human
Unknown
Six Years Ago....
The battle was fierce, drawn-out; many called it a war of attrition. They were right; both sides suffered heavy casualties. It was a battle fought on many fronts, but the Moon and Santa Maria Novella Basilica were the two main battlegrounds of the war. Shinigami's son, Kid Death, went to battle along with many other high-ranking Shibusen warriors - Franken Stein, Marie Mjlnir, and others - against the Kishin Asura, former Death Scythe Justin Law, and his army of Black Clowns, abominations crafted from the horrid substance Black Blood. Liquid madness, many would say; they weren't too far off. With the exception of a few, anyone exposed to this substance grew increasingly insane until it was too late.
The witch Medusa Gorgon, however, sought to weaponize it; she succeeded. Her child Crona was her first vessel for Black Blood, giving rise to the construct Ragnarok, a soul-hungry killing machine that often was wielded by Crona in the form of a sword. The influence of Medusa's actions drove Crona over the edge, forcing the tormented being to kill her in a bout of madness-induced insanity and making the hardening of the Black Blood within come to completion. This also forced the demented child to abandon Shibusen, throwing all of Maka's efforts to integrate Crona into the group to waste. Crona fled, defeating Maka's Soul Perception for a time by blending in with the madness emanating from Asura himself. Until she and the rest of Spartoi came to the moon to defeat the Kishin himself.
With Kid joining Shibusen's warriors on the Moon to destroy the Kishin, Maka and the rest of Spartoi tried to track down Crona, only to find the insane child flying off to capture the Kishin for purposes unknown. Giving chase, the rest of Spartoi joined up in the fight against the Kishin to press forward and stop Crona. The Kishin Asura, however, absorbed Crona into himself, giving the demonic monster a massive boost in power. This made the battle infinitely tougher; with Stein sidelined due to his sensitivity to madness, it was up to Maka and Spartoi to finish it. After sustaining heavy injury, Asura having put Kid and Black Star out of commission, Maka and Soul performed one final Soul Resonance and cleaved Asura in two with her Kishin Hunter technique, followed by Crona using Brew to forever seal the Kishin within the Moon itself.
However, Medusa's devious mind worked in more than one way, for she foresaw the likelihood of Crona being consumed by Asura and used that, along with the sadness it would have caused in Shibusen's finest, to further her ultimate goal: Destroy Death City. For that she had a second child, crafted from her own blood and the genetic material she stole from the man she had once held romantic feelings for and had come to her seeking reprieve from the madness affecting his body: The great Doctor Franken Stein. The experiment this one underwent was even more twisted than what she put Crona through, and worse yet...Shibusen and Lord Death (Now Kid Death, as the original Lord Death had faded away) had not the slightest clue of this child's existence. She sought to create another ultimate Demon Weapon, but only time would tell if she succeeded.
Present day....
Deep underground in a secluded yet clearly manmade cavern, a large glass tube-like chamber held a titan of a man; an eerie blue glow illuminated the subterranean pocket, the human-shaped shadow being the only thing that showed through the thick glass and haze inside the pod. Images played through his head, distorted, rapid and random, yet somehow making perfect sense to him, as if his brain were a blank disk and everything was merely being written to it like some sort of program. This had gone on for the six-year span between the defeat of the Kishin Asura and now, infusing and indoctrinating his mind with basic knowledge of speech, combat tactics and human behavior. Suddenly, a light flashed from above the chamber, red and glaring as a ruby's shine. Pneumatic pistons pushed the chamber upright, having been tilted back against the wall, and a "Whoosh!" sounded as the heavy door swung open, a white mist pouring forth like a waterfall from the interior of the chamber. The mist cleared, revealing a naked, heavily-muscled man of nearly seven-and-a-half feet height, tanned skin, and shoulder-length platinum locks. His eyes twitched before slowly parting to reveal their navy-blue coloration. the lids blinking to clear the fogginess of his sight; his vision traveled the extent of the cavern, scanning nearly every inch before liberating himself from the strange pod.
A heavy "Thud!" resounded throughout the cavern as he landed; the strange man looked over himself, his massive hands flexing his fingers and his neck craning in every direction to work out the kinks of being in stasis for so long. A distorted, dark voice played in his head; anyone else wouldn't understand it, but somehow he did. He looked down, seeing a loose-fitting, sleeveless hooded white robe lying on the ground next to the chamber he'd just left. The garbled command spoke to him again, instructing him to don the rob and leave the cavernous holding area. Putting it on, the voice spoke again; almost mechanically, the man began to walk, his footsteps heavier-sounding than a normal human of his size might sound like. He traversed up a tunnel, coming eventually to a heavy stone blocking his progress. His right hand clenched, and quick as lightning, the fist flew forward, smashing the boulder as if it were Styrofoam and a loud "Boom!" echoing out. His way cleared, he proceeded forward into a large room; stacks of papers, tubes and diagrams covered the walls. This was one of Medusa's labs that Shibusen had raided to gather information on what the witch was planning, but he was not cognizant of that.
He continued forward, eventually stepping out into the blinding desert sunlight, an arm coming up to protect his eyes as they readjusted from the near-complete darkness of his former home. The hood of his robe was pulled up over his head and he began his trek across the desert towards Death City. For days upon days, he walked, never ceasing as the voice guided him towards his objective, not knowing what it was yet somehow understanding what he had to do.
gpt
Blair
It had been six years, just six short years since the defeat of Asura and his madness. So much had happened during the battle, so many hands shown for what they truly were. At times the battle seemed hopeless but still they had managed to come out and win the battle. It was a little hard to take in that the battle was finally over and done with and everything settled into an almost unreal and normal pattern of every day life. Sure, it wasn't as if every one had just forgotten what they had gone through but it was like it had happened decades ago. Every able person had taken part in the fight, even the regular citizens of Death City had pitched in to help in some way. It had been a spectacular battle, fought fiercely on both fronts but, the victor's had been Maka and Soul and all of Death City. After the battle things were a bit chaotic, people running about, confirming the number of dead, checking the damage done to the city but slowly things had wound down to what could be called "calm".
Blair herself had taken part in the fight, she'd faced off against the witches. Though a "cat" by nature her magical prowess was not something to be trifled with. She'd succeeded in her battles without losing any of her lives, though she'd done quite a bit of damage to the city, probably more than to her opponents. The "Victory" had felt off to her and she didn't know why, she chalked it up mostly to all the adrenaline that had been coursing through her veins but the feeling never really subsided. Her acute feline senses had told her that something was "wrong" in some way or another. She'd tried to talk to Maka and soul about it but they told her everything was fine. In the end she figured she'd just have to wait and see, which for a cat isn't easy. Their sense of curiosity in some cases does tend to be the reason for the majority of their deaths, her being a Cat with magical abilities, she was able to keep it in check fairly well.
Six years had gone by since that battle....and what was Blair doing? House sitting.
Blair laid there on the couch staring up at the ceiling, her arm draped over her forehead. She let out a small sigh and turned over onto her side and stared at the room, once more she stared in silence. "Ahhhhhhh, why did they leave me here alone?" she finally said breaking the silence. She sat up and stretched pouting because of her boredom. "It's so boring...." she said sighing again. She stifled a yawn and looked around, what could she possibly do for fun? "Maka's so mean going off with Soul alone..." she huffed crossing her arms under her chest. She leaned back and rested her head on the back of the sofa, her legs kicking back and forth in a very annoyed manner. She gazed up at the ceiling her yellow eyes narrowing slightly a small scowl appearing on her face as she tried and failed to think of something to do. "This is so unfair..." she said her ear's twitching slightly. Raising her head she stared at her hat which sat on top of the table.
She didn't want to go wandering around Death City, nor did she want to visit the DWMA. She didn't want to go and visit that bar that Maka's father "spirit" frequented either. She bit on her lower lip and tapped her foot on the floor as idea's of what she could possibly do entered into her mind only to be dismissed. She sprawled herself back on the couch sighing in defeat, she couldn't think of a single thing to do. "So mean..." she muttered, her ears twitching again. She knewwhythey had left alone and why Maka had refused to let her go with them but she hadn't needed to be so mean about it or leave her here to house sit with absolutely nothing to do for death knew how long. Her ears went back and she sulked on the couch for awhile, thinking of all the things she could do thatwouldbe fun but Maka would yell at her if she did it. Not to mention the possible destructive consequences of it.
Then again, why should she care? It was their fault for leaving a Cat alone in a house. A cat with knowledge of magic and an ability to use it, they should expect as much. Her ear's twitched once more as she sat up a very cat like grin tugging at the corners of her mouth. Sure, she shouldn't have to suffer all alone in such complete boredom like this. Hopping up quickly she retrieved her hat and placed it on her head. "Hm, Hm hum hmm" she hummed to herself while she busied herself around the house looking for items of clothing to put on and ingredients she would need for her newest venture into magic brewing. Shrugging on her coat she tilted her head slightly, "I think...." she murmured trailing off. She snapped her finger as she remembered one of the things she would need only grew on the outskirts of Death City in the desert.
At least now she had something to busy herself with, she thought while she finished getting dressed.
human
Unknown
The gargantuan man continued on his journey, never resting as his large feet left definite impressions in the sandy plains; even through the most brutal sandstorms, he was unfazed. And the extreme temperatures during the days and nights out in the barren straights appeared not to affect him, either; his skin, already somehow possessing a tanned coloration despite a long slumber in relative darkness, never once reddened from the unrelenting rays of the smiling, laughing Sun. One could only guess as to why this titan was marching so resolutely, but it was clear that he wouldn't stop for anything. Not even when the coyotes of the dry rockbeds noticed him approaching; on the fifth day of travel, he came across a particularly large male specimen. Oh, the beast growled, warning this intruder that he was encroaching on taken territory. A dark aura soon roared up around the man, its presence enough to make the normally ferocious beast whimper and run off in fear. Without even a blink of consideration, the man resumed walking, the hot stone from the afternoon sun never once making him falter.
On the eighth day of travel, he was just within visual distance ofDeath Cityitself; it was here that he finally paused, his dull blue hues peering upon the town of the heroic slayers of Asura the Kishin. For a few moments he stood there, his massive form casting a long and wide shadow over a piece of the scorched rock that surrounded the city, as if looking it over and appraising it. The architecture made entry nearly impossible from the ground, unless one were to enter through the buildings that made up the city's base; skulls the size of buildings made archways for paths, the buildings themselves aligned in a terrace fashion. A glance to the right revealed a single road that stretched from a skull-faced tunnel on the eastern end; his eyes then scanned the rest of the city, widening as they flashed once. Numbers and measurements poured across his vision, his sight encompassing a large yellow sphere possessing three spikes pointed diagonally up and away from him.
And with that, his eyes dulled once more, his body moving towards that single road entering the desert oasis, the garbled shadowy voice in his head giving him nearly non-intrepretable commands and directing him forward. However, merely moments after beginning his walk again, something went wrong; he paused, his eyes wide as he felt something wash over him in waves. Suddenly, a loud screeching was heard in his head, his hands flying up to cover his ears to no avail in stopping the sound from occurring. His mouth flew open, but only extremely muted choking sounds could be heard as indescribable pain shocked his massive body, his voice quickly faltering to the onslaught of sensation. He fell to his knees, his eyes squinting shut as he bent over before opening again; his irises twitched wildly, the pupils having narrowed to pin-head size as the pressure in his body felt like it was approaching its critical limit.
But as suddenly as it began, it ceased; the man now sat on his knees, his head craned back and eyes looking up to the sky, blank and growing dimmer, their once brilliant color dulled to near non-existence. His hands slowly fell to his sides, knuckles resting limply on the hardened desert stone. He remained like this for only a few seconds before his body shut down, causing him to fall over and lay still as the light faded completely from his eyes, lifeless as the rock which had once sheltered him from the harshness of these hot, scorching plains. To any that might come across him, he would appear to be dead; however, this was merely a ruse. A backup designed by his creator to be implemented in case anything went wrong.
gpt
Blair
Blair sat on one of her large pumpkins and floated over the desert sands out side of death city looking for her little herb. She lay sprawled out over it lounging comfortably while the sun heated her skin to a nice warm temperature, her hat shielding her eyes from the harsh light so she didn't really have to squint to see. She laid there on her stomach her arms folded in front of her, her chin resting on her arms while her eyes moved back and forth over the ground searching for her item. She hummed to herself, her little "pumpkin" song, to combat the silence of the desert. The sun felt nice on her bare back and legs and she'd long since taken off her jacket. She stretched and yawned, sitting out in the sun like this she wanted to take a nice long cat nap....which she was starting to seriously consider doing. The heat of the sun's rays were really beginning to relax her and she wanted to dig her claws into something, get comfortable and nap for a little while.
Her eye lids drooped lazily downwards and she was only partially watching the desert ground now. Her bright yellow eyes drifted slowly back and forth across the landscape, more enjoying the relaxing feeling than actually looking for anything. Rocks, Rocks, small brush, cactus, rocks, large human being, rocks, rocks....Blair blinked several times and got up on all fours, her pumpkin came to a stop and she looked around it "I thought I saw...." she said furrowing her brows as she looked around her surrounding area. Blinking she brought her hand up to her forehead, pushing her hat back a little on her head and leaned out over her pumpkin "What are they doing...." she said looking at a very large and robed human figure. Placing a hand on her hat she jumped down from the pumpkin and landed on the ground her knees bending from the impact. A cloud of dust erupted and swirled around her, straightening up she walked forward towards the figure, whoever this was, they were massive.
She stepped up next to the gargantuan being and looked them over. Frowning slightly she leaned over what she assumed was the head part and poked what she assumed was the shoulder. "....hope you arn't dead...." she said eying the hooded head. Reaching down cautiously she pulled at the hood until it pulled and she blinked several times at the face she was seeing. It was handsome to say the least, finely chiseled features and blonde hair "Oh, cute..." she said with a few surprised blinks. Her nose twitches as she surveyed his still body "I should probably....get him back to Death City..." she said straightening up. He looked big though, she wondered exactly how much he might weigh. Reaching down she tried to push him onto his back and very quickly realized this wasnotgoing to happen. " What's he made of? Iron?" she asked incredulously. Not only did he weigh a lot but just from touching his sides she could tell, it was all muscle, thick sinewy muscle. She straightened up and bit down on her thumb nail; just how the hell was she going to move this giant of a man? She couldn't just leave him out here to rot.
Blinking she snapped her fingers "Pumpkins." she said nodding her head. "Pum-Pum-Pumpkin!" she said pointing at the ground underneath the man. The sand beneath him began to shift and shake and before long a giant pumpkin could be seen rising from beneath him and lifting him into the sky. With her work complete, Blair grabbed onto her hat and jumped up into the air and onto her pumpkin, her knees bending to the point of kneeling. With a snap of finger the pumpkin was sent flying off into the Direction of Death City. Sitting down, she stretched her arms behind her and braced herself against them as she stared at the unconscious man. "What was he doing out here in the first place?" she wondered aloud. She had many questions swimming about in her head, and she intended to bombard this man with every single one of them the moment he woke. A sly smile worked it's way on her lips "I go out for an herb....and instead I bring back a man...." she said slightly amused.
Blair spent most of the trip back in silence, sunbathing in the warm sunlight, while more and more questions swam around in her head. One might say that curiosity had caught the cat. It wasn't very long before they had entered Death City and with much difficulty and struggle and even more irritation on Blairs behalf, she managed to get him inside of the house with no damage to him or herself, though the same thing could not be said for the house.
human
Unknown
The strangely-dressed man sat in the baking sun for only a short while; though his skin did not seem to burn despite the intense heat, it did receive a reprieve from the unforgiving rays as a familiar figure of Death City came to his aid. He did not stir even once as the neko-witch from Death City inspected his unmoving form, his ears impenetrable to the utterances of her sweet voice as her yellow hues looked for any signs of life. He would have no idea that he'd been found, let alone by someone like Death City's own mischievous magical cat; he also did not groan or really have any sort of reaction to her attempting to lift even just his shoulder, further showing just how deep into this state of unconsciousness he really was.
Though it seemed like Blair did have a few tricks up her sleeve, or lack thereof as she'd removed her jacket, or at the very least some new and inventive ways to utilize her squash-based magic; his heavy body was lifted effortlessly onto the titanic pumpkin before zipping off towards the desert city. His short platinum hair fluttered wildly in the wind as their short journey continued; many of the residents looked up to see the signature of one of Death City's most powerful magic-users zoom over their heads, their hands and voices rising up to greet her even if they were ignored. However, instead of the hospital to receive medical treatment, she opted to take him back to her current residence: The house of one Soul and Maka Albarn, the latter following in her mother's footsteps of marrying her Weapon partner. Though perhaps it was for the best; at least he wouldn't be potentially overwhelmed by a lot of curious new faces.
The house itself had been refurbished rather nicely; though with Blair's newest 'acquisition', much of it would prove to be undone despite it not really being his fault. His bulk caused a vase to be dropped on the floor, several pieces of furniture to get knocked over, and various other bits of domestic mayhem. By the time he was moved to the larger bed in the house, the residence looked like someone had robbed the place and literally left nothing unturned. Even the bed itself upon which the stranger laid seemed to be on the verge of joining its other brethren in ruin; the frame creaked from the massive weight of his form, and there was a noticeable bend as the center sagged from the load. His large bare feet, red from the stone that he walked on, hung almost a foot and half from the lower edge of the bed, and his hands hung over the sides. Well, at least he might be able to reach the higher shelves if he awoke and be of some use.
The hours dragged by, the man rescued from the heat of the desert still laying unconscious on the true owner's own bed; thoughts soon began to stir in his head, the neurons in his brain beginning to refire and activate. One by one, the vital bodily systems rebooted, breathing more and more life into him. Eventually, his eyes twitched and parted to reveal shiny, navy-blue irises; his pupils dilated to adjust to the new levels of light, his vision traveling all over the room. He soon sat up, his broad back resting against the headboard and the frame creaking even more as the weight was redistributed. He looked down to his hands and arms, flexing his fingers and arms as if to see how his body had recovered. Little did he realize the company he had, or rather whose company he been made.
gpt
Blair
Blair chewed on her bottom lip, her arms crossed under her chest as she stared at the disaster zone that was the living room. "Oh dear...." she said shaking her head. It looked like black star had come in here and used the house as his personal training grounds. It was awreck, if maka and soul came home and saw this....they'd de-claw her. She flexed her nails cringing slightly at the idea. She should probably clean it up but shereallydidn't want to. She also didn't want to get yelled at either, she let out a soft groan. Perhaps she could use magic to clean it up? Then again, her magic tended to cause more harm than good to properties. She grabbed the sides of her hat and pulled them down a little "Ooooh, what a mess you've gotten yourself into this time Blair..." she muttered sighing. She knew the man had been large, very large but it really hadn't seemed that big of a deal until she tried getting him into the house. How she even managed to get him into one of the room's without dropped him in through the roof was some kind of miracle.
She crouched down and hugged her knee's staring at the mess in front of her. She didn't want to spend all day righting this disaster, she might be able to go persuade someone to do it for her....but that seemed like a bit of work too.
Blair sat there awhile pouting wondering what she was going to do, "Next time I decide to leave the house and bring back a strange man, make sure he isn't a giant and doesn't weigh a ton." she muttered grumpily. Though, one shouldn't exactly bring strange men home but, she was lonely and bored and he was passed out in the desert, it hadseemedlike a good idea. She hoped he would wake up soon so she could focus on something other than this mess. Perhaps she should make some tea, for when the strange man wakes up. The idea of making tea was far more appeasing than sitting here staring at the mess, so she stood up and made her way to the kitchen.
Bringing out a pot she filled it with water and placed it on the stove. Blinking she stared at it and frowned. Reaching into a cabinet she pulled out another larger pot and filled it with water as well before setting it on the stove to boil as well. She stared at the two pots of water and still she wasn't sure if it would be enough for that gargantuan. She shrugged, if it wasn't she could always make more, tea wasn't that hard to make. She leaned against the cabinet and watched the pot's while humming to herself "Hm, Hm, Hum, Hmm, Pum-Pum-Pumpkin, Pumpkin, Pum-Pumpkin..." she sang out her head swaying back and forth slightly. Blinking she stopped humming and strained her ear's, she thought she'd heard a creak coming from the room the man was in. Her ear twitched slightly, she should go check on him now, see if he was alright. The water would be fine for a little while. Her bare feet padded along the floor as she made her way to the room with the biggest bed. "Maka's not going to be happy with me..." she thought wincing slightly. She didn't want to be at the receiving end of a "Maka Chop" or a "Maka Kick", she would seriously have to find someone to fix the house. Perhaps even find someone to make a bed that would support him, though that seemed like a rather large task.
She'd left the door open so she could check on him here and there, peeking her head inside she saw his massive upper half sitting up in the bed staring around. "Oh, you're awake now?" she said stepping fully inside the bedroom. "You've been out for awhile now, I found you in the desert so I brought you back here..." she said eying him up and down. "My name is Blair." she said stepping closer to him. When she was right in front of the bed she leaned forward and pressed her hand to his forehead and temples. "Well....seem's like you're better." she said with a smile. It was time for her to satiate some of her curiosity now. Taking a deep breath she began asking questions.
"What's your name?"
" Why were you in the desert so far from the city? "
" What are you exactly? "
" Where are you from? "
She was going to ask more but decided she might not want to give him to many questions all at once. Patience, patience was something she needed great work on. She leaned on the frame of the bed, leaning closer to him and looked at him, her yellow eye's alight with curiosity and unasked questions. Blair was certainly a very curious Kitty and right now, he had piqued her interests greatly.
human
Unknown
The giant of a man seemed somewhat out of it, though not in the sense that he was drowsy or anything like that; it was more of wondering what this place was. It was so....unfamiliar, even though there was nothing he could compare it to. He had no idea that he'd been lying in the desert for some time, roasting in the intense heat of the high noon sun. He still wore his strange sleeveless hooded robe, though the hood itself was draped down behind his head to reveal his strong jawed face to his unwitting savior; his head turned this way and that, his eyes wide with curiosity and wonderment.
Though he would soon get another surprise; his ears picked up movement, causing him to turn his head rather sharply to see someone entering the room. His eyes followed hers, noticing that she seemed to analyzing him; his own hues traveled over her form as well, noting the shape of her body, the strange coverings that concealed certain portions from view, and the brilliant coloration of her eyes. His head cocked curiously as she told him her name was 'Blair'; this person had a name, and it was Blair. His expression remained a neutral one of slight puzzlement and curiosity as she touched his face, wondering why she was doing this. It wasn't that it made him uncomfortable, he just...wasn't sure how to respond.
She started talking at an accelerated pace, causing him to just cock his head in confusion; the way he stared at her, his eyes blinking in slightly slower succession and intervals than most people would consider normal, might remind her of a dog that could not understand its owner. As she leaned in and looked into his eyes, he did not flinch in the slightest, only looking back at her unwaveringly. He then reached up with his own hands and touched Blair's face a few times. "Blair....Found in desert....Brought here" he then said. His eyes wandered down to see that her chest was swollen; his gaze at his torso revealed a swell as well, but it seemed different.
After a few moments pause, the strange man added, "Name....Blair....Blair City....From Blair City", likely confusing the curious catwoman even more. It seemed he was parroting her words back at her, except he was jumbling them up and making his speech hard to decipher. He said nothing more, but continued to poke at her body; eventually his thick left forefinger poked at the swell of her right breast, uttering "Soft" before retreating his digit and poking himself in the chest. "Firm...." he then said, his eyes wandering between his chest and her own; one might wonder if his stay in the desert cooked his brain a little.
gpt
Blair
Blair blinked and stared at him waiting for him to answer, to say something. She wiggled her back end in anticipation, Blairs more cat like side was becoming rather impatient. He stared back at her, his gaze seemed puzzled and confused perhaps a bit bewildered. Maybe he'd been out in the desert too long and it fried his brain a little to much? She frowned a little and was about to get up and let him be when he moved his hand. She stilled and fixed her gaze onto his hand as it reached up and touched her face, much in the manner she'd touched his face. Did he think she had a fever too? That was a silly thought, he was the one who'd been passed out in the heat, or had he forgotten that? It was possible, death only knew how long he'd been unconscious out there. He touched her face in a few places and she just leaned there blinking, wondering if she should move or just let him finish.
Before she could say anything though, he began to speak, his words were slow and broken as if he weren't used to talking. Blair nodded her head as he spoke, it was like a newborn copying the words it heard. She had to wonder just how long he'd been out there, she raised her brow and continued to watch him intently. His eye's traveled down to her ample chest and then he looked at his own and he seemed a bit confused on something. He sounded strange when he spoke, it didn't sound right sort of off and uncertain. She suppose it seemed a lot like mimicry and shaky mimicry at that. "No, No, No, My name is Blair, I'm from Death City." she said speaking a little slower and enunciating her words clearly. She knew she could sometimes be hard to keep up with and she supposed she shouldn't have spoken so fast especially since he hadjustwoken up from his rather extensive sun bathing.
He fell silent but she felt his hand touching her body in certain places and he seemed rather focused on the task, she smiled and wiggled "Nyaaa! That tickles!" she said her eyes gleaming and her ears twitching on her head. He continued to poke at her for a little while while she squirmed, his finger found her right breast and it lingered there a moment. She blinked and stared at him when he said soft, then removed his finger and touched his own chest and saying "firm". She stared at him awhile blinking in rapid succession and tilting her head slightly. "Soft?" she repeated looking down at her own chest. She lifted her head and looked at his chest, she reached her hand up and pressed her palm against his chest, her fingers fanning out "Oh! Quite firm, yes, quite firm." she said removing her hand. Reaching up she grabbed her breasts.
She bounced them slightly and stared down at them "Very soft and bouncy" she said with a giggle. Dropping her hands down she sat at the foot of the bed and stared at him for a moment, raising her finger she poked him in the chest "What is your name?" she asked. Her golden eye's peered up at him curiously, the golden hues giving her eyes a "glowing" quality. A playful smile played across her lips as she waited for him to answer, it would be a one question at a time interrogation. Curious little blair seemed to have temporarily forgotten the water she'd placed on the stove.
human
No-Name
The man simply continued to stare as she tried to re-explain what she meant; he couldn't really understand what she was trying to say. More and more, it was looking like the heat had addled his mind, making him dull and dim-witted; though one might also wonder if perhaps he'd always been like this. It was as if he could understand the words, but they had little to no context for him. Her skin had felt incredibly soft, but he really had nothing to compare it to. "Blair....From Death City" he finally replied, still in that some slow and unaccustomed manner but at least managing to get the words in the correct order.
His head cocked in curiosity, his navy-blue hues showing slight confusion and yet mild understanding, as she began smiling and squirming; a smile was an expression of amusement and pleasure, so that meant she must have enjoyed it to some degree. But was it his touch or was it something else? However, his questions came to a halt after she reiterated what he'd said about her chest; did she not know those lumps were soft? To her own question, he nodded once slowly to confirm that was what he said. His eyes followed her hand as she touched his chest, feeling her fingers spread out over the fabric of the strange robe he wore. He nodded once more to her comment; indeed, he felt too his chest was firm.
Though her comment about them being 'soft and bouncy' seemed to make him even more curious; the cute neko-witch should be so thankful he didn't seem to have the knowledge to be what many considered a pervert. But before he could test out her own declaration of seeing if those mounds of flesh were indeed 'bouncy', her next question served to make his eyes meet hers once more as she sat with her knees on the bed facing him. What she asking him what that part of his body was called? No it couldn't have been; she clearly understood what it was when she replied to his comment. Her name was Blair....But what was his name? "Name....No....No name" he then said finally, his gaze not breaking from hers. He didn't seem all that shaken up about it; it was more like he was telling her that was what his name was.
