild, to be specific. Number 2: it's by the Eartern Shore. Even close to the sea, it gets dangerous at night. The town's 10 times safer" he finished, "...I guess I could show you the Shacks... Follow me."
Neku hinted at everyone to follow him, as he made his way back in town. From there, he headed to a less crowded area, until, at the end of a street, a large building was able to be seen. It was a simple, wood structure, that looked similar to a complex of skyscrapers, all connected to one another.
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Post by Ziya on Aug 25, 2018 20:52:19 GMT -5
The Shacks didn't sound like a very appealing place, but given the trio's lack of other accommodations they had little choice but to follow Neku. Besides, Lucia figured that they could always open a Corridor to their base on Radiant Garden and come back in the morning if it was too bad.
As they arrived that idea started to become more tempting. Jennifer took one look at the wooden towers and glanced over at Jason. "That can't be structurally sound, right?" He took a long look at the buildings, falling back on two years of special ops training to note doors, windows, and likely spots for the core structures before replying. "Actually, I've seen worse hold up to a surprising amount before. We should be fine."
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Post by Conrí on Aug 26, 2018 9:15:41 GMT -5
Conrí heard Neku's questions and nodded slowly. "I followed Tori there when I just suddenly woke up here in a daze. I didn't know it was a guild. Sorry about that. I slept outside on the ground at the trunk. Promise." He smiled a bit sheepishly, hoping that he hadn't just gravely severed diplomatic ties he was trying to keep in tact. The last thing the wolf boy wanted was for Neku to start seeing him as an enemy.
When the island boy mentioned a place called the Shacks, The would be king's stomach dropped, slightly. Then again, he'd just admitted to sleeping under the stars outside with Claiomh Solais next to him for protection, so, when he saw the structure, even before Jason said it was safe, it looked good enough to him. After all, if his brief time in Twilight Town had taught him anything, it was that would be kings with no where to call home had to start from somewhere before they got to the castle they wanted with the subjects they wished to lead. He nodded ever so slightly. "I'm okay with this, because I think they're doing what they can," he whispered to Lucia.
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