Their conversation would be interrupted, however, by sizzling sounds; this would be the water of Blair's pots starting to boil over and hitting the burners. The man's eyes then drifted towards the door, the sole word "Noise" leaving his lips before his own curiosity made him get up from bed; the poor bed finally relieved of its sizable burden, he'd left a rather noticeable bend in the frame itself he stood, showing Blair just how large he really was. He stood for merely a second before walking towards the strange sound; the top of his head hit the doorway but it did not stop him in the slightest. The impact simply knocked a chunk out of the mold in the doorsill itself and fell in front of him, leaving a noticeable break as he walked to the kitchen. Once there he found the two boiling pots of water; the strange man then stood in front of them, seeing the steam rise from the roiling fluid. He could feel heat; what was this? A large hand was then raised and placed it into the vapor cloud; it felt pleasant, but warm. "Warm...." the man uttered.
gpt
Blair
She sat there and waited for him to say something once more, to show he'd understood at least a fraction of what she'd been trying to say to him. She pursed her lips and stared at him wondering why he seemed so....confused. He seemed to understand words well enough but it seemed like he'd never seen or experienced any of them so he had no true idea of what they were or meant. They were just sounds he made that had no real meaning to him. It was a bit...strange, like a new born babe that has not experienced life yet. Blair looked up at him as he spoke and she smiled and nodded "Right!" she said a little livelier than she needed. The only other person she'd known thatneverhad a clue about things was Black Star and that was just because he was an idiot. She didn't think that this behemoth of a man was an "idiot" and if he was it wasn't by choice. She wondered where he might have come from to be so sheltered and new to life.
He seemed, not really fascinated by everything but interested in the things that were brought to his attention. He seemed to want to know more but didn't voice anything or was it that he didn't know how to word it? Or was it something else entirely? When she asked him his name he went silent and he looked at her, he seemed to be searching his own mind and catalogs of memory and information to look for his name. Surely he couldn't be in that bad of a shape, did he somehow get amnesia. Once again he started to speak, her ears perked a little but all she got was...no name. Was he saying that, that was his name? or that he had no name? Her ears twitched and she bit her lower lip trying to think of something, perhaps she could give him a name? would he be alright with her just tossing a name at him? What would she call him anyway? She chewed on her bottom lip as she thought about these things but she didn't linger long on them. Her little kitty ears picked up the sound of sizzling, blinking she turned towards the door a little confused. A second later it hit her and she remembered she'd put water on the stove and left it. "Uh oh..." she said grimacing.
Before she could even get up off the bed she watched him heave himself up and walk out towards the noise "Oh, no, no come back!" she said wincing when he hit his head on the door frame. Her ears flattened and she looked at the damaged bed and frame "Oh dear....Maka's going to be so mad at me..." she said with a small troubled frown. Blair it seemed and taken on more than she could handle.
She carefully got off the bed; not wanting to damage it more than it already was, or worse...break it completely. Her long legs carried her quickly to the kitchen and she watched him place his hand over the steam "No, you shouldn't do that." she said a small cat-like whining noise escaping her lips. She needed to do something, raising her hand she said her signature "chant" "Pum-Pum-PumPumpkin" she pointed at the stove and the pot glided off it avoiding the giant standing in front of it. Flicking her wrist at the sink it turned on and cold water came rushing from the faucet. The boiling pan floated over to the sink and what remained of the water poured into the sink and swirled down the drain. The pot itself floated into the sink and under the cold water, steam rose from the over-heated pot before cooling off. Letting out a sigh she flicked her fingers and the other pot on the stove repeated the same process as the first one, with another flourish of her hand the faucet turned off and so did the stove. Drooping over, her cat ears flattening a bit she stared at the floor "If this keeps up, Soul and Maka won't have a house to come back to...." she muttered pouting a bit.
Straightening up she eyed the large man that justbarelyfit into the kitchen. His head looked like it might actually go through the ceiling at any given point. "You shouldn't wander off like that!" she said placing a hand on her hip. "You need to stick with me or else you could get into trouble!" she said reaching out and wrapping her hands around his huge arm. "Just follow me and you'll be alright." she said looking up at him and smiling. "I need to go into town and pick up a few things, you're gonna come with me ok?" she said tilting her head slightly. She needed a name to call him by, "No Name" and "Hey you" just would not work in the slightest bit. "Do you have a name you want to be called by? Or can I give you a nickname?" she asked her ears flicking slightly. She really liked the idea of giving him a nickname, she had been rather fond of calling Soul "Scythe-y boy" but he didn't really like it and neither did Maka so she had to stop.
At least Blair wasn't bored anymore, in fact she had probably taken on something she couldn't entirely handle.
human
No-Name
The stranger continued to hold his hand over the rising steam, the warmth of the vapor making a pleased smile come across his face. Blair's words were not heard by him, nor was he cognizant of the further damage he caused as his bemused expression went uninterrupted. For a few minutes, he simply stood there while waving his hand across the small cloud, his widened eyes watching as small vortexes formed in the water vapor; he seemed utterly fascinated by this, like he'd never been near a stove in his life. It wasn't until Blair spoke up that his concentration was broken; he shouldn't do what he was doing? Why? Before he could even think to ask, he watched as the pot seemed to lift of its own free will, not making the connection that Blair's vocal utterance had caused it. Before long both pots had been emptied into the sink, the heat causing more steam to rise like he'd seen in the metal container.
He then looked down, catching the muttering that Blair had done but not understanding a single thing she said simply because her voice was too low. It was true that having someone of his size wandering around the house would likely cause many things to get either shoved off their respective locations or irreparably broken. Hell, the guy wasn't even conscious and the place was a disaster. No doubt the residents of this place would be furious if they found their home to be in such a state when they returned; of course, the puzzled man had no idea that this purple-haired woman wasn't the actual owner of the house itself, but a guest who'd given herself an invitation to permanently reside there.
The confused titan of a man cocked his head as Blair told him not to wander off; he was even more befuddled when she grasped his thick appendage in her relatively dainty grasp. "Come with....Blair?" he finally asked after she explained just what it was she wanted to do, after which he gave a slight nod of the head; though whether he actually understood what she was trying to ask of him would remain to be seen, as it was quite obvious at this point that his language comprehension was lacking. The issue of how long this might last could only be determined by time itself.
When it came to the issue of a name, the stranger did not understand what a 'nickname' was; was his name Nick? Was it a label to give someone that had no name? He honestly had no clue, as she seemed to have it backwards; it didn't go "Nick Name", rather "Name Nick". And because of this particularly dubious thought process, Blair would get her answer for this genuine inquiry that only seemed to make this stranger all the more puzzled. "Nick...name? No....Name Nick" the stranger said, pointing to himself as if giving her the info that his true name was Nick.
gpt
Blair
Blair wrinkled her nose as she clung to him wondering what else he might say. He wasn't really understanding what she was saying to him, not fully anyways. Blair blinked several times in rapid succession, Nick? No, was he mixing up what she was saying again? It was probably the likeliest scenario since he'd been mixing everything else up. "No, No, It's Nickname, a nickname is something that people call you for different and various reasons. Since I don't know your real name I'd give you a nickname." she said frowning. She hung off his arm looking up at him, silence descended in the small house while Blair thought of a name to call him. "Hmmmm" she thought narrowing her eyes at him. A list of names ran through her head but none really matched up with the face...or the build. Her frown deepened the longer she stared. "Name....name...." she thought wrinkling her nose slightly for no real reason. Her ears twitched on her head as the silence lengthened. "Jack." she said finally tilting her head. She stared at him and said it again "Jack". She supposed the name would have to do for now.
"Ok, I'll call you Jack from now on, got it?" she said still looking at him. She stared at him a moment longer before releasing his arm and running through the house searching for the remainder of her "outfit". It took her a little while before she managed to find her shoes, socks and jacket portion but she eventually did. Walking over the giant once more she took his giant wrist in both of her hands and tugged on him "Ok, now come with me. I have to pick up a few things in town." she said pulling on his wrist once more.
He stared at her a second before lumbering after her, she just barely managed to get the door open before he walked through it. Though, it didn't do much good, his head broke the top part of the frame and his shoulder broke each side. Blair let out a little whine as stared at the door lying limply on it's ill-fitting and broken frame. All she could think of now, was how much trouble she was going to get it in when Make and Soul got home. No doubt when that time came, their house would be little more than shambles. Blair pulled down on the side of her hat and slumped her shoulders "They'll kick me out...." she said staring gloomily at the ground. Kicking and invisible speck of dirt she turned to walk down the stairs and walked right into Jack. Crouching down she held her hands over her nose "Owwwwwww" she said rubbing her nose tenderly. "Felt like I ran into a rock...." she muttered. She tilted her head back and looked up...he really was tall...standing up she gave her nose one final rub.
Jumping up she landed on his shoulder as a cat. Sitting down she licked her paw and pointed down the stairs. "Ok! We need to get down these stairs and to the main road. Just follow my directions and we'll be fine ok?" She said stretching out. It would have been a lot easier to use one of her pumpkins to fly them around but the idea seemed to have completely eluded the dear kitty Blair. There was probably more than a good chance that Blair "directing" jack, was gonna get him horribly confused or both of them very lost. Or both of the options happening at the same time.
human
Jack
The strange man simply cocked his head to the side a little, the silence continuing between them for a few moments more; he seemed utterly clueless as to what Blair was was trying to get at. Why wouldn't he be called by anything but who he was? His ears twitched a bit as she said "Jack"; who was Jack? Then she said it again, making the confusion within grow even more, so much so that he actually started looking around the room seeing if she was talking to anyone else but him. When he saw no one else, his eyes went back to her as she then said she'd call him Jack. "Jack....Name...Jack? Jack" he parroted back at the cat-witch; he then nodded as if accepting his new label. He was now Jack, at least for the time being.
Regardless, he didn't say a word as he walked out the door, not even flinching as his massive form took yet another chunk out of the wall; it seemed that if the true homeowners were to return before they got this place fixed, they would have one mother of a repair bill to foot. If they didn't sentence the two of them to pay for the damages themselves, that is. Jack then heard Blair's groan and looked down at her, wondering why she was rubbing his nose; it was like he didn't even feel her walk into him. Though the biggest surprise was when she leaped onto his shoulder, transforming into a cat in the process. He merely stared at her for a while; was this the same Blair? Why did she change forms? How did she change forms?
His curiosity took a detour when she then pointed him to go down the stairs; his eyes followed the tiny paw as it directed him to where he needed to go. "Stairs....OK" he then muttered as he took one step forward; little did either of them realize what would happen next, though it was likely Blair would be the more surprised of the two. Jack stepped too far forward and began to fall like a tree that had just been cut, faceplanting into the staircase itself before tumbling down in a rather comical fashion. Bangs and other noises could be heard as he fell down the stairs, some of the steps being broken from the sheer weight of his body, before finally coming to a halt at its base, lying on his back spread-eagle.
A few moments passed before the slightly stunned giant recovered enough of his wit to come to his senses; well, he was down the stairs, just like Blair had said. The poor man didn't realize just how much damage he caused though; some concerned neighbors heard the commotion and rushed over to see what was going on, only to come across the large man. They noticed the damaged staircase and realized what happened; one pulled out his cellphone and started to dial for medical attention only to see Jack get up, apparently unfazed by his hard descent. Most stared up at him in shock; there were few in Death City that matched or surpassed this man in height or musculature. Eventually, another person asked, "Mister...Aren't you hurt? You fell pretty hard from the looks of things". Jack just stared blankly and replied, "Hurt? No hurt. Hard fall?" Needless to say, some of the onlookers exchanged worried glances; this man must have bonked his noggin pretty hard. "We better call an ambulance, make sure he didn't knock any screws loose" a third bystander commented, pulling out her own cellphone and beginning to dial for medical help.
gpt
Blair
There are just some moments in life, that when they happen you kind of wonder....why? This justhadto be one of those moments. You had the air headed and magically endowed kitty Blair, and a man who didn't know the difference between a house and box. It's hard to imagine themnotgetting into some kind of trouble. So off they went to roam around Death City with little kitty Blair leading the way; what could possibly go wrong with that? Blair hadn't even considered the idea that he didn't know how to walk down some stairs, it was so second nature to her and everyone else she figured he knew how to as well; I mean if he can walk around a house, he can walk down some stairs too. Oh poor silly Blair, if only she could use her magic to look into the future she could have foreseen this horrible comedy that was to happen.
He crashed through the door, pounded across the porch and stretched one leg a bit to far out over the stairs. Before Blair could say anything though he'd already started falling forward. Her claws instinctively flexed and dug into his clothing, unfortunately when they hit his "skin" it was as if they'd struck stone and would go no farther. Onward he fell, like a tree that's been chopped, he didn't flail or scream or anything. Blair on the other hand was another matter, she was flailing about on his shoulder trying to get a grip onsomething. Alas, poor Blair could find nothing to hook her claws into so with growing panic she watched as the concrete stairs drew closer to the unflinching giant of a falling man. "MRROWR!!" the sound wretched from Blairs vocal cords and the fur on her back was raised. Her yellow eyes were large and her pupils tiny, a look of startled fright in her yellow hues.
He hit the stair case with a thundering quake and a cringing "crack" though it was the cement cracking and not the mans bones as the onlookers might have thought. Blair leaped off his shoulder in a clumsy mess of fur and claws, she landed in an untidy heap off to the side. She heard the sickening cracks and thuds as he fell down the stairs. Blair herself stood up and brushed the dirt and grass from her legs, arms and pulled it out of her hair "Damn it..." she muttered picking a twig from her hair. She heard the mutterings of the crowd and winced "Uh oh..." she murmured as she peaked around the side of the stairwell. Jack was surrounded by the neighbors asking him if he was alright, and jack of course was staring at them confused.
"Medical Help? oh no...." she thought. Jumping out she shut the bystanders phone laughing nervously. "Oh, don't worry about him, he's fine!" she said with another nervous laugh.
"Blair, he fell down the stairs pretty hard!"
One of the bystanders said. Blair grimaced and looked over at them. "I know but, he's alright, I promise! He did more damage to the staircase than to himself!." she said with a half joking laugh pointing to the destroyed stair case. The bystanders looked at the staircase and then back at the man not really sure what to do. "He's fine, don't worry! I'll take good care of him!." she said pushing on the giant man's arm trying to get him to start moving. She leaned against him her body pressing against his arm. She was so tiny compared to him. "Come on Jack, lets go." she said with a smile trying to push him along. Though by now she should have known better, moving him was impossible. He seemed to get what she wanted and started lumbering along up the street. With a little eep Blair jumped on his shoulder; though this time she kept her human form. She leaned against him and sighed as the crowd behind them watched the two walk up the street and disappear around a corner. "Oh dear..." she muttered.
Tilting her head slightly she closed her eyes and contemplated just how much she'd have to do to repair all that damage. The thought just depressed her more "Hey Jack....do you have anything you're good at?" she said nudging his head. "Besides destroying everything." she thought looking off to the side. Blinking she smiled "OOOH JACK!" she said leaning over her breasts pressing against his face. "Turn right." she said pointing to an area that seemed to have a lot of shops. Blair had an idea, she was going to try and teach him some things.
Blair...teaching, how bad could this get? "Lets look around there." she said hugging his head.
human
Jack
All poor Jack could do was stand and watch as Blair tried to calm the gaggle of curious onlookers; even when she tried to explain that the man was in fact alright, some cast worried glances at the wide-eyed giant, doubting that someone of his stature could be anything but hurt after crashing down a staircase like that. When she mentioned damage to himself, he looked himself over; the only things really wrong with him were some small tears in his sand-streaked, foreleg-length sleeveless robe. He could see nothing else wrong; was he supposed to be damaged after doing that? He certainly didn'tfeeldamaged. not from his point of view anyway.
Though he soon found himself looking down at Blair as she tried getting him to move along; naturally, his immense weight - and her relative lack of upper body strength - would prevent her from doing much more than push his arm forward a little. "Go? Let's go" he replied in his unusually slow voice; to anyone that didn't know him, he would likely be thought an enormous idiot. Eventually, his legs did start to move in the direction she wanted, his eyes looking briefly at the strange woman as she leaped onto his shoulder; though from his reaction, it seemed this didn't bother him in the slightest. As they disappeared around the corner and up the street out of earshot, one of the bystanders who was worried about the new guy simply said, "Well, leave it to Blair to keep things interesting. Wonder if that's her squeeze or something?" This caused another to chuckle and reply, "You nuts? Blair just likes to tease people; no way she'd ever get serious!" He then added, "But honestly, I hope that guy's not dangerous; not that Blair can't take care of herself, but he looks like he could tear a lion in two, ya know?"
As the crowd the odd duo left behind slowly dispersed and chattered amongst themselves, Blair and Jack continued along their way; they weren't really moving all that fast, almost as if the weight of Jack's own body was prohibiting anything above a slow stroll. His footsteps also defied subtlety; it sounded like someone was picking up and dropping cinderblocks every time he took a step. He was so lost in everything that he didn't even hear his companion's question; however, Blair's breasts smothering the side of his head wrenched his attention away from looking around. The large man then turned to look up at her, his eyes peering into hers from her cleavage. "Turn right" was his parroted response, going towards the large collection of shops she had pointed to.
His eyes traveled over the strange displays: Shiny objects fashioned around decapitated, featureless heads. Strange and extremely pale people with no faces wearing different sets of garments were some of the things he saw. He also noticed that there were large labels above entrances to these buildings: Death Robbins, Deathbucks, Death Navy and many others he took in. There also seemed to be quite a few people here; though as he approached, many of them stared up at this behemoth as if he were some sort of freak. Sure his stature might have been imposing, and even though it had been six years since Asura's defeat, there were many memories of the varieties of large beasts that had attacked Death City and naturally these citizens were wary of him. Though when he would simply cock his head at them in obvious confusion, combined with the fact that one of their own heroes - or heroines, as the case may be - was hugging his head, it seemed to allay many of their concerns. Not all, but many.
gpt
Blair
Blair watched as the crowd looked at the giant of a man, many of them taking several steps back and others staring in obvious mistrust. Though, the obvious tense vibe of the area seemed to go straight over jack's head. Many of them looked at Blair and she gave them one of her cat like grins which seemed to alleviate some of the tension and many went back to their shopping. Some still stared warily but went about their business as well. Through the whole thing Blair entirely missed a group of angry people staring at Jack. Not because of memories from Asura's attack but more because their beloved Blair was hugging the side of his head. Even before she became a "heroine" Blair had been in the fantasies of many a man of Death City. After? Well she got her own little fan club of adoring men.
Blair looked around at the shops and pondered on where to start shopping. Her ear's flicked slightly as she thought about it, tilting her head to the side she considered both the man she was sitting on and the different shops. Her eye's caught the tears in his robes and she smiled "Ok~ We'll get you some new clothes first!" she said patting his head and pointing over to a store that said "Death Outfitters". She hopped off his shoulder and tugged on his arm in the direction of the store and smiled when he began walking towards the store. Though a tiny little thought seemed to have completely eluded Blair, Death City didn't exactly tailor to giants. Still she ran inside while her new companion followed behind her.
Outside Blair's fan-base seethed with jealousy. As jealous people often do, they began to talk about her new giant of a friend and all of his "flaws". Mostly talking about his enormous size and how he'd manage to crush her, before long they'd put themselves in quite a state and had themselves convinced that the giant was just going to hurt her and how they needed to be there to protect her. They'dsomehowmanaged to forget the fact that Blair while a bit air headed at times was very capable of handling herself, that she was a cat with an enormous amount of magic powers. No, none of that was even considered; Blairobviouslyneeded the help of her average every day fan club. It's amazing what things a person can talk themselves into believing at times.
So as all bad plans begin they decide to try and sabotage the nameless giant. What had they decided to do to sabotage him? Well if you've seen enough things you can well imagine the outcome of almost any trick they might play. Poor jack probably wouldn't even understand the reason these men were targeting him but with Death City's favorite cat by his side, well there was very little they could do that would tarnish him in the people's eyes. So off the group went, off on their fools errand.
Meanwhile inside the store Blair was right at home among the various types of clothes. She might pay a visit to Death's Secret, the newest store for various types of under garments. She'd seen a few articles that she justhadto own. Of course...she hadn't considered what to do with jack, nor how he might react to being in a store like that. She began eying some articles of clothing, a pair of shorts here, a lovely tank top there...blinking she shook her head and turned her head from one side to the other looking for Jack....though honestly...he wasn'tthathard to spot...even in a crowd. She smiled and waved to him, her gaze went from the shirts to Jack and she frowned. "Oh..." she said realizing finally that he wasseveralsizes too large for even the largest size they carried. "I guess I could always use magic." she said with a triumphant smile.
She walked over to him "Ok, time to find something that looks good on you!" she said jumping onto his shoulder again. It was a great vantage point, she could easily see the various items throughout the store....and also the faces of a few of the workers. Blair just waved to them "Ok jack, find something you like.".
Poor Jack....
human
Jack::Nathan
Jack of course was oblivious to the plots against him, to tear him away from Blair so that her beloveds could come to her rescue. Ironic considering they were the farthest thing from a couple; of course, no one but Blair and him knew that they'd only met each other just under twenty minutes ago. And even if someone had suggested that he was encroaching on their territory, the worst he would do was try to find what the 'territory' was without even realizing they were referring to Blair herself.
Jack looked up at Blair as she patted his thick platinum locks, his eyes following her finger until he saw what she was pointing to. "Clothes?....Clothes. New clothes" Jack repeated as he was led into this strange new place; he looked around every bit of the shop, yet not knowing what any of these strange things were or even what this location was. His large, strong hands ran over some of the things that seemed to hang on triangle-shaped objects, a question mark-shaped piece of metal jutting out of its uppermost vertex. Were these clothes? What was their purpose? He was once again directed by Blair to find something that 'looked good on him'.
"Looks....good?" he repeated as Blair sat on his shoulder again, earning the confused stares of several other patrons around him; whispers could be heard about the two of them, though it was more likely that Blair could hear them better than he could. It was mostly musings about what the guy's problem was and why he was acting so strange. However, they were soon approached by a dark-haired, brown-eyed male in rather professional attire; likely an assistant manager to this store. He was a store employee, the name tag reading Nathan"Hello, sir and madame Blair...Welcome to Death Outfitters; I couldn't help but notice you were looking rather lost. Is there something I can help you find?"Jack just stared at the man for a few moments, creating a rather awkward silence before he finally replied, "Help? Help....find clothes". A bead of sweat rolled down the employee's temple; did hereallyjust say that? And the giant's manner of speaking was, weird to say the least."Um, alright...Very good, sir"the young man said after regaining his composure, adding"But it would help if you were just a little more specific".
Jack seemed to be able to at least understand that, for his answer to that was "Help find clothes that look good on me". Poor Nathan nearly fell over in shock; that answer didn't help him in the slightest! Taking a deep breath, Nathan just studied the man; it was clear to him that this man had never seen a clothing store in his life. And the robe he wore was so strange; the bottom of the hem was frayed but the rest was untouched. But Nathan was determined to help this man; though he was rather large in size."Would anything here even fit him?"he thought to himself, his fingers cupping his chin in thought before he then stated,"Well, let's if we can't find something for you, sir...Blair, what do you think? You seem to have good fashion taste".
Unlike many of the horndogs in Death City, Nathan was one of the few who didn't drool over her often scantily-clad figure. He did find her physically attractive; hell, she had a body even the top models of the world would kill to have. But there was a line between being a pervert and acknowledging that someone was beautiful; regardless, he was relieved to have Blair along. Maybe she could help give some insight as to what to do with this incredibly lost fellow.
gpt
Blair
Blair crossed her shapely legs and slouched somewhat to rest her head in her hands while her new giant friend looked around. She heard him parrot her words and smiled, she was rather enjoying this. She'd always wanted to try and be a teacher and this was just her chance oh the things she could teach him. Admittedly not all of it was exactly safe for work but it was knowledge....right? She watched him touch the fabrics and look around the store, while in her minds eye she was already choosing clothes for him. Things that would make him look even better. She tilted her head just the slightest bit to the side and wondered what kind of thoughts might be going through his head. How did he feel in a place like this? She started wondering a lot of things, why's and what's; she had to admit, her new friend piqued her curiosity in ways that hadn't been piqued in a very long time. She straightened up and stretched while her eyes lazily scanned the room. She had to admit, the cat side of her justlovedthe view she got sitting on his shoulder.
She eyed an employee making his way over to them and gave him a dazzling smile. She remained silent and watched the exchange of words between Nathan and Jack. Well it couldn't exactly be called an "exchanging of words" since all Jack was doing was repeating what she'd said. The poor employee looked like he might literally drop to the floor. She toyed with the idea of letting this go on longer because, come on....it was pretty funny but in the end decided against it because she was here to get him some new clothes. Blair tilted her head and considered Nathan for a moment. "I think for him.." she said patting Jack's headsimplicity would be the best route. A pair of low cut denim jeans and an open collared white shirt?...hmmm maybe try a black one too?" she said looking down at him. If she was uncertain about clothes fitting him she had absolutely no idea what to do about shoes. Nathan looked from her to Jack before nodding slowly in agreement. "Mmhmm...what size is he?"
At this question Blair had to pause, she had absolutely no idea what size he'd be. The largest pair of pants looked like itmightfit one leg. She had no idea where to even begin "I have no idea...." she said with a little shrug. "I found him in these clothes. They look hand made so I doubt they have a size...." she said with a little smile. Nathan nodded "We'll we do have some measuring tape in the back, I could grab some and get his measurements now?" he said raising his brow inquiringly to Blair. Blair nodded her approval and watched him make his way to the back of the store. Blair bounced on his shoulders slightly and nudged the side of his head "New clothes for you!" she said with a small little giggle.
Meanwhile outside of the store Blair's not so little fan group had their faces practically pressed to the windows watching her and Jack. They muttered and groaned and sighed all of them thinking that they and only they were the one true match for Blair. Their jealousy grew the more they sat there and watched; why couldn't she hug their head like that? How they wished she would smother them in her, sumptuous breasts. The one thing that can be said for just about any fan group; their perversions run deep and the things they come up with, scenes they imagine are rather extreme, odd and sometimes borderline scary. Blair's fan group was no exception, each one of them had this fantasy in which they were all Blair's hero's, owner's, lover's or she owned them. They would often times sit around describing their sexual fantasies about her and comparing to see who had the best and what role she'd fit into best. If jack had been any normal guy he would have been in serious trouble, getting between a fan and their idol was dangerous business but seeing as how Jack could probably just step on one of them and be done with it, he was in no serious danger.
Still the obsessed fan's schemed and schemed while they watched their beloved Blair sit there so familiarly with the giant while they watched from afar. They didn't realize how utterly ridiculous they looked pressed against the glass, a few of them drooling over her. Here they thought they looked like prized great Danes when in reality they looked like a crew of chihuahuas. Everyone could see how silly they looked, everyone but them.
Nathan came out from the back with several measuring tapes, he didn't think one would really be enough to measure him. He spotted the fan group pressed against the glass and shook his head. He motioned to one of the employee's to come over "Kevin can you clear them from the window?" he said pointing to the group. Kevin nodded his head and walked out the door shooing them away from the window. They looked irritated and disgruntled but sulkily left the premises. Nathan walked back over to Jack and Blair "So, where should we start first Miss Blair?" he asked looking up at her. Blair hopped down then looked up at Jack "Lets start with the chest..." she said eying Jack carefully. "We're going to measure you now Jack, see what size clothes we need for you." she said with a smile. "I think after this...we'll take a quick stroll to that new store "Death's Secret"" she said looking in the general direction of the store.
Blair was genuinely intrigued and wanted to check the store out but she knew another part of her wanted to try and get a rise out of him. While she was thinking of all wonderful things she could try on in front of him, Nathan was dutifully measuring Jack. First his chest then his arms, waist and legs each one marked down in a little notebook he had. When he was finished he stared at the numbers and just shook his head. He walked over to Blair and showed her, Blair stared at the numbers and blinked a few times before looking back up at him. She shouldn't have beenthatsurprised it was already apparent he was much bigger than any normal resident of Death City. "Well, can you get the clothes made in his size?" she asked Nathan with a tilt of her head. "We can, but it will take a little while." he said still staring at the numbers. "That's fine we'll go visit other stores for a little while! Be back here later." she said jumping back up to sit on Jack's shoulder. Nathan nodded and waved them good-bye, when they had exited the store he went to the back and plopped the notebook down "I need these clothes made in these sizes" he said tapping the notebook.
Several people leaned over and stared at the notebook and the measurements he was referring too.
Arms - 38-40"
Legs - 43-44"
Waist - 60-64
Chest - 62-66
Every single one of them wanted to question who the hell would wear such a size but none of them did so they all went to work making the giant his clothes.
Blair pointed to a store with a line of provocative clothes lining the mannikins "After we stop there we'll look into getting you some shoes and then go pick up your clothes. Ok ?" she said with a pleased smile.
human
Jack::Nathan::Male Patron
Poor Jack could only guess what it was these two were talking about; something about size, homemade clothes....There was that word again. What were clothes? Was it something he was wearing? Blair did say she found him in "these clothes". Whatever "these clothes" were; he looked down at himself and saw the white piece of fabric covering him. Was this "these clothes" that Blair was referring to? Must be, since it was the only thing he was technically "in". The talk of what types of clothing were completely missed by him, as he was now absorbed in the fabric that covered his form; it seemed to be the only piece of clothing on him. No pants to speak of, not even long socks, and bare feet that could probably match a human head or two when it came to size; thankfully, the white robe seemed to be long enough to cover his unmentionables, especially if it turned out there was nothing under there at all besides skin.
However, his little self-inquiry was halted as Blair nudged him, causing the confused giant to turn his head and stare up at her; new clothes? For him? His curiosity was now most certainly piqued; he couldn't help but wonder what 'new clothes' meant. Unbeknownst to him, a small crowd was once again gathering, thinking that this strange new giant that Blair was 'getting cozy' with, as they seemed to see it, was going to steal their beloved away from them. Jacks eyes followed another man his name was apparently Kevin since the one named Nathan referred to him as such and watched as he drove away the small huddle of onlookers. Whether or not they might try something later would remain to be seen, but at this moment none of the three seemed overly concerned with them. Jack then cocked his head as Blair mentioned measurements; what was this now? Measure.ments? the man muttered, to Nathan replied,Yes, we need to see how long your arms and legs are, as well as how long around your torso and waist are. He then motioned with an upward wave of his hand,Now, up. Up? Whatup? Jack asked, not sure what the man meant; poor Nathan couldnt help but pinch the bridge of his nose and reply, Your armsRaise them up, like this. Nathan then demonstrated, raising his arms out to his sides; Jacks eyes then widened as if recognizing the gesture and held up his own arms. Nathan actually had to step back a bit, feeling a tad intimidated simply because this made him seem even LARGER than he already was.I thinka stepstool would be helpfulNathan stated; a few moments later, he returned and began measuring his newest customers proportions.
It didnt really take that long, but there was some shock to the numbers produced; Nathan even had to remeasure several times just to make sure he was reading it right. Jacks unusual proportions were recorded and sent to the back of the store for custom fitting of the clothing itself. When Nathan came back, the man was still holding his arms up to his sidesAlright, sir, were done..You can put your arms down; Jack nodded and lowered them back down to his sides, looking from the store employee to Blair and back to him a few times as if asking what to do. He then got the message as Blair hopped up on his shoulder and pointed him across the way. Following Blairs guidance, they left the outfitting store to meet more people staring at them; however, it seemed that Jacks attention was now focused on the impromptu lingerie store, though the unknowing behemoth had no clue as to what the Secret was. Was there a secret to Death?
Regardless, Jack was very curious and without so much as a thought to the possible consequences of his actions, lumbered nonchalantly through the open doors of the shop. Several women were already inside, browsing through the various garments that were sure to catch any mans eye and befuddle his mind with lust-ridden thoughts and dreams of what lay beneath the risqu attire. Not that it covered all that much anyway. A few of them glanced over at Jack; some whispers would be had, but nothing that Jack could hear. No, the unknowing giant was busy looking around at the various types of clothing this particular store had to offer. One particularly busty mannequin caught his eye; it had a figure almost identical to Blair's, and was clothed in sensual attire for women with larger chests. Being the curious one, he wandered over and poked the right 'breast', as he'd done with Blair, only to find it was much harder than the cat witch's own. "Hard...." he commented, scratching his head in confusion; why was this person just standing here? Where were their eyes? And lips? He then put his hands on the mannequin's face and arms, only to find that the body was in fact as hard as the chest.
In fact, one such couple was already in the store; outside one of the dressing rooms - the collection of which were off in a rather spacious hall to themselves, for obvious privacy reasons - was a black-haired male dressed in a simple polo shirt, black slacks and brown leather shoes; his wife was currently in the dressing room in front of him, trying to pick out something to wear for their 'fun time' and as a treat, giving him a bit of a show by asking his opinion on how she looked. Normally, he hated clothes shopping; but when one had a stunner like his woman doing something like this for him, who was he to complain? Hell, who in their right mind WOULD complain? Not him, that was for damned certain. So while Blair and Jack would browse around, he would wait right here, but damn if that bombshell that was his wife didn't get him riled. He could hardly wait to see what she had next in line for him; his mind was racing with all the naughty things he'd do to her when they got home."Hehehe....My wife, she knows how to get to me, she does. I'm the freaking luckiest guy in the world! Steve and Brian can suck it; none of their girls would EVER do anything like this!"the man thought to himself, practically on the edge of his seat as he waited with great anticipation with what she might wear for him.
gpt
Blair :: Female Patron
A smile slowly spread across Blair's lips as she took in the store and all it'slittletreasures. Oh surely she'd just found her new favorite store! She felt giddy looking at all the possibilities; there was just no way that she could walk away from this store without buying one or two, perhaps a dozen little garments. She jumped from his shoulder with alacrity, landing a few feet away without a sound. She did a quick little turn on one foot before setting about examining the different and varying undergarments and lingerie. The smile that had appeared on her face when they had entered the store remained fixed to her face as she draped several possibilities across her arm. It was anyone's guess how she could manage to live as she did, certainly none of the things she bought could be considered "cheap". Then again, she lived with Soul and Maka and didn't have to worry about such things as bills, so any money she made was pure spending money.
Teddies, Brassiere's, stockings, garters, chemise's, camisoles as well and several corsets all in varying shades of purple and black as well as varying types of cloth, lace, nylon, netting and cotton. All of them adorned her arm as she made her way systematically through the rows and hangers of the store. If she kept up she'd be buried underneath the sexy article's of clothing.
She frowned and paused in her search as some of it started slowly slipping from the pile. She could always come back out once she tried these ones on...but what if someone took the last of something while she was trying stuff on? Surely they'd restock....right? Well they'd have to if the item sold out....she'd just have to make sure she was here earlier. It couldn't hurt...she knew she was going to take another trip here anyways, she couldn't exactly buyeverythingshe wanted in this one trip. Not yet at least. She stood there for a moment longer before she moved to the back to try on her mountain of little outfits. "Jack, come on back here!" she yelled her voice slightly muffled by the lingerie. She felt and heard rather than saw him make his way from where he'd been standing to the back of the store. A man of his size and weight couldn't exactly move about very stealthily.
Blair hung the varying garments on the inside of the changing room and popped her head out "Wait right here, ok?" she said flashing him a smile. Blinking she glanced to the side and saw another man sitting on the bench in front of one of the other changing rooms. With a little shrug she withdrew her head back into the changing room and locked the door. Turning she stared at the different things hanging up. She placed one hand on her hip and slowly chewed on her lower lip, her eye's scanning down the line. "Hmmm" she sounded staring thoughtfully at a few pieces. The hardest part was trying to figure out what she wanted to wear first. Once that decision was made everything else fell in place.
In another dressing room another woman was wiggling out of her jeans, pulled off her shirt and blushed softly looking at the black and pink lace camisole she intended to put on and show off to her husband. Slipping on the thin and racy article of clothing. She loosened her hair and checked her appearance in the mirror fidgeting slightly. The camisole left little the imagination, which she supposed was the point. She spent a few more moments inside the stall hoping that no one else had decided to use the dressing rooms. "Here goes..." she murmured to herself before going to the door and stepping out in front of her husband.
Blair had finally settled on a blackcamisolepaired with a matching underwear set, black thigh high leggings and a garter belt. She slipped the risque ensemble on and looked at her reflection in the mirror. She purred and did a little twirl winking at her reflection."Ahhhah" she said on another little purr of satisfaction. She liked the material and black was always a good choice. Now she wanted to go show off in front of Jack, see what he thought. She opened the door and stepped out in front of her new-found friend, doing a little pirouette in front of him "What do you think?" she said catching sight of the girl in the pink and black camisole. "Hey there!" she said smiling. "Where did you find that one?" she asked her admiring the little piece.
human
Jack::Male Patron
As Blair would wander around the store, picking out the various thin and revealing articles specifically tailored to entice and titillate the more sensual side of man, Jack was simply....exploring. "Clothes?" he muttered, his large calloused roaming over the various objects; they seemed much different than the other clothes from the other place. For one thing, they were smaller in terms of size; however, through observation the giant realized that certain articles fit certain regions of the body. The pieces that had two outward extensions were meant for the chest area, while a smaller triangle-shaped garment was for the waist area. Needless to say, this drew the attention of female patrons and workers alike, staring at the man as if he were some sort of alien; they couldn't really place what he was trying to do, but it did elicit some chuckles when he tried to mimic how the mannequins had their bras on.
Regardless, when Jack thought he heard his name called, he looked around and saw Blair holding a tremendous pile of the strange garments; her command to 'here' he interpreted to be with her, since she gave no definition of where 'here' was. And so he followed her to the narrow aisles in the back of the store, where he then heeded her command to wait and replied with a simple nod."Whoa, and I thought my girl liked to shop"the male patron, not having noticed it was Blair behind the mountain of clothing she moved into the stall. At this, Jack cocked his head in confusion, "Shop? What...shop?""Yeah, shop...You know, buy clothes and stuff. And with what she's got, you two must hit it off pretty good! High five!"The man then held his hand up for him to hit; however, all Jack could do was stare blankly, wondering what this meant. He then held up his own hand, mirroring the man's movement. "High...five?" Jack then asked, as if seeking clarification this was correct.
The poor man was stupefied; this big motherfucker didn't have a clue!"Aw, come on, bro....Don't leave me hanging!"he then joked; this only served to confuse Jack further. He wasn't suspended in the air....was he? Jack then moved forward to investigate; however, the male patron thought this behemoth was going to lay some serious hurt on him. When Jack raised his hand again, the smaller one couldn't help but squinch his eyes shut; however, the unnamed patron then opened them to see Jack waving his left hand over his head. Satisfied, Jack then looked the man in the eye and stated, "Not hanging...". He then pointed at the floor and added, "Feet on ground...Yes?" Now it was the male patron's turn to be confused, utter disbelief at what he was witnessing.
However, the opening of the dressing room door would reveal the male patron's wife in a VERY eye-catching outfit; the poor man couldn't help but practically drop his jaw to the floor at the sight of her! Of course, the poor woman couldn't have realized that her husband was engaged in a rather unusual conversation with the giant before them, but the husband didn't even consider that as he said,"Whoa...Damn, baby, you look....I can't even begin to say how fucking incredible you look! Oh, the things you make me want to do to you!"To say he was proud to be the husband of such a beautiful and caring woman was an understatement; wrapping his arm around her shoulder, he then challenged,"Let's see what you got, big guy! Ain't no one beating my lady in sexiness! No woman could even com...."
His own words failed him when none other than Blair herself stepped out from her dressing room in a somewhat identical outfit, the clothes hugging her well-formed, somewhat voluptuous figure in such a sinfully perfect way. And of course, the male patron just about lost it; people didn't think that Blair could show off any more skin then she already did, but this outfit...This was CLEAR proof to the contrary."Uh, uh, uh...."the husband stuttered, his eyebrows and jaw twitching wildly; anyone would just about blow a load evenlookingat her like this! However, Jack was...well, uneducated about this and thus relatively immune to such provocative attire. "Think? Think....New clothes?" he finally said, scratching the side of his head in apparent confusion; it would seem Blair would have to try that much harder to get anything of an expected response out of him, if that was even possible.
gpt
Blair :: Tammy
Tammy sat preening in her husbands attention and looked at the giant of a man somewhat startled. She hadn't known they made menthatbig, could any female even accommodate him? She raised a brow slightly and tilted her head watching the man. He seemed slow, that was her first...well technically second thought of the man. Shrugging mentally she went back to basking in her husbands praise and heard him mention that the giant also had a female companion. She heard the door open and noticed her husband had fallen silent, furrowing her brows she turned and looked at who the woman might be and almost fell on her face when Blair's perfect body and features came into view. Tammy knew she herself was well endowed and very pretty but no one could ever beat Blair. She thinned her lips and felt a bit of jealousy stirring within her, just what did she need these clothes for? Everyone knew Blair played but never seriously got with a man. The fact she was obviously with the giant took her aback, Blair couldn't actually be serious...could she? She turned her head slightly to ask her husband and noticed his all but drooling stare at Blair and the twinge of jealousy she'd felt earlier returned with a vengeance. She pulled herself free of her husband stormed into the store grabbed the first thing she saw and went back into the dressing room.Whatwas she thinking? Trying to compete with Blair in sexuality was tantamount to trying to compete with Death in reaping. In other words : It was suicide.
"Stupid men..." she thought bitterly as she tugged on a tiny black mesh teddy that just barelycovered her most intimate parts. She looked at herself in the mirror and blushed furiously, she summoned up every ounce of courage she had. If Blair could dress like this then so could she. She stared at her reflection a moment longer wondering how Blair could wear such stuff with such....aplomb. Like it was the most natural thing in the world.
Meanwhile Blair had tried not to show her dismay when Jack showed a complete lack of interest in her new wardrobe. She'd come in here partly for herself and partly because she wanted to get a reaction out of Jack. The fact that he showed nothing more than confusion bothered her a bit. She definitely wanted another reaction entirely. She'd wanted jack to respond to her femininity in some way. With a small sigh she turned back into the dressing room. "Just....wait out there ok?" she said unable to hide the slight disappointment in her words. She stared at the other tiny delights wondering if something smaller would get more of his attention. She lifted her shoulders; it certainly couldn't hurt to try. With a few practiced moves she removed the camisole and panties flinging them on the bench that was placed in the dressing room. She stared at the lines of clothes hanging up and placed a hand on her hip trying to find whatever looked like it covered the least. She shivered a little as the cool air from the air conditioner slithered across her naked body. She rubbed her arms before taking out a small rather risque set that was little more than strings with a little lace. She slipped it on and stared at her reflection. A small string clung to her hips and was all that held up the low cut black panties. The "bra" portion had lace that covered the underside of her breasts while a silk ribbon covered the middle and some of the top portion of her breasts. It left little to the imagination but at the same time answered no questions. "Hmmm" she hummed while she continued to eye her reflection. It was certainly more revealing than the last one but wasn't completely inappropriate; it would do.
She pulled on some black stockings and a garter belt and checked her reflection once more. Ignoring the fact she wanted a reaction out of jack she really liked how all the black looked on her. It managed to enhance her striking yellow eye's and purple hair; yes, it was something she was going to be leaving with when she was done here.
It could only be some divine intervention that would lead both women to open their doors and step out at the exact same time. The woman's husband didn't seem to mind and in fact look like he might explode on the spot. Jack on the other hand still had that politely quizzical expression, the same one he'd had before as well. Blair didn't seem to notice the other pair, her attention was focused on Jack and his inaction at the outfit. It was almost like he had no knowledge of women at all, or had no sex drive or at the least had the mind similar to an infant, someone who hadn't developed such feelings or needs. It was disheartening for her and definitely killing her fun. No matter that other men might be drooling over her. No, blair had set her sights on the giant and no one else would do. She certainly had her work cut out for her and that was a fact.
The other women stared at Blair in the outfit and felt herself grow warm, she slid her gaze to the side and studied her husbands face. Blair didn't even seem to notice them nor her husbands enraptured gaze. She certainly wasn't trying to out do her or get her husbands attention, the only thing Blair seemed to notice was the giant and he certainly wasn't showing nearly as much interest as her husband was.
Both women made a sound that was between a sigh and an agitated grunt before grabbing something else and walking back into their respective dressing rooms. It was like something out of a Manga, both women came out in smaller and smaller garments both trying to get their respective partners attention only to become increasingly more annoyed about the fact that they weren't getting said attention. This continued for about three to four outfit changes before each one came out in their final outfits. Tammy had come out in a dangerously smalltwo piece. Blair had also chosen to wear a daringTwo Pieceas well. Both women stood there staring at their men both equally disappointed.
With a muttered oath Tammy stormed back into the changing room and came back out a moment later dressed in her normal clothes. Shoving her husband aside she stormed out of the store severely annoyed.
Blair placed her hands on her hips and just stared at Jack nonplussed. She wanted more than ever to get a reaction of Jack but she was now unsure of how she might go about doing that. She frowned a little and sighed "Nothing hm?she said on a little sigh. There was no help for it she supposed. Shrugging some she went back into the dressing room and put on her clothes and came out with a few articles hanging off her arm. "Come on Jack." she said heading to the counter to pay for her clothes. She wasn't entirely sure what to do next, jack probably wanted to explore Death City a little more but she wasn't sure if she felt up to it.
human
Jack::Scott
It was a truly magnificent time, the competition between the women easily predicted by Tammy's first reaction to Blair's outfit....Or rather it would have been if both men had been enjoying the show. It wasn't even a real competition either; it was more like a woman was trying to wrench her man's attention to her while he drooled like a caveman over the racy attire Blair was sporting. Sadly, the neko-witch's efforts would go unnoticed by the one she was most trying to get a rise out of: The as-of-yet unknown giant that she found lying face-down in the sand surrounding the oasis known as Death City.
Poor Jack didn't realize the amount of dismay he was causing his savior and newfound acquiantance; even if she did show a more obvious sign of disappointment, one could only guess if the behemoth of a man would have picked up on it. Based on what Blair had witnessed so far and if anyone else were to have met him, the answer to that question would likely be a resounding 'No'. However, for the moment, Jack continued to watch as Blair and Tammy had their little 'face-off' in who could be the sexier dresser. Scott, meanwhile, felt like he was going to have a seizure or heart attack or some other form of internal blowout; a glance up at his companion's face made him drop from being horny to downright shocked in nothing flat.
"D...Dude! Do you not see what's happening?!"the young man stammered out, flabbergasted by the new guy's complete lack of reaction. He had Blair! Blair of all people! Giving him a damned awesome show, and he was standing there like he was watching an old 80's movie or something! Jack looked down at Scott, nodding and replying "Yes....New clothes". It took Scott almost all his effort not to just fall flat on his face; really? That's what he got from it!?! New clothes!"Uh...New clothes?! That's all you see?! What the fuck, were you dropped on your head or something? You have the hottest women in Death City...In outfits like that!"Jack just cocked his head in confusion; why would a blow to the head be relevant to clothing?
However, when Scott made the fatal mistake of ignoring his woman for the last time, he found himself shoved out of the way and a very upset Tammy storming out of Death's Secret. After faltering a little, Scott shook his head and said loudly, chasing after the woman he really did love the most,"Tammy! Baby, wait! I'm sorry! You were...The last parts of the sentence faded out as the two of them left the store, leaving many of the workers there likely very confused. Jack's eyes followed the man, perplexed by the behavior until he heard the door creak behind him. With Blair walking past him, he followed behind her to another part of the store; this time, there was a medium-build, blond-haired, blue-eyed woman in casual athletic wear behind a large carved piece of wood, with a strange box on top. What was this for, Jack wondered. "Clothes?" he asked out loud, drawing some rather strange expressions from some employees and customers alike.
"Hmmm....Well, well, if it isn't Death City's most famous tease. I take it you're responsible for the horndog running out...Such a shame; Tammy just needs to dump that loser" the employee - whose nametag read 'Samantha' - stated playfully, not by any means intending to insult her; her words indicated that Tammy was a regular here at the store, and that they'd done this more than once. But to have another woman's man drool upon seeing another female in such 'revealing' clothing had happened before, and it had been brought up several times to prohibit men from going back there. But at Death's Secret, they wanted to make sure ALL were satisfied; after all, wasn't the purpose of this clothing to get people noticed? Regardless, she then gazed upon Blair's newest friend; and judging by the hint of downfall, she'd tried something and it didn't work. But the big guy didn't seem all that concerned; in fact, he seemed more interested in the cash register than he did either of them. Made even more evident by the fact he was putting his face right next to it before looking at Blair and asking, "Box of clothes?" Samantha suppressed a giggle and asked politely, "So Blair...Where'd you find him?"
gpt
Blair :: Samantha
Blair watched Jack as he peered speculatively at the cash register, she couldn't help it when a smile turned up the corners of her mouth. He was more interested in the cash register than he'd been in her. It should have been disappointing, insulting even but Blair found it....endearing. He seemed so innocent, untarnished with the worlds lusts. She wondered again what had happened out there in the desert; so far from Death City. Had he really lost his memories? But even if he had, he'd have surely still responded with the same sexual exuberance that most men had. His mind may have forgotten but surely his mind hadn't? It was as if he'd just been....born. She furrowed her brows and shook her head slightly, no that was just nonsense.
She was yanked from her thoughts as the girl on the other side of the counter said something. Blair just smiled playfully "Oh? I hadn't realized that I'd been the reason her outfits kept getting smaller too. I thought she was just putting on a show for the guy who'd been with her. He seemed more attentive than my own friend." she said giving a heartfelt sigh. She sent another look at Jack and just shook her head. Well she now knew why the woman had seemed so irksome, she'd have to find Tammy and apologize to her. Perhaps they'd have a nice long conversation about the lack of attention from their male counterparts. She gave a mental shrug and turned her attention back to the woman named Samantha. She rested her forearms on the counter and swayed her hips back and forth slightly. "Oh, you know...just found him around." she said a bit vaguely. Somehow telling people that she found him unconscious on the desert outside of Death City didn't seem like a good idea.
"Really? I've never seen him around before...." Samantha said peering closer at Jack. "Ah well, he's sort of new....I think he said something about Oceania...." Blair said. She probably needed to come up with a better story than that at some point. People were bound to be curious about him and start asking questions. She didn't understand why she just didn't tell her where she found him. "Really?..." Samantha said eying Jack a moment longer before shrugging her shoulders. "So what is he to you, Blair?" she said resting her elbows on the counter. Blair blinked several times in rapid succession "He's a friend of mine." she said with another of her famous playful smiles. Samantha raised her brow slightly and looked down at the clothes Blair had set down to purchase "So...these arn't for him huh?" she said looking back up at blair.
Blair just laughed "Oh you know how I love clothes like these! They arn't for anyone in particular." she said still smiling playfully. Blinking she looked back over at Jack and shook her head "Sorry Jack, it's not a box of clothes. Silly. It's something to hold money." she said belatedly correcting his error.
"How long has he been here? From Oceania....I mean." Samantha said. Blair turned to look at her and watched as she too studied Jack. "I'm not sure. Can't have been very long at all." she said with a nonchalant shrug. "Hmmm" "What?" she asked turning to look at Jack. "Oh nothing....he is really large though, isn't he?" she said looking back at Blair. "I suppose." it wasn't like she hadn't noticed his size; I mean that was a little impossible. Especially since the apartment was in shambles because of how big he was but it hadn't actuallyhither until she'd seen men standing next to them and then he just seemed bigger. "Oh, that reminds me...do you know anyone who could help me fix my apartment and a bed?" she asked not even realizing how badly that might be taken.
Samantha's eyebrows shot up but she said nothing "I know a few people who'd be willing to help you...." she said uncertainly. "Really? Could you please send them to my address?" she asked but was already scrawling her address down on the back of a business card. As if most of Death City didn't already know where she lived. She left the card on the table and paid for her clothes, when they were bagged she smiled and waved "Come on Jack, you're probably hungry." she said heading towards the door.
"Oceania huh?" Samantha murmured watching the giant closely.
human
Soul
It had certainly been quite the adventure for all Meister-Weapon teams in Shibusen ; even though things hadn't gone the way they wanted, they had won the war and defeated Asura and his army of Black Clowns. Though it wasn't a complete victory; Death City and the other branches of the organization had lost many people in the fight, and a few had come eerily close to dying. But when the final blow was dealt to that bastard Kishin, it redeemed everything they'd done to help save the world from falling into the clutches of Madness.
With the larger threat now off the table - even though everyone recognized it was but a temporary reprieve, as there was always the chance another Kishin like Asura could arise - it gave all Shibusen operatives a chance to relax. An offer came down from Shinigami-sama himself: All senior Shibusen agents and Spartoi operatives were free to take a paid vacation. Some stayed in Death City, returning to their professions of teaching and assisting Shinigami with keeping the Evil Human numbers in line. Others returned to their previous stations in other countries, and the rest took their leader's offer.
Financed by a surplus in war funds, one Meister-Weapon team, none other than Deathscythe Soul Eater Evans or 'Soul' as he liked to be called, in particular was at the Cap Est Lagoon Resort & Spa in Martinique, French West Indies; they had it all here: Their own private executive suite. A stocked bar and fridge that they had full access to if they so wanted. The room itself had afantastic ocean viewand a private indoor pool. There was also a wide variety of activities they could partake in, like kite surfing and snorkeling and such.
The former of the team was sitting outside on one of the chairs overlooking the ocean, dressed in nothing more than a simple white T-shirt and red shorts and feeling the slightly salty breeze wash over him. It felt so weird to be like this; even though it was six years ago, they had faced down Armageddon itself and came out alive. Truthfully, Soul didn't know what to feel; though a sharp-toothed grin did cross his face when he remembered coming to tell Maka's father Spirit that they planned on getting married."Hehe....I thought for sure that trying to get him to agree was going to be a hard battle"he then commented to himself, amused by the irony of it. After being with Maka to face down Asura himself, that was a cakewalk. Spirit of course was initially resistant to the idea that his 'little girl' would be married to someone like Soul, but he had good intentions for his objection. It didn't take long for him to concede and even did his best to help them set up the ceremony; and now here they were, on their honeymoon. This would be one of many stops, having visited Nova Scotia just prior. For Soul, the traveling was a major drag but if it made Maka happy then he could put up with it.
But Soul was even more surprised at the energy Maka had; every place they went she always wanted to be somewhere, doing something, anything that would keep her active. It was something that Soul both admired about and got a bit irritated with her."Hey, Maka...Do you mind if we take it easy today? Yesterday we moved around a lot....I kind of just want to relax"he then asked, sitting up in the reclining chair to look at his partner and wife.
gpt
Maka
Maka ran the brush through her hair pulling out a knot; she ran it through her hair a few more times before setting the brush down. She stared at her reflection for a long while in silence. "it still feels so surreal..." she thought looking down into the sink. She sometimes felt like the world around her might melt away and she'd awaken to find Asura staring at her. With a small little shiver she shook her head ridding herself of the imagery. She needed to stop thinking about it, it happened six year ago, they had won and now; now she was a married woman. Married to her partner and a Deathscythe, Soul. A small smile flitted across her face as she remembered their wedding ceremony. She was on her honeymoon and they were traveling around the world with someone elses money. It was fantastic.
Maka tightened the towel around her slender frame and looked out the bathroom door to the back porch where her husband was. "My husband..." she thought not for the first time. She felt the familiar surge of happiness and feminine pride well up in her breast. In the six years since Asura's demise, Maka and grown a little. Her chest had filled out a little more and she now had a slight flare to her hips but nothing would ever be able to dispel her naturally lithe and slender body. With a little shrug she walked out of the bathroom and into their bedroom. She tossed the towel onto the bed and pulled a white tank-top over her head. Leaning over she pulled on some khaki colored shorts which clung to her hips and slipped her feet into some flip-flops and walked out to the back porch and leaned against the frame. She glanced at Soul and smiled again, she knew he didn't overly like traveling and it made it mean that much more to her that he was just for her. She knew Soul would be faithful to her, he wouldn't be like her papa.
Maka's smile widened "To much for you huh?" she said laughing a little. Pushing herself away from the door she walked over to the reclining chair he was sitting in. Swinging her leg over the other side she straddled Soul and sat in his lap. She flushed a little and ran her fingers through his hair "Should I take pity on you?" she murmured leaning her forehead against his her arms now draped around his shoulders. She stared at soul for a long moment "Ah, I suppose we could relax for today. You've earned it." she said tilting her head back laughing softly. Standing up she sat down on the edge of his chair "Since I'm putting my plans for us on hold for today, tell me Soul; Are we just going to sit out here on the porch all day?she said turning her head to look at Soul.
It was madness that she could be sitting out on a porch over looking the ocean with a warm breeze washing over her skin. Madness that she was in a picturesque setting with her husband just having fun after everything that had happened to them. Perhaps it was because of everything they had gone through that had strengthened their bonds. She didn't really know but she couldn't shake the feeling that things had ended to....cleanly. At first she thought the feeling was just excess adrenaline and madness that had coursed through her system during the battle but as the years wore on she didn't know quite what to attribute the feeling too. "I'm just being paranoid...." she thought absently.
Resting her head in her hands she quirked a brow "So?" she queried. Maka didn't really know if she'd be able to do the whole sitting and relaxing all day; she was far more active than soul was but if he could put up with her energy she could deal with chilling for a day. How hard could it be?
human
Soul
Soul had a feeling deep down that Maka was still a bit perturbed by the outcome of the war; she had worked so hard to save everyone, especially Crona....But she did seem to move past a great deal. Even so, Soul's link with Maka was incredibly strong by this point; low muscial notes played in his ear as he felt her uncertainty wash through her mind."Seems like Maka still can't believe it, either; can't say I blame her. We saw some pretty crazy things"the young Deathscythe muttered mentally.
As Maka approached him, his red hues wandered her athletic figure; she'd certainly grown in some. Nowhere close to Blair, but she was a bombshell in her own right. Though one thing she seemed to like doing, even if her slight embarrassment at the act was noticeable, was straddling his lap."Glad you see it my way...The taking it easy part that is"he replied with his characteristic sharp-toothed grin as their foreheads touched; it was this moment of contact that Soul felt her soul again. It was weird; ever since he became a Deathscythe, he could use physical contact to hear a person's soul. And right now, it was pretty upbeat but then he felt the drop again.
Maybe it was just her type-A personality, but for some reason Maka seemed still too on edge even though the war was by far over; sure, there was still the threat that another like Asura could arise again or that even someone might try to resurrect the bastard, but for right now...All the new recruits at Shibusen got to have their fun with the various new Evil Humans that seemed to be popping up now that the big daddy Kishin got destroyed in the Moon. There was really nothing to worry, in his eyes anyway. As she got up off of him, Soul's eyes followed her and as she asked for confirmation to her question he replied,"Maka....You worry too much, you know that? We're on vacation, we're supposed to be relaxing".
He then sat up and rested his chest against her back, resting his hands on her shoulders and adding"Asura's gone, Maka; that's what the fight on the Moon was all about. To put that bastard away for good. No one's going to be able to reach him again and try to weaponize him". Letting out a sigh, he then said,"But....To answer your question, I don't really mind if we do anything. But let's not go full-bore, alright? We have plenty of time to spend together, you know".
gpt
Maka :: Illayna Meoih :: Death the Kid
Maka smiled when she felt soul's weight press against her back. It was a small gesture but it calmed her as nothing else could have. Soul had always been there for her, always protected her...comforted her and pushed her. She'd always had drive and had strove to be the very best but without Soul she probably would have never succeeded. She certainly would have never been able to confront Asura, or get through to Crona. She'd have never grown into the woman she was now. Maka reached up absently and lightly gripped his hand. She felt the comforting heat and strength of his body through her shirt and felt reassured. Even if the worst were to happen and Asura did return; she'd have Soul by her side. But she knew, it wasn't Asuras possible resurrection that troubled her; it was something else a bit closer to home. But try as she might, she couldn't pin point exactly what it was. "Thank you Soul" she said before finally moving.
Standing up she gave soul's hand a soft squeeze before releasing it. For awhile she gazed out over the ocean, watching the waves wash up over the sand before pulling back into the water. It was a calm peaceful scene that offered comfort to the unwary. But the ocean was a dangerous place beneath the glittering waves. Shaking her head she shoved the thoughts from her mind and leaned down to press a quick possessive kiss on Soul's lips before straightening up smiling. "I'll just go for a swim then. I'll also check in and let them know we are still alive." she said walking back into their room. Soul was right, they had accomplished what they had set out to do and surely no one would have waited six years to take action against them. If anything they'd have struck immediately, while everyone in Death City was still recovering. She mentally sighed and forcefully shoved the unwanted feelings back inside a box. She hadn't stopped worrying since Asura had first been released, it was by far time she stopped.
Maka came to a halt in front of one of the windows that had some mist still clinging to it and proceeded to write some numbers "42-42-564 when you want to knock on Deaths Door." she murmured absently reciting it from memory. She listened to it ring for awhile before her call went through.
"Hello, Death. Scythe Meister Maka checking in."
"Hello, Maka, its good to hear from you."
"How is the DWMA and Death City doing?"
"Great, speaking of the DWMA though, we've sent a new meister and her weapons out to your area to take care of a Kishin. I'd like it if you and soul accompanied them, make sure things don't get out of hand."
"I'm sure we could. When should they be here?"
"Fantastic! They are already there. The meisters name is Illayna Meoih, she's a knife meister."
"...Already here?"
"Yes. Might want to get a move on before they track down where you're staying. I'll talk to you later when you give your report of the mission."
Maka stared at the window for a moment longer before heaving a sigh. So much for taking it easy. She could imagine that soul was going to feel very put out, having to babysit a Meister and her weapons on his honeymoon. She'd have to find a way to make it up to him later. With another sigh she walked back out to the porch. "So I just finished talking to Death...." she started trailing off. "He wants us to watch over a meister whose already here. It shouldn't take long...but we should get going. I'll make it up to you later." she said with an apologetic smile. She felt a little bad dragging Soul out on a mission, especially since she said she'd let him take it easy today. There wasn't much help for it.
A few minutes later they were out walking down the streets, working their way to the Meister. It didn't take long to find her, she stood out from the crowd. The girls head snapped up and she stared directly at Maka, it was a little odd. "I assume you're Maka? Soul?" she said turning her gaze between the two people. "I'm knife meister Illayna Meoih. Pleasure to meet the two of you." she said with a quick nod of her head. " I don't mean to be rude but, I'd rather get this done with quickly." she said standing up. Maka noticed the girls rigid posture and smiled a bit. The girl was nervous. Maka just nodded a bit and stepped aside to allow the girl to pass "By all means, it is your mission after all." she murmured. Illayna's turned her head and studied Maka a moment before relaxing a little. "Alright. Thank you."
"Where is your weapon?" Maka asked absently.
human
Soul::Takeshi Yamaguchi::Daichi Yamaguchi
It was always a good day when Soul could calm Maka down; even if he knew she would always the uptight bookworm deep in her core, that was more than easy enough to live with and he wouldn't trade it for anything in the world."No sweat, Maka; someone's gotta balance you out"was his grin-filled reply as her hand came to rest on his for a brief moment."Yep...Totally worth it"Soul commented mentally as an afterthought; his furrowed brows went back to their normal position as he too looked out to the ocean. Even as the semi-warm, salty breeze ruffled his silver-grey hair, he took the moment to really enjoy what he was experiencing.
However, his face soon lit up in surprise as Maka turned and kissed him fiercely; where did that come from? That wasn't something Maka did often, but he had to admit when she did it felt pretty nice."Heh, sounds good. Try not to overdo yourself and say 'Yo' to Death for me"was his reply as he leaned back in the chair, closing his eyes and resting his head against his finger-interlaced hands. Unfortunately for him, he didn't really hear what Maka and Death were talking about and how it would relate to them having to watch over a new recruit.
So it was no surprise that when he felt a shadow over him, he peeked one eye open to see Maka herself standing over him. He really didn't like where this was going; couldn't they let the recruits just handle the Evil Humans? He hadn't heard of one popping up that required anything more than a Two-Star Meister. But before he could raise a protest, he felt his partner's hands wrap around his arm; all he could think to himself was"Man, what a dragggg...."before Maka carted him off and pulled along. It didn't take long for Soul to just give in and trudge along; all he wanted to do was relax. It wasn't like he was lazy, but surely the student couldn't have been that incompetent? No way this person was a three-star Meister; no, it was most likely a newly-recruited student.
They soon found who they were looking for, however; Soul could feel her soul quite well. A steady low hum, slow tempo, low key, timber and pitch. It was a fairly cold tone, but not so cold that it was discomforting."Well, she's a ball of sunshine I can tell that much"Soul commented in his mind, gazing at her as if trying to see what her deal was; even still, he just replied with a nod of his head,"Yep, I'm Soul. Good to meet ya". Maka's question was one he was about to ask himself, but they would soon get the answer.
"Hey! Where ya goin', fatso? We were just having some fun!"
"You got some nerve stealing from a lady, pal!"
Those were the only two things they heard before a rather heavy-set red-haired man, wearing a heavy trenchcoat and brown khakis with brown tennis shoes, was seen bursting through the throngs of people just behind Illanya. His face was covered in bruises and small cuts and appeared to be followed by blue-haired twin boys. One of which was clothed in a white zip-up shirt, white sneakers and blue jeans, whilst the had the same style of shirt but black sweats and shoes, a dark purple plainshirt underneath and wore a hooded jacket over it. Regardless, both tackled the man in the legs and back, forcing him to tumble to the ground. "Please...don't hurt me! I won't do it again, I swear!" the strange man pleaded; the twin with the white shirt grabbed the man's hair and yanked his head up,"Yeah, you'd like that wouldn't you, you thieving fuck?". The twin in the jacket then knelt next to the man, adding"I hope you can see why we can't oblige that request; one should always treat a woman with respect. And to steal...". He paused to wave a finger in his face before saying in a mockingly sweet tone,"And that's something your mother should not have taught you".
The man was clearly petrified, shocked and scared about what they could and possibly would do to him. "C...Come on, guys! I'll turn myself in! Just please, don't hurt me!" Soul watched the spectacle for now, but knew they would have to be broken up; he could easily tell these were Weapons. And given the proximity and counteracting scales...They were clearly this woman's partners. He then turned his attention to the Meister and said,"Your partners, I take it? I'd get them under control if I were you".
gpt
Maka :: Illayna Meoih
Illayna cringed when she heard the shouts behind her "Fantastic.." she thought not wanting to look at the trouble her weapons were causing. Did they really need to cause a scene and be so loud? Surely they could have handled matters alittlemore discreetly? And they justhadto do thisnow? When Maka and Soul were there? She could have throttled them both right at that moment. It was made worse by Souls comment; she felt she was failing some kind of test. Instead of responding to the deathscythe she turned around and looked at her two weapons. "DAICHI! TAKESHI!" she hollered out to the twins. "Would you two please stop making such a scene?!" she said making her way over to them; her voice carrying easily over the crowd. Upon reaching them she grabbed each of their ears and yanked. "We re supposed to be here on a mission!" she said agitatedly.
Maka looked to the two identical men and then back to the knife meister. "So she has two weapons? Interesting..." she thought watching Illayna intently. She flicked her gaze to her partner and smiled a bit. They did seem like a lively rowdy bunch. She wasn't certain why Death had asked them to watch over the trio but she was sure that she'd eventually find out, either by observation or being told. When the girl marched over to her partners she sighed and turned to soul "I think she's causing a bigger scene..." she murmured to him amused. "If she was more shy and quiet they'd remind me of another pair..." she said thinking of Black Star and Tsubaki. Absently she wondered how the two of them were doing.
Illayna brought her two partners heads in closer together and leaned in "Can you two please try not to embarrass me anymore in front of them?" she whispered harshly. "I expected this out of Takeshi....but not out of you Daichi. What in the world possessed you to cause such a scene?" she asked staring at them both in turn. She really had expected Takeshi to pull some shenanigans, she'd just been unprepared for Daichi to also partake in the mischief. Of the two Takeshi was normally the troublemaker. Looking up she looked to where Maka and Soul were and let out another sigh "We'll continue this later when I've managed to discuss our mission with Maka and Soul..." she said trailing off and glancing around herself blushing slightly realizing that charging in there and grabbing the twins ears had just caused a bigger scene "And when there is less of an audience..." she said releasing each of their ears. Turning on her heel she made her way back to the table and sat down "I'm sorry about that..." she said not quite meeting their eyes.
"It's fine. There's nothing you can really do when your partner decides to do something." she said remembering some of her own missions with soul. Though considering the trouble Tsubaki had, had with Black Star, she definitely counted herself lucky. "You certainly could have had worse." she said with a little smile. She didn't hate or disrespect Black Star but she did feel sorry for Tsubaki because he was definitely a handful. She was glad to count him as a friend instead of partner. "Shall we get going? You can explain to us what your mission is on the way." she said said motioning for Illayna to take the lead.
A short while later they were all being lead down a series of streets and alleys after a bit Illayna began to talk.
"Me and my partners are hunting the Kishin, Erzsebet Bathory." she said quietly. Maka looked over at her a bit surprised "The Blood Countess? Lived in the late 1500's early 1600's?" she asked with raised brows. Illayna nodded "One and the same." she said falling silent. "We were uncertain at first since both soul and blood was taken but it didn't take long to realize who we were dealing with" she said with a grim little smile. "I'm sure you're aware what she preferred..." she said with a small sigh to which Maka nodded remaining silent. "In her time she killed six-seven hundred women alone. Death doesn't want her lingering..." she said pursing her lips. "Is that why Death asked us along?" Maka wondered. "I wonder what she's doing here in Martinique...." she asked to no one in particular.
Shaking her head she looked to Illayna wondering why; if Death was uneasy about letting this Kishin remain in the world...had he sent these three in the first place? Why hadn't he sent a three star meister instead? "Hmm" she said absently wondering once more what Death was trying to accomplish. "It's a little weird..." she murmured looking at Soul.
human
Soul::Takeshi Yamaguchi::Daichi Yamaguchi
Daichi and Takeshi looked up as their partner yelled at them for being so noisy; Takeshi was the first to speak,"Yeah, yeah, just let us punch some manners into this guy....". Before he could continue anymore, he let out a yelp as she grabbed his ear; despite her stature, she was much stronger than she let on."Hey, hey! Quit tuggin'! You're gonna rip it off!""Oi, Illayna! Careful with that!"were the twins' replies as they were forcefully dragged away from their captive. Soul just grinned a little; he was kind of reminded of Kid, Liz and Patty in a way. Except this girl didn't seem to care much about symmetry, only that her partners behaved. He, like his partner, wondered how that particular trio was holding up. But for now he focused on why he and Maka were here, though he did have an inkling."Well...I think I know why Death wanted us along. But I guess we'll really see during the mission"the Deathscythe mused, his face turning neutral once more as Illayna returned to face them.
The twins felt their ears released, both of them rubbing at the sensitized pieces of skin."Expected it out of me!? What the heck's that supposed to mean?"Takeshi replied with a hint of annoyance, to which Daichi added,"Hey, I was trying to hold him back. But then that guy started running his mouth, and I don't take well to being sassed". Takeshi then crossed his arms and said to his brother,"Yeah, because he insulted your little 'problem'. You're such a whiner"But before Daichi could retaliate, their Meister's words shushed the both of them. Damn that Takeshi; he didn't get how weird the mark over his eye made him feel. How could he be so confident having such a grotesque marking on his face?
Regardless, when the police came to take the would-be pickpocket away - Soul had to explain what happened, just to make sure the two Demon Weapons didn't get into any trouble - the odd group went off down the streets. Soul honestly had very little knowledge of this Erzsebet Bathory, other than she was some kind of serial killer."Pretty sure it's not a Kishin, more than likely it's a fledgling Evil Human. Though I've never heard of one taking the blood of their victim before...Usually they just go for the souls. Shouldn't be all that surprised though; never know what you might find with those things"Soul commented lazily; there was no way they'd be sending a rookie out if there was an actual Kishin on the loose."Yeah, well, not this one...Every corpse that's been found was like a withered husk. Sucked dry"Takeshi replied, his arms stretching over his head, to which Daichi added,"What I don't get is why...Evil Humans only gain powers from souls, don't they?"
At this, Soul then said,"For the most part, they do. But sometimes they take other things to fuel abilities. Some even require external devices; like when Maka and me fought Frey D. Sadoko...We weren't sure what her deal was, but she could enter the dreams of people and kill them from within when they listened to a cursed record". Both of the twins were surprised at this, Daichi finally saying,"Really? What a weird creature?""Yeah, but that does sound kind of familiar...It's like I heard it somewhere before..."
gpt
Maka :: Illayna Meoih :: Erzsebet Bathory
Maka listened to the conversation and was troubled by what she'd been told. No matter what they'd done in the past while they were still human; once they started taking souls from humans that was almost always theonlything that they took. She'd heard of Erzsebet Bathory and the horrendous things she'd done. She could understand why Death was so troubled by her appearance. Still she couldn't understand sending in Illayna and her partners. Why hadn't he sent at least his son? Death the Kid could have taken care of her easily enough...sowhy? Maka continued to muse over the problem that she'd been confronted with and a little uncertain of what Death was hoping to gain by sending Illayna out here to hunt Bathroy. And what did hereallywant herself and soul to do? Did he really want them just to watch her and make sure she wasn't in over her head? Or was he wanting something else? After awhile Maka shook her head and pinched the bridge of her nose. Her mind was going around in circles trying to understand what Lord Death wanted but that was akin to trying to understand the inner workings of a madman...or a genius.
Though in most cases, genius was closely followed by madness.
Illayna tilted her head to the side ever so slightly listening to the back and forth of the conversation and also noting Maka's silence. She could almost guess what she was thinking because she herself couldn't quite believe that she'd been allowed to do this mission. She wanted to do it right. She wanted to prove herself in a big way and she'd been given the opportunity to do just that. Admittedly it was a little nerve wracking having Maka and Soul there to keep an eye on her but at the same time she took comfort in it. If anything went awry, Maka and Soul would have her back. Just wait until she told the other students that she'd been able to fight with THE Maka and Soul. She'd be the envy of most every student. She smiled to herself as a burst of giddiness rose up through the nervous tension. She flexed her fingers at her side and took a deep calming breath trying to expel the distracting emotions. Just because she had legends at her back didn't mean she could let herself be distracted. It was one thing to be comforted by their presence, quite another to screw up and actuallyrequiretheir assistance. "I can do this..." she thought to herself.
Maka glanced over at the Meister and noticed the rigid tension in her back and shoulders. Well, at least she wasn't oblivious. She knew she had a tough battle ahead of her and that was important. Underestimating ones opponent was always a mistake. At the mention of Sadoko, Maka turned her attention back to her partner and the Twins. "Ah, I remember her...." she said smiling a bit. Sadoko had been the last evil human soul that Soul had, had to devour before finally eating Arachne's soul which had turned him into the Deathscythe he currently was. "That one was a bit tricky." she said reminiscing on all of her previous battles. "She was our ninety-ninth." she said looking at Soul and smiling. "It took us awhile to get back up there after Blair...but we managed." she said with a soft chuckle. It would be harder for Illayna to turn her weapons into Death's weapons. She needed one hundred and ninety eight evil human souls and two witches souls instead of the customary ninety-nine evil human souls and one witch's soul. She did not envy Illayna.
Illayna stopped and motioned for everyone else to stop as well. "Blood. We are close..." she said trailing off.
They followed the trail for awhile before coming to the doors of what appeared to be an abandoned warehouse. They all entered the Warehouse warily searching the shadows for any sign of life. Illayna stilled when she caught the barest of movements in one of the deep wells of darkness that existed at the farthest reaches of the structure. The figure moved closer to the small group at a sedate pace. After a moment a female came into view with. The first thing Illayna noticed was blood that dripped from the woman's chin and coated her hands. "Bathory?" she asked her muscles tightened and tense.
"Well, Well, you seem to have me at a bit of a disadvantage..." the voice that answered was low and sultry and held notes of wry amusement and undercurrents of authoritative steel.
It was not a pleasant voice she decided. "I've come to take your soul." she said not giving the murderess her name.
"Mmmm. You are quite pretty. Such soft supple looking skin. I believe your soul and blood will go a long way for me. Might you happen to also be a Virgin?" she asked practically purring. She licked her lips as if Illayna was some exotic fruit that she was dying to try.
A blush crept into her cheeks at the invasive question "I-I don't see how it's any of your business if I am or am not." she said defensively. When Erzsebets eye's widened and a satisfied and overly-happy smile tugged at her lips, she realized the mistake she'd made by reacting to the barb.
"Oh, you are!" she said sounding genuinely excited. "So fortuitous for me. You my dear, I absolutely must have you." she said her pretty face turning demonic as her smile widened.
"That is enough! Takeshi! Daichi! Lets go." she said without taking her eyes off of the Blood Countess.
Maka stared at Bathory and felt chills creep up her arms and back. There was something verywrongwith this one. "Soul...." she said trailing off leaving the question unsaid. Her eyes were riveted on the woman who bathed in blood and tortured for amusement. "This is wrong..." she said in a whisper. She wasn'tterrifiedof the woman per-se. At least, not in the way that Stein or Asura had terrified her. It was an altogether different fear and a feeling of acute unease. She knew something was horribly wrong with this but she couldn't identify what it was. One thing was for certain, her instincts were telling her this wasverybad and she always listened to them. "I see why Lord Death was uneasy about this one in particular..." she said reaching for her partner. Having Soul there added a measure of comfort. She was a Meister and the bond between her and her partner was stronger than ever. That bond gave her strength whenever she felt weak.
human
Soul::Takeshi Yamaguchi::Daichi Yamaguchi
As the group continued along, it seemed the twin Weapons were more interested in the exploits and adventures of the legendary team that helped bring the Kishin War to a speedy end. While Soul would have agreed with Maka in her thoughts that sending this team along probably wasn't the best idea, they did take on Blair...Even though she wasn't a witch, she was one hell of a fight. Soul grinned as he recounted how many times they failed and when they did succeed...It turned out she was a freaking cat that could transform and do all sorts of magic. Soul just grinned and replied to Maka,"Yeah, was a bit of a drag...But looking back, at least the practice was good". He left out how much Blair had - and whenever she had the opportunity - still tried to rile him up by dressing provocatively and rubbing on him."Wait...What does she mean by that? What did Blair have to do with anything?"Daichi asked, to which Soul replied,"Case of mistaken identity...Thought she was a witch soul. Had all the right characteristics too, but...Wasn't meant to be. Had to start all over".
Takeshi smirked a bit, lost in daydreams at the mention of that fine pussycat; he'd seen her around a few times, and gods be damned if he wasn't going to try and get with her. He finally snapped out of it, saying"Heh...Bet that must have sucked. But you're a Deathscythe now, right? Man, I can't wait to get to that level; all the ladies will want a piece of this". Daichi then smacked his twin upside the head,"Cool your heels, moron...We aren't anywhere near there yet"."Aye, I just had my ear nearly yanked off!"the jacketless twin grumbled as he rubbed the back of his head.
At that comment, Soul's memory flashed back to when he finally did become a Deathscythe; every day, girls left notes in his locker at Shibusen asking him to ditch Maka and come be their partner. After the first few letters, he'd know what they were to just roll it up and throw it away. And though few people knew it, one of his letter writers actually confronted him and demanded to know why he didn't come be their partner. His answer? He already had one and that was the end of it."Believe me, my friend...Ain't as great as it looks. Well, being a Deathscythe is....But you're her partner for a reason. Take it from someone who knows". Both twins just seemed to stare at him, their expressions of surprise and slight confusion; they hadn't even mastered Soul Resonance yet, how could he be so sure they were perfectly compatible?
However, all comments and storytelling were halted when Illayna noticed a trail of blood; Soul could hear faints notes off in the distance. Such a high pitch, fast tempo made quite the dark melody...Really dark."Man, this does NOT feel right"the Deathscythe commented mentally; he wondered if sending a rookie like Illayna was a wise move on Death's part. Regardless, the small group followed the trail and soon arrived at an old warehouse; it didn't take long until the source of the evil harmony made itself known. He was oddly reminded of Jack the Ripper in this Evil Human; though he supposed that in truth, all Kishin Egg souls had much in common. But hers....This was violent. Far worse than the Ripper could ever have been, he thought."So....This is that Bathory chick, eh? Hmph, doesn't seem so tough"Takeshi commented idly; Daichi was about to scold him when Erzsebet commented on the purity of their partner."Oi, watch your manners when speaking to a lady, freak!"Daichi shouted; seemed any form of disrespect to a woman was one of his buttons.
At their Meister's command to enter battle, both of them grinned at each other before transforming into rather ornateknivesand flying into the air of their own will to allow their partner to catch and wield them. Their blades curved in and out like waves, with a grip that seemed to be largely designed for a reverse-grip fighting style but could be wielded forehand if the situation called for it. Regardless, Soul took Maka's hand, letting her know he was there for her if she needed and simply stated as he gave her a gentle tug,"We should probably back off a bit...I got a feeling this battle's going to get messy. She's certainly got the strength to do it, I can tell that much...Let's see if her skill matches up to it, though".
gpt
Maka :: Illayna Meoih :: Erzsebet Bathory
Without taking her gaze off of the woman, Illayna reacted and grabbed the hilt of her two weapons. Letting the blades rest against her forearm she brought her arms up to about chest level and bent her knees, readying to act or react should either be necessary.
Maka looked at soul and pursed her lips but only nodded. She interlaced her fingers with his and took a few precautionary steps back. "You're probably right..." she said staring at the woman garbed in shadows. "I have little doubt but that she does indeed have more than enough skill." she said referring to Bathory. Now more than ever, her intuition was telling her things were even worse than she'd initially thought. "Not exactly what I thought we'd be doing on our honeymoon..." she said with a smile giving his fingers a little squeeze. She knew that even as powerful as Bathory looked, she wouldn't stand much of a chance against a Deathscythe and his partner. Not against Maka and Soul. It was a small comfort.
"Oh, does my little virgin want to play?" she asked with a cloyingly false sweetness to her voice. "I suppose it's only fair to warn you that I play a little rough." she said bringing up one of her bloodied hands to her face. For a moment she stared transfixed at the ruby red liquid dripping down her fingers. "I can't help myself you know. I can usually control myself until I break too far into the perfect skin of a woman and see the sanguine liquid of life well up. After that..." she said trailing off to glance casually at Illayna before pointedly returning her gaze to her hand "I break them" she said in conversational tones. She stuck her tongue out and drew it up her finger seeming to savor the taste of the blood that coated the skin. "Oh but do be careful my dear. I don't want to rush with you. After all...finding a genuine virgin and one with such a lovely complexion I might add; is so rare. I want to enjoy you. I'll do my best to hold back." she said licking the remnants of blood from her lips.
Maka stifled a shiver feeling suddenly very cold.
Illayna gripped her weapons even tighter and clenched her jaw shut.
The blood on her hands seemed to shift and crystallize, the fingertips turning into claws. She started to laugh. Low at first like an amused chuckle but it slowly got louder turning into a sultry and undoubtedly insane laughter. No one wanted to know what had suddenly amused the murderess. She abruptly stopped laughing but a wicked and demonic grin remained fixed on her full blood red lips. "Come to me my dear!" she said as if she were doing nothing more than beckoning to a lover.
"Are you ready, Takeshi? Daichi?" she murmured moving only the barest inch.
It happened quickly after that, one second Illayna was standing only a few feet from the entrance preparing to engage Bathory in battle and the next she was beside the evil woman. It took Bathory by surprise. Indeed, there was still an image of Illayna standing where she had been mere moments earlier. Illayna slashed upwards with her blade, Bathory instinctively brought up one of her crystallized arms to shield herself from the blow. The blade grazed harmlessly along the red armored skin. Illayna and Bathory jumped back. The after image that had been left by Illayna's quick moves, slowly disappeared. "So the kitten has fangs?" Bathory asked in mock innocence. She raised the arm that Illayna had struck and licked the area "Mmmm, I shall be more wary not to let your fangs dig in any farther than they just did." she said her eyes gleaming in malicious amusement.
Illayna just raised her arm to her face and said not a single word. Her eyes blazed fiercely with a tightly controlled fire that burned inside of her. She charged at Bathory and struck out with her left arm. She heard her blade clash against the Crystallized blood, could feel the small tremors that went along the blade. Dropping low she swiped out with one foot, aiming for Bathory's legs. Sensing her intention Bathory jumped back a few paces. Illayna got up and edged closer to her. The smile never left Bathory's lips, nor did the ill-concealed excited anticipation that gleamed in her eyes. "She is toying with me..." she thought narrowing her eyes angrily. She did not like being toyed with.
Illayna charged at Bathory once more for another skirmish.
"She's having fun..." Maka said staring at Bathory. She could feel her unease growing. "Something else is troubling me though....how did she manage to crystallize the blood that was on her hands? She's turned it into some kind of armor.." she said flexing her jaw. She shuddered intensely aware of the evil hunger that dripped from Bathory in waves. It gave her the chills. She watched Bathory and Illayna exchange blows and noticed that Bathory was very careful not to cut Illayna's skin and she recalled the mad-womans words
"I can't help myself you know. I can usually control myself until I break too far into the perfect skin of a woman and see the sanguine liquid of life well up. After that- I break them."
Her voice rang hollowly inside Maka's head and she shivered again. "Illayna managed to surprise Bathory with her first move...." she said trailing off. Illayna hadn't only surprised Bathory, she'd surprised Maka too. She had only noticed a small change in her movements and in the blink of an eye -or seemingly so- she was right beside Bathory and readying to attack her. It was made even more surprising since the image of her had remained in the place that she'd been standing. "But...she lost her initial advantage. She is having difficulties and I fear Bathory is only toying with her at the moment." she said furrowing her brows. Even with that she was still deeply troubled by the obvious change in the blood that had covered her hands. It didn't seem entirely possible but she had seen it happen with her own eyes. She continued to watch the progression of the fight. Bathory had playfully cut into Illayna's clothes but had done no more damage. "I'd rather we stepped in and just finished it..." she murmured but made no move to interfere. "She is rather good. I think Blackstar could teach her a lot..." she mused as she watched Illayna's movements.
Illayna tried to steady her breathing. She noticed that Bathory looked as coolly elegant as she had when they arrived. She glanced down at her own clothes noticing all the tears in the fabric. Bathory was definitely toying with her, like a cat that had cornered a mouse. She smiled wryly to herself. She took another deep breath trying to calm her breathing. "I've had enough. I think I would like to see your blood now." Bathory said, the claws that had adorned the end of her armored fingers sharpened and lengthened. Light gleamed off the wicked edge. "Come, Come my kitten. Lets enjoy ourselves." she said. An unholy light brightening Bathory's gaze. Fear slithered up Illayna's spine. Would she be considered a coward if they knew that she feared her enemy?"Takeshi....Daichi....please bear with me. Things are about to get a lot worse for you I fear...." she said biting her lip.
Bathory's eyes shone brighter "Ah...you misunderstand. Things are about to get a lot worse for you." she said almost purring.
human
Soul::Takeshi Yamaguchi::Daichi Yamaguchi::Fenrec Nadasdy::Ficzko::Dorothea Szentes
Soul grinned at Maka's comment,"Well, at least we'll get to see what kind of recruits Shibusen's putting out". Of course, he was still a bit nervous that Illayna wouldn't quite be up to the task of killing this creature. Soul however, cringed a little as Bathory readied herself for combat, like something was paining him."God, her wavelength's so chaotic now it was making my ears hurt"the Deathscythe commented in the depth of his mind. And the way she talked....He knew Evil Humans were some messed-up individuals but this Bathory was something else creepy. Maybe it was because compared to other Evil Humans she was exceptionally coherent in speech, maybe it was because of her fixation on something other than the soul of her victim.
Soul, however, just watched as the Meister and Evil Human faced each other down; it seemed that this fight would at least be interesting. He just hoped this little lady was up to the challenge, because he had a feeling Erzebet was not going to go easy on her. Though he found himself surprised when Illayna made her first move; needless to say, that was an impressive feat of agility."Huh...So that must be an innate ability of hers. Even I can tell it needs some work, but with something like that even Black Star might have some trouble keeping up with her"Soul commented to himself; of course, it would probably be a really long time before that happened. Hell, if he knew Black Star, he was pushing himself beyond even what he was now.
However, things quickly went south for Illayna as it seemed the would-be Kishin adjusted herself to accommodate the illusory technique."An Evil Human with a brain...This fight could get ugly pretty quick"Soul muttered; his eyes shifted a little to look at Maka as she posed her query. Come to think of it, that was strange; was the blood some kind of armor? The only other people who used blood like that were Maka herself and Crona, and that was under the effects of Madness using Black Blood. ""Wish I knew; only other times we saw a power like that was when we were in Resonance"Soul said, leaving out Crona for Maka's sake while still trying to figure out how the Evil Human's blood hardening power worked; he couldn't feel any shifts in Bathory's wavelength when she used it. It was so strange though; how could Shinigami-sama not know how her power worked? There always seemed to be least that much in the mission specs, at least when they were still actively hunting souls. Maybe this was one of the few that slipped under Shibusen's radar, he thought.
"Yeah...Though one could wonder if she'd stand up to his 'regiment'. Not exactly a walk in the park"was Soul's grinned answer to the comment on Illayna's skill; when it came to endurance testing, Black Star was well known for putting himself through trials that would kill just about anyone else. Of course, his heritage from the Star Clan helped a bit, but it was his desire to become the best and follow the Path of the Warrior that gave him the mental toughness to push through. Soul chose to ignore the comment on stepping in; he knew once they did, Illayna would lose all the souls she collected and would have to start over. This had to be done one on one, no matter how much they disliked it.
"Come on, babe! We can take this clown!"Takeshi growled, frustrated that they couldn't even cut this bitch."Take it easy on her, Tak; this isn't like it was when we fought Stulhinger the Psycho, after all"Daichi retorted in his Meister's defense; with Illayna's skill, she'd overcome this...thing eventually. He just knew it, and he knew Takeshi knew it; still, Daichi was also wondering why they couldn't visibly cut her. The blades made contact, and both twins felt the friction...So why did they not spill any blood?"Don't worry, Illayna....Just focus, you got this"Daichi then said in reply to her comment; Takeshi just murmured and added,"There's gotta be a weak point somewhere...But where?"
However, Soul then looked up to the ceiling and around the room, a grimace forming on his lips as he then said,"Maka...We got company". Three new wavelengths were closing in around them and fast; before they knew it, the windows to the abandoned warehouse were shattered, the fragments falling to the ground with clinking sounds as three new twisted beings appeared all next to Bathory. One was in a simple pair of shredded brown pants, leaving his torso exposed; what made him creepy was that it didn't look like he had eyes, rather that the skin of his face was pulled up to cover every inch of it. Another was a strange, grotesque-looking woman in a tattered robe, her hands affixed with metal claws bolted into the knuckles with large screws. Her skin was pale as a ghost and her mouth seemed to be stitched into a permanent maniacal grin, the shoulder-length locks framing her face truly completing that psychopathic appearance. The third was oddly well-dressed in a black suit with a white buttoned undershirt and tie, looking very much like a butler; he even carried a tray with a silver teapot and cup in one of his glove-adorned hands. His hair black as night, he held himself in a professional manner but even with this the Deathscythe could sense just how tainted this one's own soul truly was. He knew for certain they weren't here as cavalry for Illayna; Soul just muttered,"They're with Bathory, Maka...Looks like we might just have to step in after all". One of the new arrivals then spoke, the well-dressed butler saying, "Apologies for being late, Lady Bathory...Dorothea justhadto try out a new torture method she thought of". The grotesque woman then cackled, "Ooo...I do think you'll love it, Mistress. My best work, but I had to use a male specimen, sadly...They just don't react the same. So defiant....They ruin all the fun of it". The strange and grotesque woman then turned her head to see Illayna, her already wide smile growing till it seemed to literally reach her ears, "But, who do we have here? Oh my, it's a virgin isn't it? I can practicallysmellthe purity. How lovely..."
She then turned back to Bathory, "I do hope she wasn't causing you too much trouble, m'lady...Then again, maybe we can punish her for her insolence. Ooo, to hear a virgin scream again...I'mtinglingall over! HEHEHAHAHAHAHA!" The eyeless man then added, stepping towards Illayna a bit, "You better not have tried to hurt my woman, bitch; I'll tear out your intestines if you have". "Fenrec, Dorothea, do try to calm yourself would you...ThisisLady Bathory's fun, you know" said the butler as he poured out a crimson fluid from the pot into the cup before presenting it to Bathory. "A refreshment for you, m'lady...A sample we acquired for your next target". As this meant on, Soul was just stupefied; who the hell were these people? At this, Soul realized this was no longer a game; they had to be put out of commission. The wavelengths...Soul could tell, just tell, that if they were going to get involved, Illayna would not be able to handle them. He gripped his Meister's hands a little tighter, letting her know that they needed to step in now and work to convince Shinigami about it later.
gpt
Maka :: Illayna Meoih :: Erzsebet Bathory
Illayna smiled in spite of herself. The twins could be a pain in the ass to keep up with....but she also knew that she couldn't have worked with anyone else. Before she could comment though, three new souls appeared. A moment later glass shattered all around her. The little pieces glinted off of the weak beams of sunlight before cascading to the ground. Before they had all finished falling she saw who the twisted souls belonged too. She tensed up immediately and just as quickly forced her body to relax. They were just human, really, really fucked up humans....but humans nonetheless. Right? She flexed her fingers around the hilt of her blades and took slow steady breaths. "Just human...they are...just human..." she thought staring at the line of creatures in front of her. "Right, human....humans that look like they belong to something out of H.P.Lovecraft....The butlers pretty cute though..." she thought suppressing a shudder. She winced when the other woman took an interest in her "Bloody fucking hell...my virtue is none of your business." she said through clenched teeth. She really hated being talked about like this. It was irritating. She flicked an annoyed but disgusted glance at the one called fenrec and gave him a mocking smile "Your woman? Well...if my partner looked like you, I might be tempted to look elsewhere for entertainment too." she said a little to sweetly.
Erzsebet stared at Illayna and rubbed her hands down her body, shivering. Not from the cold nor fear or disgust but from an unwholesome desire. "Do you know what you're doing to me?" she asked in a low voice. "You're driving me absolutely mad with wanting..." she murmured her voice soft and husky with lust. "Absolutely mad..." she whispered. "And you....are the cure for this madness. My elixir. My salvation." she continued as the glass rained down upon them like so many cruelly sharp rain drops. She watched as they fell all around them, seemingly transfixed by the play of light across the many broken pieces of glass. Blinking slowly she turned her gaze to the three arrivals. "Ah, so you've all finally arrived? Hm? I guess...I've been here longer than I thought." she said looking back at Illayna. "Time really does fly when you're having fun." she said with a beatific smile. "Ah, you are correct. She is very much a virgin." she said licking her lips. If she heard Illayna she gave no sign that she had. She scowled at Fenrec but the scowl transformed into smirk as Illayna bit into him. "I forgot to mention...she has sharp little claws and teeth. However, Dorothea is right. She is my fun and I'll not have you insulting and scaring her off." she said in admonishing tones. She flicked a glance towards the proffered cup and shook her head waving her hand dismissively. "I'll sample it later. I promised this sweet little thing that she would be my next. I don't want to break a promise. Besides I don't want to ruin my appetite before I consume my meal." she said turning a smile on Illayna. It was a terrifyingly beautiful smile. The smile of a predator. "Now, let us continue before we were....interrupted" she said flicking a look to her companions. "It is long past time I saw the blood that runs blue through your veins." she said smiling a smile you'd bestow on a lover.
Illayna stared at them and their odd conversation and stifled another shudder of dread. She knew that should even one of the three step in to aid Bathory she was more than done for. Even being the one to initate the attacks she hadn't even put a scratch on the woman and here she was, clothes torn to shreds and she knew...had it not been for the fact that Bathory had been playing with her...it could have just as easily been her who'd been cut to shreds. "Forgive me Takeshi...Daichi. You deserved someone stronger than me." she thought clenching her jaw.
Maka had been watching the entire scene with a sense of unreality.Whatwere these twisted beings? They were like no other evil human or kishin they'd ever faced before. "It's not black blood...that blood...it was red. It also crystallized...the black blood did not crystallize..." she said narrowing her eyes on Bathory. "Lord Death will not have any issues if we take out the three subordinates. Illayna was sent after Bathory and Bathory alone. So long as we do not interfere in that singular battle...it should be alright." she said feeling her partners fingers tighten around her hand. Quickly re-adjusting her grip on her husbands hand she gripped him and pulled as he shifted into his weapon form. Gripping the staff with both of her hands she smiled. "It's been awhile." she said staring at the cruel edge of the blade. She rubbed one hand along the smooth staff before nodding to herself. Casually she walked over to stand next to Illayna. "I'll take care of the three stooges. You just worry about Bathory." she said staring at her opponents. "They should provide me and soul with enough of a work-out. Let Soul vent some of his agitation at being pulled out to work on his honeymoon." she said smiling without any real amusement.
Illayna started when Maka spoke to her. When she looked over her eyes widened. The infamous team, Soul and Maka. She could feel the power and the harmony of their souls, she was glad that they were onherside. "Alright. Thank you." she said smiling gratefully. "Well, thats one less worry. Lets do our bit, Takeshi, Daichi." she said taking a deep breath. She chanced another glance at them. Scythe Meister Maka and Deathscythe Soul...a truly frightening pair. Maka stood there with a negligent ease that was enviable. As if the coming battle meant absolutely nothing to her. She gripped her weapon with the same casual dis-regard that spoke of an endless ennui. A hunter thats been called out to slaughter a hapless rat. The vision made her once again thankful that they were on her side. She did not envy anyone who became an enemy of Maka and Soul. She turned back to her primary target, Bathory. "You won't be seeing any blood standing over there." she said with a polished smile.
Erzsbet glanced at the newcomers and eyed them curiously. They were a powerful pair. She'd gain a lot by eating her. But, she couldn't turn away from eating a virgin. The prospect was almost too much for her to bear. "Fenrec, Ficzko and Dorothea....keep her busy for me. Make sure...she doesn't interrupt me and the virgin." she said licking her lips. Before waiting for a response she rushed at Illayna, for the first time...initiating the fight.
Illayna knew she couldn't dodge so she did the only thing she could think of, she crossed her arms over her chest and felt the air knocked from her body when Bathory struck her. She knew she was being flung backwards but she could still feel Erzsebets hands on her and knew that she was intentionally pushing her away from Maka and her subordinates. It lasted only a few seconds but it felt so much longer before she felt her body slammed into some crates on the far side of the building. She gasped and her eyes flew open in shock. The crates behind her broke on impact. She slid to the floor struggling to get air into her lungs. Each breath she struggled to get in was painful. She looked at the woman whose beauty hid a sadistic, cruel and psychotic nature. When she could manage to breath without the pain she stood up and went after Bathory.
Maka glanced in the direction that Illayna had been, well, thrown too. "Well...she's alive." she thought twirling soul idly. She looked back to her opponents "So whose first? Or will you all rush me at once? I suppose if you did that...you'd have a slightly increased chance of survival. Not much...but certainly better than attacking one by one." she said. It wasn't boasting or bragging, just a simple statement of the facts. She brought her weapon to rest across her shoulders and tilted her head slightly waiting for the attack. Unconcerned as ever about the odds she found herself in she just...waited. "What do you think Soul? How long should they last? Two...three...five? Minutes?" she said appearing to seriously contemplate the subject.
Off in the distance everyone could hear Bathory's sick laughter echoing around the building.
human
Soul::Takeshi Yamaguchi::Daichi Yamaguchi::Ferenc Nadasdy::Ficzko::Dorothea Szentes
Fenrec's breathing grew heavier, more primal as the urge to tear this woman apart grew within him; like his beloved, his clawed fingers were stained with blood that he'd spilled. And it seemed fresh too, like he'd just killed something recently. And it was true; the 'torture method' Dorothea had tested involved some rather 'creative' uses of his sharpened digits. However, all thoughts of wanting to smear this bratty little girl across the floor for her comment disappeared when Bathory chastised him. This was her fun, and he wouldn't be able to call himself her lover if he went around spoiling her surprises. Besides, he wanted to hear the bitch scream...Scream and scream until her throat grew raw and bled from the exertion. "As you wish, Lady Bathory; I'll simply store it for later" Ficzko replied in his ever-so-polite yet curt tone; the lid to the teapot was removed and the blood poured back before being sealed up again. When Bathory distinctly made her pointed remark at the three of them for 'interrupting' her, Dorothea and Fenrec flinched; Ficzko, however, just gave a small bow of the head and replied, "Apologies, m'lady; we only wish to look out for your best interests".
However, in Illayna's mind Daichi and Takeshi were trying to calm their partner down; though if one were to hear the actual dialogue it might seem like Daichi was actually trying to do that."Jeez, no need to get all sappy and mope; all that's going to do is get us killed"was Takeshi's direct statement to his Meister."Takeshi, there's no need for that...""What? It's like Soul said...We're her partners for a reason. We're going to find a way to break this freak, but you need to focus, Illayna"Daichi was stunned; he realized, however, that he was being straightforward as always. Many times, his indiscretion in vocabulary got him in trouble, but the guy was right.
Soul, meanwhile, watched the world through the eye at the heel of hisWeapon form; it was true what Maka said, as it was the same thought going through his mind. But still, if need be, he would defend that Illayna keep the soul of this wicked monster; if what Illayna said was true, then the initial objective was to only engage Bathory. Maybe Death knew of this?"This could be why Death asked us to be here...In case this happened. Guess it was good we decided to go to Martinique..."the Deathscythe mused aloud in Maka's mind. Maka was right though; it was as if the blood was a slave to Bathory's commands, much unlike Ragnarok and Crona's relationship. But, he knew that it would be up to Illayna for now to try to find a weakness in the Evil Human's armor.
The eyeless man, however, shook with indignation; once a former soldier, he realized that the path to true strength lay not under the rules and thumb of some General, but of his volition. And these brats dared speak to him to in such a manner? "You. Skinny flat bitch. Once I tear your throat out, I'm going to enjoy violating whatever's left of your virgin friend. And then I'll violate you..." Dorothea snickered, "Oh my, has the petite little thing struck a nerve, Ferenc? You usually like to play with your opponents, much like our dear Lady". Ferenc snorted, "It's because of their indignant tones...Thinking they're above me. They only do it because they're afraid...". At this Ficzko spoke up, "Ferenc, you really must control your temper" "Shut your mouth, servant! Or you'll find your blood on my hands as well..." "Dear Sir, you and I both know that's highly unlikely..." the butler Evil Human stated coolly. Dorothea, meanwhile, turned her attention back to Maka, saying with her creepy wide-mouth grin, "Oh my...I wonder if you're a virgin as well. No, your relationship already ran that course, hasn't it? I wonder how your partner will feel when he watches the one person he cares about scream in agony". Ferenc, however, eventually grew tired of the stalling and bellowed, "God, all of you just shut up! I'm going to kill this bitch!"
What came next was a rather horrifying transformation; the skin over his mouth seemed to literally pull apart, revealing a mouth full of misaligned sharp teeth. His body rapidly grew in size to double what it was previously, causing visible tears in the skin and exposed much of his underlying muscle tissue. The crimson-stained nails grew in length to become talons and the pants he wore were quickly torn to shorts; however, it wasn't long before Ferenc charged at the Weapon-Meister team, clearly intent on using his mass to try and crush the two of them."Jeez...A standard raging Evil Human. Like a sluggish version of Jack the Ripper...What a drag"Soul muttered; honestly, after helping Maka face down Asura, Evil Humans like this were nothing. Almost pitiable, even. Dorothea was about to join in as well, but felt a hand on her shoulder. Then came Ficzko's voice, "No, my friend...Let Ferenc have his moment""Besides, that brute has upset Lady Bathory far too many times for my liking"he added as an afterthought; his mind wandered back to all those times her 'husband' deprived his mistress of her enjoyment as he progressively lost control of his rage. No, he knew Ferenc would not survive; and Bathory would be better off without that nuisance anyhow. But he would serve a purpose here: Once the first strike was dealt, he would have an idea of what their power was.
Meanwhile, Daichi and Takeshi felt the gross contact of this woman on them; it was like being covered in slime."Man, she's disgusting...But at least it's just her we have to deal with now"Daichi commented, to which Takeshi added,"I fucking hate this freak; all she's doing is toying with us! What kind of sick demented person gets their jollies off crap like this?!""Someone who's not really a 'person' anymore; Bathory's completely given herself over to her darkest desires. She's an empty shell...And a dangerous one at that". As Illayna charged towards Bathory, trying to land a hit on the depraved demoness, Daichi tried to think of a way to use Illayna's Wavelength Control to an advantage they could use."There's gotta be something...But what? We managed to surprise her before, we can do it again".
gpt
Maka :: Illayna Meoih :: Erzsebet Bathory
In the warehouse metal clashed on crystal and the sounds of splintering wood and voices reverberated around the big building. The knife meister, Illayna faced off with the dangerous evil human, Erzsebet Bathory. Unlike the vast majority of Evil Humans she was able to speak and plan her attacks, was able to toy with her victims. She had patience, coherent trains of thought -if somewhat twisted- she was able to fight using more than just her instincts. She was an Evil Human to be sure but not one that you'd encounter every day. Nor the kind you'd ever encounter in a lifetime. It was all Illayna could do to defend against her. Erzsebet had gotten rougher with her and was now injuring her but she was still toying with her. Still playing with her food. It was like she was waiting for something to happen. Illayna slid back a few feet before coming to a stop. "I can't cut her..." she thought trying to control her rapid breathing. She wasn't sure how long the actual fight had been -it could't have been very long- but it felt like she'd been fighting this woman for hours. Her clothes were ripped and shredded, she was cut up and bruised, and a cold sweat beaded her forehead and fell down the side of her face to drip off her chin. And yet, Bathory looked none the worse for wear. She didn't even look like she was tiring. "Damn it." she mentally cursed gripping the hilt of the blades tighter.
"But my, don't you look delightful my dear Illayna." she cooed licking one of her blood bladed fingers. "Why don't you bleed for me?" she asked looking at Illayna's battered skin. She seemed almost disappointed at the lack of blood dripping from her wounds. "Maybe I'm not cutting deep or hard enough...." she said to herself. She looked down at her bladed fingers and pricked the top of her breast, she saw the blood well up before hardening. She pursed her lips, they were certainly sharp enough. She looked back at Illayna "So why won't you bleed?" she said almost angrily as if chastising a child for doing some wrong.
Illayna watched her and furrowed her eyes looking down at her own body. She really ought to have been bleeding by now. "What the...." she thought watching the evil human. "Even if I do manage to cut her...the blood would just harden into more armor...." she said looking down at her weapons. "What am I supposed to do here? " she thought frustrated. She wasn't sure if Takeshi was right. She didn't think she would be able to break and kill Bathory. How could she possibly pull off something like that when she couldn't even do a Soul Resonance with her weapons? At that an idea formed in her mind, something that could possibly work to give her an opening. "Daichi...Takeshi....I have a plan. Now I need you two to listen to me here." she said as the idea became more solid in her mind.
Elsewhere in the building, Maka and Soul faced off against three other evil humans. Servants and followers of Bathory. Maka surreptitiously surveyed the three left standing, she knew the ones called Ferenc and Dorothea wouldn't pose a single problem. Even before turning soul into a Deathscythe they had managed evil humans like them without even breaking a sweat. She wasn't sure what to do about the man dressed as a butler. He could possibly pose a work-out. "Knowing Death, this is probably exactly why he asked us to tag along." she said with a little smile. "Lets go to Martinique, nice quiet scenery. Perfect for relaxing." she said quoting her own words. "Well, I suppose even we might get a little rusty without some practice." she said laughing. Her body remained relaxed and her fingers rested lightly on the staff of her weapon. "I think of them all the only one who might pose a challenge is the butler looking one." she thought, mentally talking to Soul.
"Yeah, well lets get it over with." she said responding to him. She watched the one called ferenc charge at them. To her he seemed to move almost in slow motion. She could see every movement in great detail, every muscle movement. When he was mere inches away her body reacted immediately, tensing up she spun away on one foot out of his way and let him charge by recklessly. In the same fluid movement she brought Soul down from her shoulders and brought him around, catching the wild human in the curve of the blade, his own momentum pushing him against the cruel, sharp curve of the blade. With little effort on her part Maka pulled Soul clean through, effectively destroying the Evil human. She watched his body disperse until only his soul remained. Returning to her previous position with the staff resting across her shoulders Maka turned to the other two. "Who is next?" she asked. "I really think if you want to have a chance you two should attack me at the same time. Who knows, maybe one of you will even manage to injure me." she said with an insincere smile.
"Since it seems that simply trying to cut her would only create more of that armor; I believe we need to stab her in just the right places. To accomplish this, I believe we could use our other technique. Create our copy as it were." she thought looking at her surroundings. "I'll make a run for it, find some place to hide. We can create the double. Let Bathory attack that one....we can find an opening to attack her from there. I think it's our only chance." she thought pursing her lips and taking a small step back. "I'm going to make a break for it soon. I need you two to get ready to do this." she said taking another small step back.
"Is the kitty scared?" she asked when she noticed her take a small step back. "Good, you should be afraid. Very afraid indeed. I commend you for facing your own imminent death with such calm determination thus far. But it was never to last. Fear has a way of creeping up inside of us." she said her voice pitched low. Illayna turned and fled, the sound of Bathory's laughter echoing behind her. "YES, KITTY! FLEE! RUN! BUT I'LL FIND YOU IN THE END AND YOU WILL BE MINE!!" she hollered, excitement humming in her words.
human
Soul::Takeshi Yamaguchi::Daichi Yamaguchi::Ferenc Nadasdy::Ficzko::Dorothea Szentes
This battle just won't end, both of the Weapon brothers thought; they knew Evil Humans could be inhumanly powerful, but this one...Illayna should have been able to hurt her a lot more. What could one do, when the opponent had apparently complete control over the blood in their own body? And Illayna's body was taking a beating; thankfully, she wasn't losing any blood, so it was just physical fatigue."You think...maybe we're in over our heads this time?"Daichi asked to both Illayna and Takeshi, the former replying"No way in hell; everything breaks at some point and we're going to find out. We just gotta figure out where to hit her....Any suggestions?"This earned a groan from Daichi;
Though both were relatively surprised at the sudden change in hostility; she was pissed theyweren'tbleeding? Oh right, she wanted to see their blood now. The brothers felt a collective shiver run over them as Bathory then seemed to chastise them for not bleeding."Maybe you should try harder, freak!""Maybe you should try harder, freak!"both of them said simultaneously, the steel still ever-present in their voices. Illayna's mention of a plan only served to sharpen their focus; while nothing was said, an increased connection with their wavelengths would be felt by Illayna and serve as confirmation that they were with her.
Meanwhile, Soul and Maka were getting ready to deal with the first of Bathory's stooges; it was like someone put the world to quarter-speed for them, as Ferenc's charge was painfully slow to watch. "I'LL PULL YOUR LIMBS OFF ONE BY ONE, FLAT-CHESTED BITCH!" was the monster's bellow while he closed the distance, his massive arms raising over his head to beat them down as he came to within one step of Maka's body; little did the poor bastard know what that would mean for him, as he wouldn't get even a ghost of a chance to act upon his threats. His mass carried him forward, even as he felt the edge of the scythe on his gut; in one swift motion, the blade was pulled clean through and killed him instantly. The legs seemed to run forward of their own volition for a few steps while the upper body just floated; both then simply...disappeared into dust, leaving that crusty, darkened soul that was a Kishin Egg."Yeah...The butler doesn't feel right; something's off about him. It was like he wanted Ferenc to attack first; you think he was using him to gauge us?"Soul replied to his partner, Ferenc's corrupted soul hovering behind them.
Needless to say, Ficzko was utterly disappointed and his face reflected that; well, that was a complete waste. He knew Ferenc would not last for long, but surely he could have lasted longer? A few seconds was hardly enough time to get a proper reading; Dorothea then said in quite a malevolent tone, "Well, there goes Ferenc! About time too; his anger was starting to aggravate me". Ficzko nodded and removed his hand from Dorothea's shoulder, adding in a neutral tone, "Indeed. I doubt Lady Bathory will miss him much, anyway. Still, he did serve one useful purpose: We must be careful. Seems these two are far unlike other Death Weapon teams we've encountered" "You actually got a read?" Dorothea queried in a surprised manner; Ficzko nodded and replied "Not much of one, but I could tell they're strong. Very strong and very harmonized with one another; I guess it's good that Lady Bathory refused this sample I brought".
Dorothea turned her attention back to Maka and Soul; if Ficzko felt he had to step in to deal with them, then they must be powerful. "Dorothea...Mind the spread, would you? Try to not interrupt Lady Bathory's fun" she heard Ficzko say behind her, the butler holding the teapot in front of him and looking like he was ready to pour whatever was inside into the hand below its spout. "Yes, yes...I assume we'll be starting off with that?" Dorothea asked, the excitement prevalent in her tone as Ficzko responded "We are, but we should up its potency a little". Ficzko then took the lid off the teapot; a slight suction could be felt before the soul of Ferenc zipped past Maka and Soul, joining the liquid within and his resealing the teapot."Not right, what are you planning? Maka, be ready"Soul warned; he could feel their wavelengths growing more intense, they were going to attack soon.
Ficzko then poured out some of the blood in the teapot into a cupped hand; his fingers then closed and opened again to reveal that a crystal-growth version of the blood now lay in his palm,several pointed crystal fingers emerging from a cusp where they all joined. What was even weirder was that his gloves weren't even stained, especially given that he made several more of those strange crystals; could he control blood too? Soul readied himself to perform Noise Cancelling, the piano needed rising up in front of him; without warning, Ficzko then threw them at Maka and Soul. Again, nothing they couldn't avoid; however the biggest surprise came when Dorothea let out an ear-shattering scream. What Soul saw made it even stranger; the energy in the scream focused only on the crystals, shattering them at the cusp and essentially transforming them into scattershot rounds."Maka, move!"Soul shouted; he quickly honed in on the frequency of Dorothea's scream and played "Adiago of the Soul", making the scream dull rapidly before being silenced altogether. While the duo was distracted with trying to dodge the projectiles, Ficzko poured more blood out into a puddle on the floor and after stepping into it, simply vanished from sight.
gpt
Maka :: Illayna Meoih :: Erzsebet Bathory
Maka was now more than certain that Lord Death had anticipated this. Even if the girl had been competent enough to take on Bathory, there was no way she could have fought her and this strange butler. Perhaps if it had only been the brainless beast she'd just killed...but not her and this butler combined. The butler was just as odd as his mistress was. Both evil. But neither of them were your normal evil humans. She and soul had killed a few Evil humans who could at least speak and rationalize some but...the extent of Bathory and the Butlers abilities were quite astonishing. Her body reacted reflexively dodging the shattered pieces of crystal. She'd been momentarily thrown off guard when the woman had screeched like that. And she'd been curious about what they were doing, she knew soul would deal with the screaming woman but something about it all bothered her. He didn't seem the type to attack aimlessly and yet surely he would have known that this kind of attack wouldn't have done much against them. So what was he up to? Maka kept her eyes on him while she jumped off to the side to avoid being hit. As she landed on her feet she sank low and spun in a circle deflecting the crystals.
She only caught a glimpse of what happened to the butler but she knew that he'd only been attempting to distract them. And it had worked. Soul had already neutralized the screaming woman. Without hesitation maka moved forward at a surprising speed and brought the scythe down on the woman cutting through her body diagonally. There was a moment of silence before the woman disappeared around the kishin egg. If they were to play his game then she was going to make sure to remove at least one of his pieces. "I can't believe I fell for it..." she thought to soul. She clenched tighter to her scythe and brought it up into a slightly defensive stance while she focused around herself, waiting for something to happen. "What is he planning..." she thought.
Illayna rounded another corner. Her breathing was heavy and rapid coming in gasps as she ran through the mazes of boxes. How far should she go? Where should it be done? She felt the tension in her blades and knew the twins were waiting on her and ready to back up her plan. "This should be good enough...." she thought. She could feel what was left of her clothes clinging to the sweat that had covered her from the fighting and running. And a bit from fear. She felt drained of all power and energy. As if she'd been fighting and running for days. She rolled her shoulders and took a deep breath trying to calm her heart and get her breathing back under control. Her focus spiked up and she let out a long slow breath and closed her eyes, concentrating on what she was doing. It wasn't really a skill that was meant to be rushed but it was her only chance at the moment.
If it didn't work, well the outcome of the battle would be decided fairly quickly. She was no match for bathory in a one on one fight. She needed something to give her an advantage.
"Come back kitten." she crooned. She'd watched her run off. She'd decided to wait a little before pursuing her. She always loved a good chase. Made the capture so much more exciting. She could feel her pulse kick up a notch at the prospect and almost felt the orgasmic thrill of the kill explode through her body but the lack of blood kept her from that pleasure. "She's tough, I'll give her that. I don't think anyone has ever held out this long against me without losing even a single drop of blood." she said with a bit of irritation. She felt an unfamiliar sensation pass through her and then again a few moments later. She'd never felt it before but she knew what it signified. She frowned and looked over in the general direction she'd left the other three and the other meister. She hadn't really cared at the time but feeling it now...she was certain those three hadn't stood a chance. "Ah, well, Ficzko might." she thought.
She didn't seem to care that she had lost the other two. Turning away from it she began to walk slowly among the crates smiling. She'd make her bleed. There was no one that could come before her and not spill their blood. No one. "Oh where are you?" she asked in a sing-song voice. "Come out, come out wherever you are~!" she continued. She would either be hiding in terror or try a sneak attack. Those were her only two options anyways. She wasn't sure which she wanted more. Either way sounded delightful. She wandered around for a bit longer before her irritation got the better of her and she started destroying everything in her way.
Illayna could hear the destruction. She was coming closer; she knew she should have run farther along. Bathory would come upon her any moment. She winced with every crack she heard of the splintering wood. And occasionally shiver when she managed to hear the laughter that followed every destructive sound.
"So, this is where you've been kitten?" She said as she came upon the meister in a corner of the warehouse. "So neither hiding in fear nor a sneak attack. You were setting a trap." she said amused. "What a clever kitten." she said raising her arm up.
Illayna spun around and brought her blades up in a defensive motion. As her arms came down on the blades she kicked out her leg and caught Bathory in the back of the knees. Caught off guard she began to collapse to the floor, taking the momentary advantage, Illayna brought the hilt of her blades around striking Bathory in the back of the head and at the same moment flipped over her opponent stepping on her back and using her as jumping board enabling her to get into a wider area. Bathory unable to act at the quick attack felt her face and body smash into the cemented ground. She stayed there a moment before slowly lifting herself up and dusting herself off. She turned slowly around and faced the meister with hooded eyes. Illayna stood a few feet away defensively holding her blades up. Bathory felt like something was wrong.
It was true that cornered animals often attacked suddenly she knew that much but this felt different. And she looked way too calm to be a cornered animal. It could mean she was serious now? Or something happened to make her more confident. "So this is how you feel? That hurts." she said. Sharpening her crystal fingers she screamed and lunged at the woman.
Illayna reacted as if reflexively, defending against the evil womans blows. And the more she blocked and struck back the more enraged bathory became. "JUST WHAT IS GOING ON!?" she yelled completely enraged at the turn of events. This shouldNOTbe happening. She was just a CHILD. A child who'd be terrified of and barely holding her own against her moments before. SO WHAT HAD HAPPENED!? In her rage she began to attack blindly which only gave illayna more of an edge which infuriated her even more.
A distance away high atop some large crates Illayna watched and evaluated the battle with some interest. "Well, thats interesting. " she murmured. Things were so much easier -it seemed- when you had no emotions to speak of. Illayna continued to watch the progression of the fight and more importantly, watched Bathorys movements. Illayna had managed to successfully create her doppelganger and had left her in that spot acting as if she were trying to accomplish something while Illayna herself found a place in which to watch the fight. "You understand what this means, right?" she mentally asked her two weapons. With this she might be able to get the upper hand. Though she'd feel more comfortable if they could preform a soul resonance. "When we get back...we are doing some very serious training." she thought sighing.
human
Soul::Takeshi Yamaguchi::Daichi Yamaguchi::Ficzko
Ficzko was mildly pleased at the outcome of the technique; he'd expected her to react exactly as she did, but the fact that she even struck some of the projectiles and shattered them further was an added bonus. All that would do was allow him to attack across an even wider area. However, the loss of Dorothea would prove troublesome, as now he had to contend with this team by himself."Never was much good in single combat; still, she served her mistress well. You will be missed dear friend"the butler mused mentally, his corporeal form now hidden in a pocket dimension. Between her and that blasted husband of Bathory, he always held Dorothea in high regard; unlike Ferenc, she actually tried to make Lady Bathory as happy as possible. But that would have to wait; unseen eyes peered from the shattered bits of crystal - which by now had melted into small circlets of blood - and watched the Meisters every move. Like a predator in the shadow, he would have to wait for the opportunity.
"Don't worry about that now...It was obviously a distraction tactic. He's still here....But now it feels like his wavelength is all over the room. Can't pinpoint it"Soul replied; Maka was right though. This was going to be troublesome if they didn't find him soon. As Maka peered around the room, Soul's vision extended through the eye at the scythe's heel to provide another degree of visibility; last thing they needed was this freak giving them a surprise attack. Of course, even with the extra coverage there was still a blind spot, something that Ficzko would certainly exploit given the chance.
Or he would if he were not currently also concerned with how Lady Bathory was acting; she seemed to be losing herself in her bloodlust. Naturally, he would expect her to be a tad upset that she had yet to draw a single drop of blood from the nubile young woman; however, if she became anymore agitated she would leave herself open. And strong as she was, she wasnt invincible; there certainly was a way to kill her. If the Meister he was facing was in fact Bathorys opponent, he had a sinking feeling that she wouldnt last a second.Need to finish this quickly and help my lady...the butler muttered in his mind; time was now a factor and he needed to go on the offensive.
Meanwhile Takeshi and Daichi watched with their Meister as Bathory battled with Illaynas double; it wasnt a technique she used lightly. It took a large toll on her and would only last for a short while.Jeez..Talk about a hell of an Evil Human. She looks.Daichi started to say, but Takeshi interruptedThat thing aint a she no more, bro; its nothing more than an animal now. Started that way when it consumed its first human soul. Of course, what he said was true.Still, he didnt have to sound so cold about it. But then again, Takeshi was the more brutally honest of the twoHe always had been.
Alright then.Any suggestions on how to put it down?Daichi inquired; Takeshi gave a short No as his response. What could they do? Illaynas double wouldnt last foreverPlus, both of them noticed that the butler Maka was facing had disappeared. But he wouldnt be gone for long, as they would soon find out.
From in front of Maka, one of the small circlets of blood rose and seemed to boil before taking form in the shape of the butler himself; it was like he rose from the puddle like a damned zombie. Hello, dear. Looking for me were you? Soul couldnt help but frown; what the hell was this guy playing at? First he disappears, then he just shows up in front of them for no sound reason? Not rightNot right at all.Be careful, MakaSomething about this guys is REALLY off. But thats not him. At least, not his real bodySoul informed his partner/wife. Ficzko continued, Whats the matter? Surely dealing with partners couldnt have frightened you that much, given how easily you dispatched them. In a surprising turn, he then stated, But I really must thank you for dealing with Ferenc; that unkempt brute was truly a thorn in my Ladys side for some time. Cant say the same for Dorothea, though; I was actually quite fond of her. She had such a..zest..for her craft, reminded me a lot of Lady Bathory, she did.
As he spoke on, from behind the pair another small puddle rose up noiselessly from the ground and formed into a shining crimson blade. At this Ficzko grinned, And Im afraid I really cant forgive you for that. As the blade rushed forward, Takeshi and Daichi ignored their Meisters comments and shouted simultaneously Look out! even though Maka wouldnt be able to hear them. However, within the Black Room Souls finger struck the 44th key of the piano, causing the blood-blade to fragment and dissolve harmlessly. Not even a spatter would touch Makas form as the blood seemed to fall right back to where it had come from.AmateurDid he really think that was going to workSoul commented lazily; it was a fairly classic ploy. Talk to the enemy to distract them, then strike from behind. How many times had they seen that strategy. SoSomehow youre able to disrupt my ability by sending a small pulse of your Wavelength that neutralizes my own. And to do so with such precision.Well done Ficzko commented; Soul smirked. So it had a been a test. He was trying to feel them out. The butlers clone smiled toothily, Guess that means Ill have to try harder.
With that, the double seemed to just fall apart and go back into the floor like a phantom; this was going to be a pain in the ass.Maka, when this is overDo you mind if I pick the next vacation spot?he then asked in a joking manner; it wasnt like they were expecting to get called as support for another Meisters mission. At this, the butlers voice echoed across the room,Lets see how well your precision holds upFrom every direction at onceAround Maka and Soul, the puddles of blood seemed to have moved; instead of just being on the floor and walls, they were even on the ceiling and more evenly-spaced. And within seconds, small darts came shooting out of each one, hurtling towards the team. Soul got to work, his fingers starting to fly across the keys; hed manage to shatter most of the darts, but Maka would have to act fast to avoid getting hit by all the rest.
gpt
Maka :: Illayna Meoih :: Erzsebet Bathory
Illayna furrowed her brows as she watched her double fight the demented human known as Bathory. She was so engrossed in her observations that she completely missed the conversation going on between Taichi and Daichi. She pursed her lips and watched Bathory's movements very carefully. She noticed the once composed woman was nearing a frenzied rage, becoming more and more like any other ordinary Evil Human. Losing her ability to think and plan her attacks would be a huge advantage for them. Still, the armored blood would be a problem, it was hard enough to deflect her Weapons. She watched as Bathory threw back her head and let out an earsplitting screech of frustration. She felt the vibrations from the scream pass through her and shuddered involuntarily. "And I have to keep her from cutting me on top of it all...." she thought frowning. She knew that if she were to bleed now that it would be over. She wasn't certain how she knew that but she knew it.
She felt her mind go hazy from exhaustion; creating that double did indeed take a lot out of her and wasn't something she liked to use. In fact it was a technique that only had two extremes; Victory or Death. If you used it carelessly, it would drain you completely and you'd be a sitting target for your enemy once the technique wore off. She shook her head and was about to say something when she heard Taichi and Daichi scream in perfect unison. Illayna's eyes widened in surprise and without thinking she turned to look over at where Maka and Soul were fighting. She watched the blade hurtle towards them and was about to scream herself when the blade suddenly dissolved. "Huh..." she murmured. Something about the battle of theirs seemed different. When she looked around she realized that two of the Evil Humans were nowhere to be seen. "Did they already take care of the other two?!" she thought incredulously. "That was fast..." she whispered. She watched them a moment longer before turning her attention back to Bathory and her double.
"I suggest you two worry more about us than Maka and Soul. Those two can deal with just about anything..." she said trailing off. There had to be a weakness. Therehadto be. "Watch closely, she has to have some weakness, I need your help to spot it. My vision is getting a bit...hazy." she said clenching her teeth.
Maka licked her lips and smiled lazily. "Obviously." she murmured looking around herself. "Looks like we can work off some of the rust thats accumulated on us." she said looking at the wicked curve of the blade. Maka flicked her gaze in the direction of Bathory and Illayana and her brows raised. "Impressive." she thought. There weren't many Meisters who could pull of a stunt like that. She turned her head and watched as a pool of blood began to roil and bubble slowly working itself into the form of the butler. She lowered her weapon and stared at the copy with a derisive smile. "I do think he's underestimating us." she murmured. There was no way either of them would fall for this. It was obvious that, that was not his real body. She only half listened to him talk, the majority of her focus was elsewhere, trying to pin-point where his actual body was. She heard Soul hit the key to the piano and flicked a glance back to the copy. "I don't like how he's playing with us." she thought.
At Soul's words a genuine smile tugged at her lips. "If I didn't know any better I'd say you weren't enjoying yourself. And here I thought we were having a good time." she said with a small laugh. "But if you insist I don't mind if you pick the next location. But you know, I have the feeling that no matter where we go, we'll always manage to get dragged into things like this." she thought affectionately. "Seems to be our lot in life. We'll just have to make up for it in...other ways." she thought with an innocent smile.
The smile slowly disappeared from her mouth as the pools of blood formed all around them. "Fool..." she thought. As the sharp blood blades flew from the puddles she heard Soul begin to play. His playing shattered a good majority but she knew even before he'd begun to play that he'd never shatter them all.
She wouldn't be able to dodge them, not this many but she could easily deflect them. Without a moments hesitation she began to spin on the ball of her one foot and started twirling her scythe. The movement was graceful and fluid nearly matching the tune that soul was playing on the piano. The blades hit the scythe with a harmless "clang" before falling to the ground. The few that made it through the whirling blade passed by without hitting her. It seemed almost unfair how easily they had managed to deal with that attack and come away completely unscathed. When the darts stopped, so did Maka. She stopped twirling the blade and brought it to rest across her shoulders. "Well, that was fun. But I think my clothes might have gotten a few tears." she said with a mocking smile. "Now, come out. It's bad manners to leave a guest waiting. Invited or not. And you call yourself a butler? Shameful." she said looking around. "If you want to finish us off you're going to have to attack us yourself. Your little tricks won't work." she said with a falsely cheerful smile. "Otherwise I fear you'll be stuck in a stand-off with me while your dear lady turns into a normal raving beast and is killed off by Illayna." she said as if commenting on the weather.
She was losing herself. Slowly she was giving into the instincts of the Evil Human. Her thoughts consumed with the singular thought of cutting her pretty flesh and letting the crimson blood flow forth. She'd stopped planning her attacks, stopped speaking, stopped doing everything except attacking. And as her mind fell into that of an animal, cracks began forming along her crystallized armor. When the double attacked, her blades dug into the crystallized armor instead of bouncing off harmlessly. Chunks of the blood crystal fell, liquefying as they hit the concrete floor.
human
Soul::Takeshi Yamaguchi::Daichi Yamaguchi::Ficzko
Soul just grimaced as the attack continued; it wasn't all that hard to shatter the needles, but even with his skill level there were so many that he couldn't shatter them. And that was also part of what was bothering him; he should have been able to completely negate the attack altogether. But it was like each individual needle held its own Wavelength...But that couldn't be possible. No one's control was THAT precise. But he didn't really have to worry about it; his partner deftly deflected all but a number of needles she could count on one hand. And even then, none of them managed to do more than create small tears in her outfit.
Still, her banter made him grin and reply"Oh, I am having fun...It's like you said, even we could get rusty without some practice. I just kind of wish they'd give us more of a break; you'd think having "destroyed a Kishin" on a resume would be enough to make them steer clear". His tone grew a little more serious," But you're probably right; even after Asura was destroyed, all it did was give us a temporary reprieve. If what Shinigami said is true, it's likely that other Evil Humans will want to try replacing him with themselves. We'll probably be working even while we're traveling around the world...Still never did figure out why they were here in Martinique, though. Kinda figured it'd be the last place someone like Bathory or this guy would show up".
Ficzko, meanwhile, was growing more agitated; while it wasn't a technique he used often, every time he had used it resulted in his opponent being turned into a living pincushion. He couldn't afford to waste more time with these two; without at least Dorothea to back him up, he was severely outclassed. Through one of the blood circlets on the ceiling, he could see his Lady turning more primal; this was bad and he knew it. Lady Bathory was deadly like this, but she risked the stability of her armor for increased attack power. Even worse was when the Meister's duplicate seemed to sink its knives into the hardened blood."No"he muttered; he knew how to save his Lady, even if it would hurt him gravely. But there was nothing he wouldn't do to ensure his mistress' happiness. And with that, he put his emergency plan to work.
Daichi and Takeshi still watched with their master; they could feel Illayna's Wavelength starting to falter. She was using too much of this technique; Daichi then stated in a genuine concerned tone,"Illayna, be careful. Don't overdo it". Takeshi then replied,"Gag me with a spoon". This noticeably angered Daichi,"Hey, she's doing the best she can. It's not wrong to make sure she doesn't stress herself!". Takeshi let out a 'Pfft' sound and stated coolly,"If she didn't want to stress herself, she shouldn't have used this technique for this long. She knows the consequences, she doesn't need you to coddle her". Daichi then shouted,"You don't have to be a dick about it; and if you bothered to look, you'd see that Bathory is getting sloppy! Illayna, we should move now!"Takeshi shifted his focus, and sure enough, Illayna's double had actually managed to sink its blades into Bathory's armor.
"Who you calling a dick, asshole!? I call things how I see it; besides, it was a batshit plan to begin with.""Better than anything you came up with!""I didn't exactly hear you being helpful either, Mister Military General!"The back-and-forth of these two would certainly show a deficiency in getting along, and would certainly need to be addressed when, as Illayna had suggested, they did more serious training.
From all around the room, Ficzko's voice played, "Unfortunately for you, my annoying little friend, our time together has grown short. I believe it's time for me to show you the way out...As a proper butler must do when his Lady does not want guests any longer". All at once, multiple copies of Ficzko's own body formed from the blood that spattered around them. All in all, there were eleven of them, thick blades of gleaming blood protruding from his fingertips much in the manner that Lady Bathory's nails did. And with that, he released a no-holds-barred barrage against the weapon-Meister team; what made it worse was they were even faster than one might expect, something that would surely give even someone as athletic as Maka a good runaround. Soul began to play once more; the strange trait of tonal variation in the Wavelength made a return, but even still the closest one to Maka shattered like glass."He's getting desperate, Maka; his Wavelength just got more intense"he then informed his partner, swiftly shattering another blood clone to fragments.
However, as the two knife Weapons argued, a thirteenth clone suddenly appeared from above them and rushed Illayna; Takeshi took notice of this and forcibly removed himself from Weapon form. Shoving his Meister and brother to the side, the butler's blood blades sunk into his shoulder and forced a cry from him before Ficzko wound up his free hand to drive the other blades into his gut."TAKESHI! ILLAYNA, TAKE HIM DOWN!"Daichi shouted. Unbeknownst to them, Illayna's double vanished before reappearing with another apparent copy of her; to Bathory, it might seem like the original article. 'Illayna' then charged Bathory, ready to strike but leaving herself somewhat open to a vicious counterattack."Forgive me, m'Lady..."Ficzko then said; he knew what he had to do and he would not hesitate in the consequences of his actions.
gpt
Maka :: Illayna Meoih :: Erzsebet Bathory
"You're assuming that they think logically." she pointed out with a wry smile. "They have been called many things. Sensible is not one of them." she thought while they waited for whatever the butler might try next. "Yeah, I don't think rust would really suit you soul. Definitely wouldn't look as cool in your weapon form." she said with a genuine laugh. "Not only do we have other evil humans who wish to replace Asura but they also wish to destroy us. It would give them a certain degree of bragging rights. If they could beat us, the ones who destroyed Asura, well...I'm sure you can guess where that's going." she said with a little sigh. "Well, perhaps they came here for that very reason. I mean when you think about it had we not already been vacationing here it's likely her spree would have been relatively unnoticed for awhile. It is a rather secluded place and so it's a very good hunting ground." she thought with a little shrug.
"Cut it out the both of you!" she mentally interjected into their argument. "It was a last ditch effort. It was a plan formed out of desperation, I know what the consequences of this move are. Believe it or not I didn't just decide to use this technique on a whim. I did weigh my options carefully." she thought. She didn't mention that the longer she had fought Bathory the more certain she was that she was about to die. She'd felt this fear grow within her as the woman toyed and played with her. And the more irritated Bathory became the more frightened Illayna got. It was self survival. Some instinct was telling her shehadto remove herself from the situation or shewasgoing to die. She closed her eyes and placed a hand over her frantically beating heart willing it to calm down. Just what was Bathory?
While lost in her musings Illayna heard Daichi say something and she snapped herself out of her thoughts and glanced back to the fight. "So she has..." Illyana murmured furrowing her brow. Looking at Bathory now it was almost impossible to tell she'd been the same woman Illyana had been fighting just a few moments ago. Now she resembled the wild beast she actually was. What in the hell was happening here? "Could you two NOT argue while we are in danger? If you must argue at least do so when we are safe!" she thought exasperated. But no matter what she might say or how she might act she was very grateful to the both of them. It was likely she'd have died a long time ago had it not been for them.
Maka did a quick survey of her surroundings noting all the blood splatters from the previous attacks. She couldn't read him as well as other evil humans she'd fought but figured it was a high probability that he'd use these splatters in an attack of his. "Bathory isn't the only strange thing here. This butler is also made from a different mold. I have a feeling we're over looking something very important." she said frowning a little. Before long she watched as something began to form within the blood puddles building from a formless blob into a copy of the butler himself. "What is he playing at..." she thought. Before anyone could even move Soul had destroyed two of them. The feeling she was missing something important did not abate and instead intensified. "Soul, I feel like we've over looked something crucial..." she said trailing off.
Maka turned to look over at Illayna and was just in time to see another clone charge at the young meister. Maka would not reach her in time and before she could even yell she watched as one of her weapons took the blow his meister should have received. It was so painfully close to something she had Soul had gone through that it robbed her of her voice. And because of that she did not notice the little "glitch" that happened to Illaynas clone.
Illayna did not know what happened. Did not have time to register everything. However she saw enough to realize she was about to be attacked and instead of the blades hitting her they struck Takeshi. She watched the weapons sink into his body and her eyes widened in horror. Grief and rage laced through her heart and she reacted without really thinking. She struck out with Daichi and watched the blade sink into the neck of the clone before ripping it out. The clone froze for a moment before falling in on itself becoming another blood pool. Illyana rushed over to Takeshi and gently placed his head on her lap "Why would you do something like that!?" she said her fingers shaking slightly. She tried to calm herself and think rationally trying to remember what she should do first.
There was a roaring in her ears. A loud roaring. It was deafening, drowning out everything except the need and desire to kill. It felt as if she were dreaming, nothing was clear, everything was hazy andirritating. She wanted everything to disappear into a dazzling display of bloody showers. Another rage filled scream erupted from her mouth as she sank deeper into the black murky depths of madness. She watched the infuriating woman charge at her and reacting on instinct alone attacked. The attack landed successfully and Bathory felt that lovely warm liquid spray across her face and body. Licking the blood from her lips she stilled. Her pupils dilated and the hazy rage that had filled them cleared. Blinking slowly she looked down at who she'd attacked. "Oh, Ficzko...." she murmured. She looked a moment longer before she disappeared from the building entirely. It was obvious she was at a disadvantage now "We will meet again young meister." her voice floated through the building before silence descended.
human
Soul::Takeshi Yamaguchi::Daichi Yamaguchi::Ficzko::Kid Death
By the time things unfolded, it was all too late. The clone had landed its strike, barely missing any of Takeshi's vital organs before Illayna's counterattack cut his potentially fatal followup short. The clone seemed to go still, the blood fracturing into crystal pieces before liquefying into a puddle. The blunt young Weapon however, fell to rest against his Meister, her gentle touch doing unfortunately little to ease the massive shocks of pain coursing through his body.
He could barely hear Illayna's question, nor could the bleared vision from his teary eyes clearly make out her expression, but her touch showed him that she was more than just concerned. She was scared."Gah...Don't start crying. You'll get salt in my wound."he grumbled, placing a hand over where the butler had pierced him. He could feel the sticky warmth; he knew his arm would be in a sling most likely, but at least he'd survive."Fucking damn it...Stupid Jeeves."he added grudgingly. Daichi soon morphed out of Weapon form and knelt down to check on his brother."Takeshi, knock it off! You almost got yourself killed!""And if I didn't do that, we'd all be dead anyway. Besides...Your slow ass wouldn't have saved us."
Meanwhile, Soul and Maka were busy clearing out the last clones; as soon Ficzko went unconscious from the attack by his mistress, the rest of them simply...froze. The remaining few were within inches of the pair, poised to strike; however, their forms just quivered before shattering like glass, leaving only more bloody pools in their wake. Upon the halt of the assault, Soul realized that Bathory and that strange butler had made their exit."Yeah, we did...But his Wavelength was something I've never experienced or seen before. Giriko was the only one we faced that could counter my Noise Cancellation...But that guy didn't just counter it, he avoided it. How can one vary it so much? And with such subtlety?"he pondered; Soul was no slouch in battle and was often quite astute at times, but this one stumped the hell out of him.
Still, once the battle was over, he shifted out his Weapon form to stand beside his partner. He looked over and saw Illayna cradling one of her Weapons; her shaking was a dead giveaway that the man was injured. Possibly even fatally. Giving a sigh, he then said"Maka, you should go comfort her. I'll tell Kid what happened."A scythe blade - its pattern reminiscent of his Weapon form - then popped out of his forearm where, its surface shining like crystal. Writing '42-42-564', he let the ringing go on and on. Finally, anold familiar facepopped up.
"Soul. Didn't expect to hear from you for awhile. Sorry again for having to pull you away from your time with Maka. How's things?"he then asked; it was funny, even after all these years, Soul never could get used to seeing Kid in this form. After Shinigami had "passed on" and granted his position to his son, it was certainly a different time. Kid had said Soul would have been the last weapon, but then he went back on his statement later on after realizing that more Evil Humans would pop up. While he wouldn't do what his father did and take the Eggs people collected upon failure, he still made sure that people didn't just take on a mission for the sake of building up their Weapon partner to Deathscythe status for notoriety sake. Put simply, they would not receive any special recognition for having become Deathscythes; Soul was the Last, and that was that. Kid knew there had to be a check; having all that power running around would not bode well for anyone. After all, the Weapon gene had already thoroughly manifested itself into the gene pool. There was no getting rid of it.
"Could have gone better."Soul replied before telling Kid exactly what happened. Kid just listened the whole time, letting Soul finish before interjecting,"Well, you did exactly what you could have done. But you know, you could have intervened on her behalf if things were going that badly."Soul just shook his head,"They need to experience what it's like. The Evil Humans are getting smarter...Bolder. It's like ever since Asura was sealed, they...changed. Evolved, almost."A giggle was then heard in the background and all of a sudden Kid shouted"DAMN IT, PATTI! NOW IT'S CROOKED!"Soul just grinned and added,"I'll let you know about the follow-up later, Kid."before the reflection in his blade disappeared. He had to wonder if Kid enjoyed being stuck in that room; after all, it wasn't like he was bound to Death City like Shinigami was.
gpt
Maka :: Illayna Meoih :: Erzsebet Bathory
Illayna shook her head trying to hold back the tears that threatened to fall like rivers. She smiled shakily and ripped some cloth from her outfit. Moving Takeshi's hand from the wound she placed the cloth against it and applied pressure trying to stem the flow of blood. "You're too reckless...." she said trailing off. He needed to be bandaged up, he needed a doctor. Illayna looked down at her hands which now had Takeshi's blood all over them. Her body began to shake again. "I'm sorry Takeshi. Daichi." she thought closing her eyes. She forced herself to calm down. She couldn't have a freak out right here, she needed to do what she could to help him.
Maka looked over at Soul as he shifted from his weapon form. "I have no idea. This was certainly educational. And worrisome." she said pursing her lips and looking around them. "You're probably right." Maka said looking over at the young Meister. Sighing a little she made her way over to Illayna and Takeshi. Going to the opposite side of Illayna, Maka knelt down. She saw Illayna's hands shaking, saw her trying so hard to keep calm. She had to give it to the young meister, she was doing a good job. "It'll be ok. Don't worry." Maka said her voice gentle. "Lets get this bandaged a little better ok?" she said with a little smile. Reaching into a pouch she pulled out some bandages and began to unwind it. "Daichi, raise Takeshi high enough so I can wrap it around him." After some shuffling and groaning, Takeshi's upper half was raised a little bit. Maka quickly wrapped it around him tightly securing the cloth Illyana had placed over the wound. "He'll be fine." she said as she finished.
Illayna watched as Maka quickly wrapped up her partner "Thank you." she said her voice breaking slightly. She raised her hands and watched them begin to shake again. She clenched her fists and placed them in her lap. She couldn't stop. The shaking wouldn't stop. She kept seeing the blade sink into Takeshi as he protected her. "It's all my fault..." she thought squeezing her eyes shut.
Maka looked at the young meister. She could tell exactly where the womans thoughts were going. Knew that she was berating herself for it. "It's not your fault Illayna." she said gently.
Illayna opened her eyes and stared at Maka. "How did you..." she said trailing off.
"Because I know the look. Believe it or not a long time ago me and soul were in a similiar situation." she said with a bitter smile. Even now all these years later the memory still haunted her.
"I see..." she said trailing off. She stared at Maka a moment longer before looking down at Takeshi.
"Wait here a moment, I need to go talk to Soul." She said raising up. Illayna didn't look at her but nodded. Turning on her heel she walked over to her partner. "We should really get moving. Takeshi is hurt pretty badly. And I don't think Illayna can exert any more control. It's amazing she's managed this long." she said looking over at the small group. Maka had a feeling that what had just happened was only a prelude of things to come. It was unsettling. "I don't like this." she thought furrowing her brows a small frown forming on her lips.
A few days later Illayna, Takeshi and Daichi were back in Death City. Takeshi was in the hospital and Illayna was on her way to visit him. Soul and Maka had come with them saying they needed to speak with Death and another meister weapon team. But she didn't say for what. Shaking her head Illayna knocked on the door before entering the room. "How are you doing Takeshi?" she asked looking over at him.
Bathory stared at her surroundings but she didn't take notice of anything. All she could think about was that young meister. "I'll come back to fetch you my kitten. Just wait." she murmured to no one in particular.
human
Soul::Takeshi Yamaguchi::Daichi Yamaguchi::Ficzko::Stein
It had been a few days since the events in Martinique; Takeshi suffering that grave of a wound really had Illayna in a tizzy, even with Maka helping to keep her calm. But things returned to a relative normalcy fairly quickly; Maka and Soul had gone to see Kid Death and give a more detailed account of what happened. This would be the fifth 'abnormal' Evil Human encountered in the past six years; one other strange case was an Evil Human that every time it lost a limb, it would regenerate it. The only way the team was able to kill it was pulling its heart out and utterly incinerating it to ash. Where these things were coming from, no one could say.
Regardless, Maka and Soul had to cut their stay at the one island short to go talk to Kid; they would probably be allowed to head back out once this business was taken care of, if only because Soul still had to make good on his promise to go around the world. It was a lot of traveling, but it made her happy. He considered stopping by their place to see how Blair was doing; lord only knew what kind of trouble she would get into and how miffed she was they left her behind.
The meeting with Kid came and went; there wasn't really much to say, and they knew he was busy now that he'd assumed the role of Overseer of Shibusen. However, they would run into another familiar pair as they were leaving. One who also went through the sacrament of matrimony.
"Well hello, you two. Didn't think you would be back so soon."
Soul turned around to see none other than Stein and Marie standing behind them."Could say the same for you, I though you too were going to stay in Oceania for a while. A year at least."Soul replied, smiling happily at the married couple. It was interesting at first, people use to tease them about ending up together and Marie would always deny. But now here they were...Married with a child.
"We were, but then I was offered to teach again at Shibusen. I was actually on my way to talk to Shinigami about my reinstatement. Who knows, I might call on the two of you to come in for a demonstration."Stein replied, chewing on what appeared to be a cinnamon stick. Ever since Marie was pregnant, he resolved to quit smoking for the health of their child.
Soul figured as much; all appointments had to be approved the Headmaster, who in this case was Kid himself. Though Soul was still surprised that Stein called Kid 'Shinigami'; but then it was an appropriate title...Even if not everyone was quite used to it yet.
Takeshi was laid up in the hospital wing in Shibusen; Nygus was able to stitch the slash, but it would be some time before the Weapon fully recovered. Like he suspected, his arm would be in a sling for a while; but then that damned butler had hit him deep. Nygus had commented on how lucky Takeshi had been; were the strike just a half-inch to the left, the blades would have severed his subclavian artery and he would have bled out in minutes.
And he would turn out to be still somewhat cranky; as Illayna and Daichi came to visit, he cracked his eyes open from napping to hear her asking how he was feeling."Just peachy. Nothing quite like getting my arm all jacked up by Jeeves."he replied sarcastically; if he ever found that butler again, he would get his for doing this. Daichi sighed, stating"You know, you don't have to be a dick every time we talk to you."Takeshi just grinned,"Yeah, but then you'd be wondering what was wrong with me if I wasn't."At this, his brother let out a smile and shook his head; that much was true. At least with him being a snarky asshole, he was going to be fine.
As his mistress sat in her room, Ficzko was busy preparing a 'beverage'. "No, please! Let me go!" said a young blonde tiredly but with no less pleading in her tone, tied upside down and naked with several lacerations over her petite body; her eyes were sunken and her skin was sallow, the long golden tussles mussed from the exhaustion of being used as a blood bank. "Hmm...You do seem rather worn. Yes, I'll let you go." The woman's dull green eyes widened a little in joy, quite ready for her release.
Until the butler finished his sentence.
"Yes...I'll let you go into the next life. Be proud to have served your mistress so well." he then added, some of his own blood seeping out from under his bandages to form a simple blade. Which he then used to slash the young woman before she could cry out in protest; all that was heard then was a strangled gurgling as her jugular was severed, allowing the crimson fluid to flow free into the teacup held underneath. It didn't take long for it to fill, but there was some errant spatter. "So uncivilized, you got blood on my suit." he then finished, using a kerchief to clean the cup and dish thoroughly before taking it to his Lady.
Giving a knock, he then entered the room and placed the immaculate cup and dish on the small table beside her chair. "Time for afternoon refreshments, m'Lady. I'll have to fetch another supply, however; it seems we just ran out." he informed her, giving a slight bow. "How is m'Lady feeling today?" he then asked, obviously concerned more for her well-being than his own. Even if his own body was the one covered in numerous bandages from head to toe, his own neck heavily stitched and covered in sullied gauze.
gpt
Maka :: Illayna Meoih :: Erzsebet Bathory :: Marie
Maka sighed as she and Soul were leaving after finishing giving their report to Kid. She had difficulty calling him "Shinigami" as she was just too used to calling him Kid. She was very worried about the anything but ordinary Evil Humans that kept cropping up. Sure, it was bound to happen from time to time....but the fact that they all seemed to crop up in such short succession was what was really worrying her. Before it was pretty rare to come across an Evil Human that was different from the others, in fact such cases were almost unheard of and it was only a handful of them across several generations. Not to mention that the abnormal Evil Humans that had been cropping up over the last six years were somehow stronger or better in some way from their predecessors. "Its like someone is experimenting with the Evil Humans...." Maka murmured.
Before Maka could say anything else she heard a familiar voice behind her and turned to see Professor Stein and Marie behind them. She gave them a genuine smile, happy to see them. "We only came back to give a report to Kid on what happened in Martinique. We're not really back to stay yet" she said. Upon hearing why the two of them were in Death city her mouth twitched as she suppressed a laugh, remembering when she and Soul had been in his class. "Those students don't know what they've got in store for them." Maka said. She had a great deal of respect for stein, she'd learned a lot from him. He was a great teacher but there was no getting around the fact the he definitely was one of the oddest teachers she'd ever known. And sometimes a little frightening. She remembered the very first time she had met stein. She was with Soul, Tsubaki and Black Star at the time, he thoroughly kicked their asses. He'd over ridden her normal calm concentration and sent her into a paralyzing fear.
Of course it had been a test at the time and they'd simply been unaware of it. Even so, he wasn't someone she ever wanted to go up against again.
"But, I'm happy you guys will be back in Death City again." she said. In all honesty she had been a little sad when they'd left but she understood why. "We'll be around long enough to check on things at the house. I didn't want to leave Blair in charge...but it was her or Black Star and Black Star would definitely destroy it, with Blair its just a possibility." she said sighing heavily. "We intend to pay a visit to Black Star and Tsubaki and ask them for a favor before heading off again." she said. She wondered idly if Illayna and her Weapons would be in steins class. "Actually....thinking on it. It might help if Illayna got help from Stein and Marie as well. Normally I'd suggest kid since he's one of the few who uses two weapons as well but after taking over for his father, he's been too busy." Maka thought wondering what Souls thoughts on it were.
Illayna forced a smile when her and Daichi walked into Takeshi's room. She had to struggle not to show just how badly seeing him bandaged like this affected her. She listened as they went back and forth and she gave a genuine smile. She was glad he was back to being a sarcastic asshole. But she still felt guilty because he shouldn't have been in here at all and had the two of them had a more skilled meister he probably wouldn't have wound up in here. She recalled what Maka had said to her about going through a similiar experience and she wondered how Maka had dealt with it. Illayna finally came to a decision to ask her because it was tearing her apart, she needed to ask Maka for help. She had to become stronger, become a better fighter for both of her weapons sake.
Bathory stared out at nothing at all. No one had ever escaped her, not since becoming the Evil Human she currently was. She'd been unstoppable, killing humans, meisters and weapons. Anything that she desired she took, used, broke and repeated with a new play thing.
But her. That young Meister was not in her possession. And she did not like that fact. Everything in her screamed out to hunt her down and take her but she suppressed it. The woman was probably back in Death City already and if she went there she would likely meet her end. She was not a mindless beast like the majority of the others, she was able to reason, make strategies, make plans and traps. She would bide her time and wait for the next opportunity to strike. Because one would appear, it was only a matter of waiting. In the mean time she would grow stronger, taking more victims. When Ficzko entered the room and proffered the cup of blood, she took it and took a sip frowning a little. Because of the desire she had for that girls blood, all other blood since had tasted bland to her. She took another drink before glancing at her servant covered in bandages and wounds. The worst having been inflicted by herself. She'd let herself slip so far that she'd been regressing into an average Evil Human, it was because of Ficzko that she was able to come back from that. It had cost her the sweet virgin meister and she was very angry at herself for it.
"Bored." she said sighing and closing her eyes.
human
Soul::Stein::Black Star
Soul looked over at his partner, keeping silent and just watching as the little guy in the carriage played with the tiny mobile hanging over him. It was pretty damned cute, to say the least; he made an effort to keep his lips closed, as he wasn't sure if the baby would be frightened by his 'shark teeth'. Though he couldn't help letting out a chuckle as the memories of Stein's lectures came flooding back; god, what a drag it was sitting through those lectures. But the man had really helped them a lot. Without his teaching, he knew it would have taken him and Maka a lot longer to achieve Soul Resonance.
"Speaking of Black Star, Maka....We better head off before he leaves on another training expedition"Soul stated; even though the man had matured and focused, he still had a lot of energy to burn off. And the guy could be gone for weeks at a time if he found something an obstacle that really challenged him. At least this time, they had a good idea of where he might be: He'd taken on a rotating shift schedule with Sid as the physical education instructor at Shibusen. Oh, those poor bastards if they had him today.
"Is Black Star at school today?"asked Soul, Stein responding with a slightly devious grin,"Just follow the sounds of labored breathing, and you'll find him. Tata, you two". Soul then nudged his partner as Stein left,"Guess that answers that, huh? Should be right around the time the students go to lunch...Might be able to catch him just as he's calling it for the day."
Soon afterwards, they arrived at the infamous Shibusen steps; he could see the outlines of some students heaving as they clambered up the massive staircase, their bodies hunched over trying to get a second wind. Just up the way, they could hear a familiar shouting.
"Come on, slowpokes! All you gotta do is make it up here and you're free to go eat!"
Soul slapped a hand over his mouth, holding back a laugh,"Just think of how hard it was when we had to walk up it just to get to class...Who knows what he put them through before now?"He then grasped his partner's hand,"Shall we give the students something to strive for?", referring to his ability to have her ride atop him like a broomstick in Scythe form.
gpt
Maka :: Tsubaki :: Marie
"You might be able to hear the labored breathing over the sound of him shouting." Marie said with a warm laugh. "Either way I don't think it should be too hard to find him." she said with a smile. Maka returned the smile, it was hard not to. Marie was always so warm and it seemed as if light radiated out from the core of her being. The kindness she gave had a way of working its way into the heart slowly driving away darkness, the fears and the doubts.
Maka waved to Marie, Stein and their baby as they left.
She shook her head. "Those poor kids. It was hard enough keeping up with Black Star when we were just teammates. I don't even want to consider if he'd been our instructor. What was kid thinking letting him be a physical education instructor? The only saving grace might be if Tsubaki is with him. Not that it would make too much of a difference I suppose...." Maka said on a heavy sigh as she and soul made their way to where Black Star was. Maka considered Black Star a friend but there was no getting around the fact that he was hyper, loud and obnoxious. He was single minded and dideverythingas if the people around him had those same exact qualities. It made things both exhausting and irritating. "Those poor, poor kids...." Maka said again cringing a little.
When they finally located Black Star her original thought was confirmed. They came upon a bunch of students; some of which looked like they could barely stand let alone walk up the steps of the academy. They heard his voice clearly up at the top shouting at them. Soul looked about ready to drop laughing, Maka just sighed and shook her head slightly a small smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "Whatever he did to them must've been pretty intense. Half of these kids look like they are barely managing to stay upright." she said unable to stop herself from laughing.
She felt soul grab her hand and she smiled, warmth filling her. "I think...." she said trailing off and giving his hand a little squeeze "that, that is a marvelous idea." she said with a little laugh. She tightened her grip and pulled watching as he shifted into scythe form. Grabbing the snath with both of her hands she got onto it, sitting side saddle and then they flew up the stairs at a moderate pace. Students stared at them in envy and recognition and that just made Maka laugh again. "Work hard enough and you won't have to walk up here either." she said raising her voice slightly so they could all hear.
Tsubaki stood next to Black Star at the top of the stairs where they watched the students make their way very slowly up the stairs. Black star tried to get them to hurry up the stairs and she just sighed. Once again, he'd gone way over-board with it and by the time it was time for lunch they looked exhausted. When they realized they had to climb the stairs some of the students looked as if they might die on the spot. She was about to say something to him when she heard a familiar voice. Looking back down the steps she saw Maka riding on Soul up the stairs and she smiled "Maka and Soul are here." she said to Black Star while she waved to them. "I wonder why they are here....arn't they still on their honeymoon?" Tsubaki asked curiously as Maka waved back to her.
human
Soul::Black Star
While the students were busy dragging one leg after the other on their ascent, all of them wanting to just go to lunch, Black Star had taken to doing one-armed push-ups as part of his training regiment, switching arms mid-motion about ten. Already he was very physically fit, but by this point his endurance for physical punishment was borderline masochistic. Though he paused when he heard Tsubaki state Soul and Maka, standing up after just forty.
"Hrm, thought they'd still be traveling. Wonder what brought them back."replied the ninja, taking a step back to allow Maka to land and Soul to de-shift."Hey guys, long time no see! I thought you were over in Martin...Martin..How do you say that place's name?"he queried; Soul just grinned and replied,"Martinique. And we were there. Now we're home on some business...And to make you're not causing too much trouble."
Black Star laughed, holding out a hand"Well, it's really good to see you guys."Soul took it, responding sincerely,"Likewise. So, looks like the new gig is paying off for you. Your students have my sympathy."Black Star chuckled nervoulsy, scratching the back of his head as he went over to the edge of the stairs and saw the struggle of his students,"Ah, they'll walk it off. But maybe I should've dialed it back a little. Next time, I'll cut down the pre-run physical to thirty minutes."
Soul just shook his head in amazement,"Haven't changed a bit, have you."Standing up a little straighter he then asked the pair,So what you two been up to as of late?"
gpt
Maka :: Tsubaki
Maka grinned. Black Star really hadn't changed at all in all the years she'd known him. Black Star would always be Black Star. "I think you should dial it back a bit more than that...." Maka said shaking her head slightly a wry grin on her face. "Your students looked like they might die on the stairs. A few weren't moving. Not everyone has your stamina, Black Star. In point of fact I believe that no one at all has that much monstrous energy. You need to cut back like seventy five percent of what you've been doing. Otherwise you're gonna kill your students knucklehead." she said with an exaggerated sigh. "How do you manage, Tsubaki?" she asked her teasingly. " Too much trouble is right. Its an impossiblity to keep him completely out of trouble. I think Tsubaki deserves a bit more sympathy than the students do..." she said jokingly. "The students at least get to leave at the end of the day. Poor Tsubaki is stuck with him pretty much constantly." she said giving Tsubaki a look of sympathy. After a moment however a grin broke out across her face. " It is good to see you two though." she said.
Tsubaki smiled fondly and shook her head a little. "Not a whole lot. Things have been mostly quiet since you two left on your honeymoon." she said. "By the way...why have you two come back early?" she said tilting her head. She knew they were scheduled to be gone longer than this. She watched as the smile disappeared from Maka's face and was replaced with a troubled look. Whatever it was that had brought them back it was definitely not a good thing. Her own smile slowly dropped as she focused more intently on her friend. "What happened?" she asked the amusement leaving her eyes.
Maka let out a long slow sigh. "We actually came back here to give a report to Kid and decided to ask the two of you for a favor." she said looking between them. "While we were in Martinique we were asked by Kid to aide a meister and her weapons in hunting a Kishin.." she said trailing off. "I'm guessing that this wasn't your average Kishin then..." Tsubaki said narrowing her eyes slightly. Maka shook her head from side to side "You'd be correct." she confirmed. "Her name was Erzsebet Bathory. She was capable of speech and extended conversations. She was also able to carry out battle strategies. She had underlings. Me and Soul fought them. Two were your fairly average evil humans. The third though...he troubled me. He was like Bathory. Bathory also had the ability to harden her blood into a defensive and offensive ability." Maka said frowning as she thought back over the fight. "If the opponent was so dangerous, shouldn't you have fought her instead of the meister?" Tsubaki asked her brows furrowed in confusion. "Kid just asked us to make sure things didn't get out of hand. It was the meisters mission after all." she said on a little shrug. "However, what we wanted to ask is if the two of you would be willing to train this meister personally?" Maka watched as Tsubaki looked at her in blank confusion. "What? Why? Certainly she's being trained by her teachers?" she said. "Me and Soul watched her and her weapons fight. They have a lot of potential." she said going back over Illayna's fight. "Weapons?" Tsubaki asked emphasizing the plural aspect of the word. Maka nodded her head in acknowledgement. "Indeed. She uses twin weapons. Her name is Illayna Meoih, her weapons names are Takeshi and Daichi Yamaguchi. Her fighting style is very similar to that of Ninjas, so we thought the two of you would be able to help her hone her abilities better." she said.
Tsubaki studied Maka for awhile, while she processed the information she'd just been given "I see. Is there a specific reason you're dealing with this specific mesiter personally?" she asked as she stared unblinkingly at Maka. She watched her sigh and nod slowly. "A bit. Illayna ended up losing the fight and Bathory got away. One of her weapons was severely injured protecting her." Comprehension lit Tsubaki's eyes "Ahhh, I see." was all she said. Maka nodded slightly. "Yeah...." she said trailing off for a moment. "I imagine once things are set Illayna will go after Bathory again. I want you two to train her so that she has a chance." Maka said finishing her explanation. "I have no objections to training a meister and her weapons." she said. "But Black Star will also be training her so I think you should give the poor girl a heads up." she said a ghost of a grin hovering over her lips. She watched Maka blink before a full smile broke out over her face "You're right. I'll be sure to do that. I'll tell her to meet you guys to begin her training."
"Oh, there was something I wanted to tell you guys. Its about Blair." at the mention of the cats name Maka flinched. She knew that whatever she was gonna be told it would not be good. One way or another. She braced herself "Oh...whats going on?"she asked. "She hasn't done anything too drastic insofar as I can tell but she has seemed to have made a new friend. I was out and about and she was with this monster sized male. She seemed like she was trying help him." Tsubaki finished. However that did nothing to helpher, in fact it made it worse. "Blair is trying to help someone....? Dear lord help us..." she muttered grimacing. Tsubaki looked at her for a moment before laughing.
" What did Kid want to say to the two of you? In concerns with the Meister and this Bathory?" Tsubaki asked after she'd gotten control of herself.
human
Soul::Black Star
Black Star shot Maka a little look as she openly ridiculed his energy; he knew it was all in jest, but did she have to be so blunt with it? But then again, he'd be worried if she wasn't."You talk about it like it's a bad thing. Besides, those lazy-butts need some exercise every once in a while."the ninja replied, his characteristic happy grin on his face."Star, I think your definition of 'exercise' is very different from that of everyone else. They could do MAYBE a hundredth of what you do in a normal day and be set for the week."
Black Star just laughed, but then got serious as Maka went silent. Soul knew why, of course; that situation with the Meister was a bit of a mess. At least he would pull through alright...For the most part. If anything, Takeshi was fortunate to not likely end up as he did: Battling with Madness. No, he'd just have to keep his arm in a sling for a while. Sure it would suck, but he'd be able to go back to training without many problems. And Black Star too, knew all too well the troubles she went through; it was a rough time alright. For both of them.
Speaking of training, however, Maka just happened to bring that very topic up. Something which made Black Star's eyes grow to the size of silver dollars."Looks like you got someone's attention."the scythe-man quipped humorously, to which Black Star added,"Two weapons? Well, I ain't letting Kid touch this one!"Soul tried to hold back a chuckle; honestly, it was refreshing to see the blue-haired spaz again.
"Just try not to kill her, Black Star. I doubt Shibusen would like their students collapsing from exhaustion."Soul stated in a joking tone, Black Star shooting back,"Maka said she's like a ninja, right? She can take it! Come on, Tsubaki! There's no time to lose"he then shouted, taking off like a runaway train."Might want to catch him, Tsubaki...And tell him that she'll meet him at the hospital while you're at it."he then said to the raven-haired Weapon, noting that the spastic man completely forgot where it was they were supposed to meet.
Once it was over, many of the near-death students were finally relieved to have him gone; almost all collapsed on the steps, just taking a breather so that they could get enough energy to go eat and then go to their next class or go home."Thank god we only had Sid"Soul joked, his shark-toothed grin appearing on his face.
"Oi, Maka...."he then added, turning to his wife and partner,"I'm getting a feeling we should go check in on Blair. If she's 'helping' someone as Tsubaki said, it might be a good idea to see how much damage she might have caused."Of course, Soul knew she wasn't really one to throw parties; even still, the cat-witch had a very bad habit of making a mess of things without even trying. And really, with the magic she could do by this point, it was a wonder sometimes they even had a house to come back to.
gpt
Maka :: Tsubaki :: Blair
Maka watched Black Star and Soul go back and forth for a bit while she stood next to Tsubaki, a small smile on her face. Soul was exhausting to be around constantly, both physically and mentally but he was a good person and a good friend. Maka's smile widened, honestly, he had a one track mind. He missed every single detail except that she was "sort of like a ninja" had "two weapons" and "Would you train her?". Maka looked at Tsubaki sympathetically, the weapon sighing. "Yeah, I'll make sure he doesn't over do it. It was good seeing you two again. Take care." she said before running off after Black Star.
Tsubaki sighed heavily as Black Star came into view. "Black Star! Do you even know where you're going!?" she hollered, which he either ignored or didn't hear. "BLACK STAR!" she yelled out throwing a small blade at him.
Maka could hear Tsubaki scream Black Stars name in the distance and Maka started laughing "I guess Tsubaki caught Black Star!" she said still laughing, knowing exactly what had happened to him. Maka looked at soul and laughed a bit more at his comment "Right? I thought Sid and Stein were bad enough as teachers. I truly feel sorry for this year." she said, still laughing. Her eyes traveled over the students littering the stairs, her laughter fading to an amused grin. She was sympathetic toward their plight but, she had to admit, itwasa rather amusing sight. At the mention of Blair she cringed and sighed "Yeah. I don't understand how she does it..." Maka said trailing off. "The more she tries helping someone the more damage she does to the surrounding property." she said shaking her head again in exasperation. It was frustrating for Maka, she understood Blair was just trying to be a good perso- er Cat, really, she did..but the damages. She remembered a few incidents of Blair trying to help Her or Her dad.
"I suppose we should go see whats left of the house...." she said trailing off and turning, walking toward their home. Or, whatever remained of it.
Blair looked around the house and cringed, Maka was gonnaKillher. She looked over at Jack and then back around the house. At least they were off on their honeymoon and wouldn't be back for a long time. She might be able to fix some of this stuff. Blair looked around the room, her hope dwindling down."Uhh...I think I might be in a bit over my head...." she said, her ears flattened on her head and her tail swishing as she tried to think of what to do. The furniture was mostly broken, the entryways were very broken, there were holes in the floors and a few in the walls and she didn't even want to think about her own contributions to the mess. She cringed, chewing on her lip. "Nnnhn, I have no idea what I'm supposed to do!" she said upset by everything that needed to be done.
Could she finish before Maka got home? If she wanted to keep her eight other lives she was going to have to fix it or come up with areallygood excuse. The latter sounded more feasible so she started working on one.
human
Jack::Soul
Needless to say, the house was completely destroyed: It had honestly looked like a bull had come through here with a hot iron strapped to its testicles. And honestly, only some of it was Blair's fault. Even the stairs to their apartment had looked like someone had taken a sledgehammer to them, one step at a time. Regardless of intent, it was clear that the cat-woman was in for a major punishment.
Jack, still dressed in his robe that he had been found in, had yet to try on the clothing; for now, he was watching the woman before him pace about. "Why Blair walk around so much?" the large man then asked, clearly not at all aware of the storm that was about and his lingual skills still leaving much to be desired.
For now, Soul had walked with Maka to the foot of the stairs; he was about to comment to his Meister, his attention on her, on how he was ready for a nap when he tried to take the first step and nearly fell on his face, the step giving way completely as his foot hit the ground beneath and his hands shooting out to catch the rails."What the..."he nearly cursed, looking down at the broken slab, only to peer up and see that the rest were the very same way. And from what he could see, they went all the way to their place at the top.
"Shit..."the Weapon muttered as he tried to haphazardly race up the broken flights; it seemed that if he stepped on the outsides, then they wouldn't give. And while it would have been faster to just fly up in Weapon form, the gaps between the flights were too narrow and Maka probably would have slammed her head multiple times. Though it didn't take too long, and Soul fumbled in his pocket for the keys as he reached for the doorknob, only to find it unlocked."How many times have I told her to lock the door?"he muttered grumpily, busting through to find the worst thing he could ever seen.
The destruction was simply too much for words: The couch was overturned, shelves were knocked down and there was stuff everywhere. And to make it worse: There was a stranger here! And a man no less! His shark-like teeth finally started to grind as he felt a surge of rage flash through him; but then, he rarely got angry like that. And it was best if they at least tried to let her explain herself...And if she didn't, well, Maka would have to work off anger too.
His fists still tight with frustration, he then asked through clenched teeth as his crimson eyes locked onto the magic cat, his brow twitching,"Blair...Mind telling us why the place is destroyed....And why there's a *stranger* in our house!?"
gpt
Maka :: Blair
Maka yelled out surprised as Soul fell through their front steps. "What the hell..." she muttered following her partners eyes up to their front door. "What has that Cat done this time..." she said her mouth slightly hanging open in surprise at the destruction she could see on the outside. "What the hell did she do? Rent the house to Black Star to train the students!?" Maka asked incredulously.
"Oh, no reason in particular..." Blair said offhandedly to Jacks question. She wasn't sure she could explain it to him in a way he'd understand. Well, she might if she had enough time but that was something she did NOT have a lot of. So she just elected not to answer it at this point. She knew she could get some help for some of the damage to be fixed but there was so much more damage than she'd thought possible. She was good at messing things up on accident but never this bad on her own. She glanced at jack and sighed "Well, it wasn't on my own...." she thought. But that wouldn't mean much to Soul or Maka. Blair began sweating again thinking about Maka's reaction to the mess. A noise outside caused her to freeze, one of her ears twitching in the direction of the front of the house. "Uh oh...." she said, her tail twitching. What were they doing back already!?!?! She panicked and tried to think of what she could do, well, there was nothing for the mess and she wasn't sure how she'd explain it and the same went for jack. For a brief second she contemplated trying to hide Jack, then she turned and looked at him, her ears drooping. "HAH! Not even a sheet would cover him!!" she thought.
Inside the house Maka realized it was much worse than her previous statement of renting the place to Black Star. "What in the hell...." she said as her eyes traveled over her destroyed home. The entire place would have to be overhauled. She hadn't seen this level of destruction done to a place since the final battle nearly seven years ago and she didn't remember it being quite this bad at that. She wondered what the hell was even keeping the place intact. Maka tripped over some debris as she stared dumbfounded around herself. "I knew it was a bad idea leaving Blair in charge but this passes even my my expectations.." she thought to her Husband. When they finally found the Cat they also, unexpectedly found someone with her. He looked human in appearance but no one that large could possibly be completely human. However, before she could say anything she heard Soul speaking first.
Blair heard a noise near the entryway to the room and a shiver traveled up her spine at the tone she heard in Soul's voice. Slowly she turned her head to look at the two of them in defeated dread. "KYA!" she said seeing the looks on their faces. She transformed into a cat, landing on jacks shoulders. "O-oh hello, Maka, Soul. You're uh, home early...." she said nervously. Her gaze switched between the two for a second and she realized that she couldn't tell who was actually angrier and that was absolutelyterrifying. Her claws bit into jack's shoulder slightly. "Uh...." she said searching for the right way to explain what had happened.
"Well, you see, I was sitting here watching the place like you asked me too. But I left for a bit because I was really bored, so I decided to try something -at home- but I remembered that one of the ingredients I needed only grows on the outskirts of Death City and so I went out for just the teeniest bit to grab it. And while I was out uh, I found him out there just collapsed on the ground and he was completely unresponsive. Well, I couldn't just leave him out there so I brought him back here -which was really hard because he's even heavier than he looks, believe me-. So I broke a few things maneuvering him inside. When he woke up I tried finding out who he was and where he was from but he doesn't know anything." She said slightly exasperated and sliding a glance to the behemoth she now perched on. "His vocabulary is also basically non-existent and he's so large and heavy he just breaks everything." she said mentally going over the last few days here with him and the disaster after disaster that had happened. "I'm sorry Maka, Soul but I didn't know what to do." she said lowering her head a little, her tail wrapping around Jacks neck, the floor creaking under his weight.
Maka listened to the cat and sighed heavily her gaze narrowing in on the large man. "Does he have a name, Blair?" she asked through slightly gritted teeth.
Blair jumped slightly in reaction "Uh. He didn't seem to have one when he woke up so I've been calling him Jack..." she responded.
"What do you think, Soul? It sounds like Blair being Blair...but what do you make of him?" she thought to her partner as her gaze fell on Jack.
human
Jack::Soul
Blair's reasoning was good...At least, that was the only good thing about this situation. Still didn't change the fact that their place was entirely destroyed, but she was trying to do something good. So it made the next words a little harder to say, but it was the only truth he could speak."Well, I suppose we can't be too mad at you. You're still going to help fix a lot of the damage, and find out what to do with him"he then replied, pointing with a finger to the large man who seemed to just be watching with moderate curiosity.
And then Maka brought up the very stranger himself; Soul tried to listen, but what he got was the strangest thing: Silence. Complete and utter silence, like his soul didn't even exist. How was that possible?"No way..."Soul muttered, trying to peer harder but all he got was emptiness. A pitch-dark void, like it was completely sound-proofed."Maka...Don't say anything, but this guy...it's like he has no soul. I can't hear anything, it's like whatever he has is dampening any sound."he then said to his Meister; truth be told, he didn't know what might set this guy off, so he opted to keep it on the down low for now. Heseemedharmless enough...But then they'd learned to be careful after Crona went off the deep end.
"Maka....Soul? Those names? Name Jack, Blair give Jack name. Jack no remember." Jack then asked very brokenly after pointing to himself, as if he was having difficulty stringing words together; Soul could only pause in surprise, the expression on his face indicating a heavy amount of despair. Whoever taught this guy how to speak did a horrible job. Shaking it off, Soul then stated,"Yeah, I'm Soul and that's Maka...We live here."Jack cocked his head, "Live here...Where is here?" the giant asked, Soul trying not to show exasperation,"Our house, you are in our house...Do you not remember passing out?"
Jack then pointed to the back room, something Blair had taught him how to do to more effectively communicate, "Jack wake up on...bed? First light Jack sees, dark before." The Weapon was almot rendered speechless,"First light? What does that mean?"to which the large man replied, "Jack see light for first time on bed. Before wake-up, no light." A bead of sweat could be seen rolling down the Weapon's temple after he said; how bad did amnesia have to be to not remember even waking up?
gpt
Maka :: Blair
Blair looked between Maka, Soul and Jack, the cat nervously twitching her tail back and forth. "O-Of course, I'll help!" she said frowning at them. "I was trying to think of what to do when you two got home..." she said upset. Sure, she caused trouble now and again but shealwaystried to help.
Maka kept her facial features normal while Soul talked to her mentally. Maka squinted as she tried to peer at his soul to find that she was unable to. At this, she could not completely hide her surprised reaction but managed to do a credible enough job. "Just what the hell is he....?" she thought staring more intently than she intended, at jack. Soul couldn't hear anything, at all and she couldn't see anything. But that was impossible. He couldn't bealiveif he didn't have one. If he did have one, then what in the hell was blocking them? "I don't like this...." she thought with a small frown. However, their conversation was cut short when Jack himself decided to speak, validating Blair to a point in the process. "I see what Blair meant by him not knowing anything...." she thought, still staring at jack, though more-so in surprised shock now. "Are you saying that you remember waking up back there...." she said trailing off and pointing to the back room "but nothing before that?" she asked trying to clarify things to which Jack nodded. "See? I told you..." Blair said, muttering slightly. "And you said you found him unconscious on the outskirts of Death City? Did he have clothes on when you found him?" Maka asked, ignoring her mutterings. "Th-thats right, and yes, he did." she confirmed, somewhat startled by the sudden question.
"I see...." was all she said. "Maka...." Blair started to say but trailed off not really sure what to say. Maka sighed deeply and closed her eyes shaking her head slightly. "Like Soul said, you're going to work your ass off to help with these repairs. Your friend too. I don't trust either of you to do any of the actual repairs, Death only knows what you two would manage to destroy in the process, so you'll both work to help pay off the bills we're going to get when we have this place fixed." she said sternly. "I already said I would help!" Blair whined in response.
"I want him looked at." she thought to her partner, troubled. "Kid or Stein first?" she thought as the silence in the room stretched on. "I'm a little worried Stein might try to dissect him though..." she thought a little offhandedly. "You know how he can get." she added, remembering when he took over teaching them. "I really don't like this situation." she thought growing serious once more. "We are used to our fair share of oddities but, this, is too much. " she thought pursing her lips as she mulled the stranger over. "He seriously doesn't know much of anything, mentally, he's a toddler. He's also big, unnaturally so. I'm not sure he's even human, I don't know what he is. He claims he has no memories before waking up in the back room but Blair said she found him unconscious on the outskirts of Death City. I don't know what to think, in all honesty. I believe him when he say's he doesn't remember anything, I don't think he's capable of lying. But I do not, for one second, believe its simply amnesia. " she though shifting her stance slightly. "Where was he going and how did he get here? Where is he even from? Even more troubling, you can't hear his soul and when I tried, I couldn't see it. We can't leave it at "He seems to be suffering from severe amnesia and might get his memories back at some point in time." I want some answers." she thought, absently biting her bottom lip.
"Why are you two being so silent? Say something!" Blair suddenly shouted into the silence that had stretched on while Soul and Maka had been conversing. "Ah, sorry, I was just thinking about something is all." she said shaking her head slightly, to clear some of her thoughts. "You two will also accompany me and Soul to visit some people." she said. "People? Who?" Blair asked tilting her head slightly. "You'll see when we get there." Maka replied. "What? No, tell me!" she said her curiosity piqued. "No, you'll have to wait." she said smiling slightly. "Thats not fair." she complained. "My house. I don't have to be fair." she said in response. Blair just pouted. "I suppose we'll have to stay elsewhere while the place is fixed." she said looking around at the now unlivable house. "Any suggestions?" she asked looking at Soul.
human
Jack::Soul::Kid Death
Everything Maka was saying was true; the fact that he had no soul - from their perspective, a nondetectable soul - was troubling. Not many things could exist without one, and very rarely did those things with no souls ever turn out to be on their side. And the truth was, they weren't human; still, it was hard looking at this giant lug and thinking him some kind of crazed killer."I agree...We should probably go to Kid first; maybe he'll have some insight on how to proceed. I don't want to potentially scare this guy by having Stein start poking him with Death-knows-what...If you get my drift."he replied mentally, adding,"I don't think him having amnesia is a problem...My concern is what made it this bad. Short of having a brain transplant with an infant, I don't see how someone looking like him should be this clueless...".
There was of course the possibility of the man suffering from mental retardation, but something told the Last Deathscythe that this wouldn't be the case."Hey, Jack...How would you like to meet some friends of ours?"Soul then asked the giant, the latter responding "Friends...What are friends?" He then pointed to himself, "Is...Jack friend?" Soul seemed a little uneasy about answering this, but just said"Friends are people we've known for a long time or have come to place trust in...They're people you can...Uh...."His voice trailed off, trying to find more words to help explain it simply. Jack just nodded and replied, "Jack not friend...Okay"
"Hey...You don't have to say it like that..."Soul responded exasperatedly, to which Jack just seemed even more confused, stating "Say...like? What Soul say like?" The Weapon could only sigh and reply,"Just...never mind...There are some people I think you should talk to. That's all. Ones that can help you figure out who you are."The lumbering giant didn't seem at all fazed, just curious about what was going on. "Jack want to know more...Jack go with Soul and Maka." The poor Weapon let out a small sigh, already wishing he was back in Martinique facing down that butler...
Least he could hold a conversation.
Soon enough, the quartet had reached Kid's mansion; unlike his father, Kid was not bound to one room and could move about freely in the City. Thankfully, the Teams he had now were more than capable of handling the highest-level threats, so he could teach all newcomers about who their Weapon partners were and what they could do as a Meister. And given that they'd contacted Kid about their newest arrival, the new 'Lord Death' was fairly interested in seeing them.
After Soul had knocked on the door, Kid himself answered the door and gave them a friendly smile,"Ah, Maka, Soul...Welcome, welcome. Please, come in. Patty and Liz are out at the moment, but they should be back soon and I would imagine want to say welcome...Sorry about the business in Martinique, by the way.. As they stepped inside, Soul just replied,"Nothing we couldn't handle; that Illayna woman's probably a bit upset about her partner taking a hit like that, but he seems to be recovering well."Kid just nodded and turned his attention to the large giant that stood among them, his eyes seeming to scan every inch of the large lounge in the home. "Home...Big home...Why so high up?" Jack then asked, pointing to the ceiling; Blair's home had the upper surface much closer to him, but Kid ignored his comment for the moment,"You'd mentioned he was a large fellow...But he even outclasses dear Sid...Just not in brainpower, it seems."Soul couldn't help but chuckle a little, adding"Ah, I don' think it's his fault; something happened to him to make him this way...The question is what."
And with this, Kid then turned his attention to Death City's resident troublemaker,"What indeed. So....Blair, tell me again how exactly this 'Jack' fellow came to reside in Soul and Maka's home while they were away, would you? I'm curious if there was anything you saw before you happpened across him."He knew better than to think Soul and Maka would lie to him to cover for her, but maybe the cat didn't take everything out of the bag, so to speak.
gpt
Maka :: Blair
Maka gave soul a curious look but did not say or think anything. She wondered if she was just looking into it too much. Amnesia, there was nothing else, logically, that it could be. Either naturally or magically induced. If amnesia wasn't the answer, the only other thing that it could be is that he had no memories to recall. But that was impossible, he was a grown man, not a newborn babe. "I hope its just that." she finally thought, absently after another long period of silence. There were too many questions surrounding this strange man and he could answer none of them. She couldn't help but frown, troubled as she looked at the giant. "I don't think he's evil...but..." she thought trailing off. Even if someone doesn't intend to do bad, doesn't mean they won't be used for just that. She would never forget everything that had happened with Crona. "Alright. Good idea, stein means well but he's too curious sometimes..." she thought sighing heavily. "Besides, would be a good idea to have Kid aware of his presence in the city." she thought. With that decided they looked at the destructive pair.
Maka smiled ruefully as Soul tried to explain what a friend is. "Friends have nothing to do with how long or short you've known someone. You should know this, Soul." she said looking at her partner, teasing him. She looked at Jack. She could definitely explain what a friend was but she was unsure if he would understand it. "Friends are people that you know. They are people who you can depend on and trust." she said a little slowly. The concept of a "friend" was hard to grasp unless you could identify the emotions tied with the words. She didn't know if Jack could. The giant stared at Maka for a bit with an odd expression "Trust?" he said tilting his head. The meister pursed her lips and tilted her head "Trust, is...well..." she said trailing off. "Its when you..." she started again only to trail off.
"Trust is like when you followed and listened to me, even though you didn't know." Blair finally said, her tail wrapping around part of the mans neck. "Or how we are going to follow Maka and Soul even though we have no idea where we are going or their motives. Thats kind of what trust is." she said giving another example. Jack nodded slowly and looked at the cat "Blair is friend?" he asked curiously. Maka blinked in surprise, the corners of her mouth lifting ever so slightly. "Awwwwwwh" the cat witch said. "Blair is jacks friend!" she said cheerfully.
Maka smiled warmly at Kid as he opened the door "Heya Kid, how are you?" she asked as she was let into the spacious room. "Don't worry about it, she needed the back-up." Maka added in. "She and her partners are promising. We asked Tsubaki and Black Star to train them. Well, when he's recovered." she said laughing a little at Kids expression. "I know. But Tsubaki will keep him from going too far." she added. "What are Liz and Patty doing?" she asked curiously. However, as the conversation changed, switching over to the giant, Maka's smile was replaced by a troubled expression. "He outclasses just about everyone in size by a large margin." she said pursing her lips as she thought over everything she'd learned thus far.
Blair jumped slightly as the new Lord Death addressed her. "Uh..." she started her mind momentarily blanking out on her. "Well, I went out looking for something I needed and I came across him." she said placing her paw on the side of Jacks head. "He was laying face down in the ground not too far from the city. He was wearing what he's wearing now. There was nothing else around, near or on him." she said tilting her head slightly. "I brought him back to Soul and Maka's house and he was unconscious for a long while. When he woke up, he didn't seem to know a single thing." she finished frowning a little. "He didn't know his name, where he was from. He didn't know where he was either. He even seemed confused about his own body when he first awoke." she added, remembering some of the odd things she'd seen him do and say. "I've been slowly trying to teach him things as we went along but he's never showed signs of remembering things or even recognizing things." she said.
"....Speaking of that....I think he should be enrolled in classes so he can be properly taught things. If he truly needs to re-learn everything, it should be done the right way." Maka said. She didn't want to think of what would happen if Blair continued to teach the poor man.
human
Jack::Soul::Kid Death
Kid just listened silently, watching as the large man's gaze went from here to there, his eyes taking in the entirety of the mansion. It was strange indeed to think someone with this man's appearance would be so unrealistically dull, and yet here he stood. Like a toddler's brain in a grown man's body, minus the crying and needing to be changed, he supposed. To not know his origin, nor his name, body or where he was...It screamed to him of deliberate memory alteration. And deep down...Kid felt his arrival here wasn't by chance. It was fortunate Blair found him; airheaded as she seemed, he knew she was more than enough to suppress this giant in case things got really out of control.
Maka's suggestion, however, had Kid raise an eyebrow."Classes, huh? We do teach some basic courses at the Academy...After all, with Asura gone we don't have to devote everything to studying Weapon-Meister tactics."Closing his eyes, Kid brought a hand up to his chin, yellow eyes staring down at the floor in contemtplation, stating as he looked back up to Soul and Maka,"We'll probably have him skip advanced courses, and I'll personally assign a tutor to teach him basic arithmetic and vocabulary...In the meantime, I'll have him housed in an empty dorm room at the Academy."
It was here that Soul interjected,"I don't think having him live alone would be the best option..."before Kid responded,"Oh, he won't, because you two will be staying with him as well."Soul seemed quite stupefied by this, Kid clarifying"I know all about what happened to your house; the reason your stairs were broken was because Jack here fell down and smashed every step...Seems he's quite hard-headed, should give Black Star a run for his money."Soul just grimaced,"Now's not the time to be cracking jokes, Kid!"
Kid straightened up and stated,"I'm not joking, I'm afraid; you two will need a place to live while your home is restored, yes? We have a teacher's suite available at the Academy. A Classic Seven: Full living room, a formal dining room, Three full bedrooms, a separate kitchen, two full bathrooms with one being en-suite. Meaning you won't have to share, and it should be ample space for your friend to reside."Soul sighed,"Isn't there any way you can take him in? Maka and I..."He then leaned over and whispered something in Kid's ear, the new Death's eyes impassive as he just replied,"I see..."
"I'm sorry to inconvenience the two of you, but I'm afraid with Jack here being a rogue variable, we can't afford to be *too* carefree."he then replied, stepping towards the large man who seemed to just be staring thoughtlessly at the whole thing; silent as he was, he was technically behaving himself."What say you?"Jack just stared down at Kid, "What say...What? You? You not I....I am I...Jack is...Jack. You are...Soul?" Kid seemed a little exasperated; it seemed he truly did not know to speak."It is very clear that you need assistance, but I am asking if you would accept..."he then paused to point at Soul and Maka, continuing to speak"Being under their guidance...To help you learn more about yourself, Jack. They will introduce you to others, as well, that will teach you."
Jack then looked to the Meister-Weapon pair curiously, only saying "Jack want to know more...Jack stay with Soul and Maka." Kid smiled, stating"Well then...I believe that settles that. I'll try to see if I can't squeeze him into some basic classes; I don't think it would be appropriate to place him in a kindergarten program, even though it seems like that would help him best. In the meantime, have Stein look at him. Maybe he can provide more insight...Just, try not to let him get too curious, yeah?"
Soul's face indicated a clear expression of exasperation and displeasure, his voice small as he just said"If this guy eats as big as he looks...He'll run through the budget in a matter of weeks."
gpt
Maka :: Blair :: Illayna Meoih :: Tsubaki
"You mean to tell me you actually thought it was a good idea to continue letting Blair be his teacher?" she asked the two males in front of her. She placed a hand on her hip and just sighed. "For whatever reason, be it natural or unnatural, he has no memories. He knows nothing. We can't let someone like that just wander around under the cat's influence only. Who knows what he'd pick up." she said eyeing Blair.
Maka couldn't help but redden a bit as her partner leaned in and whispered to Kid, she couldn't really hear him but she could guess what it was about. "Well, theres not much we can really do about it, Soul." she said managing to hide the embarrassment in her tone. "As he pointed out, we don't exactly have anywhere else we can stay. And, to be honest, I don't think Kid would last very long if he had to deal with Jack and Blair." she said laughing a little bit. She didn't think anything was going to remain symmetrical in their presence, not for long anyways. He'd have a nervous breakdown before the day was out. "Well, at least we have somewhere to stay while the house is being fixed. Thats one problem taken care of and it isn't going to cost us anything." she thought to her partner, sighing again. The uneasiness Maka had been feeling for some time got worse.
"Now, now, soul..." she said placating-ly as she patted his back at the look on her partners face after Jack had answered Kid. "Also, bringing up Black Star. Why did you let him teach the gym class, Kid?" she asked him with a raise of her brow. "Those kids were so done they looked like a weak breeze would topple them over. I wouldn't be surprised to find some of them still passed out on the steps." she said shaking her head. "I think it would be far safer in the future, just to cancel the gym class if no one else can substitute for it, or else you may end up with a bunch of very angry parents asking you why you let black star kill their children." she said smirking a bit.
Tsubaki and Black Star walked down the hospital halls to the injured weapons room where they were to meet their new pupils. Black Star was chatting away, listing off their soon to be training regime for the week. The numbers were more than a little daunting if not flat out impossible. She just shook her head and sighed a little. "Black Star, we're here to train them. Not work them to death." she said with a wry smile on her face. "What? This is light!" the meister replied furrowing his brows. The response elicited another sigh from the woman. "Black Star, you're going to have to realize that no one has the stamina you do. Its sometimes hard to believe you're actually human." she said shaking her head.
Before long they were walking into a small hospital room where three people sat inside. One on the bed bandaged while the other two sat on each side. One was another male who looked identical to the one on the bed and the other a female. "So you're the ones Maka and Soul mentioned." Tsubaki said as he eyes fell on each of the individuals. "Pleased to meet you, I'm Tsubaki." she said with a smile. "Yeah, yeah, I'm Black Star, now, lets start talking about your training." he said. "Black Star...." she sighed out shaking her head. "What?" he responded. "This is hardly the time to start that now. Besides with your regime, he's going to need to heal completely before he starts anything." she said placing a hand on her hip. Black Star just scowled slightly. "Yeah but she's ok and so is the other one." he stated stubbornly. "Black Star...." she said despondently.
Illayna turned her head at the sound of approaching footsteps. She then watched the two come in and start talking. She had heard a lot about the pair and more-so about Black Star in particular. Until now she'd never had to deal with him as a teacher. "I'm a little scared..." she thought to herself. "U-uhm, actually, if its ok, I would like to start my training as soon as possible..." she stated. She would greatly come to regret this. Black Star smiled broadly at her but Tsubaki had a look of pity on her face.
- Fifteen Hours Later
Illayna bent over, her hands on her knees and her breathing coming in short ragged gasps. Sweat beaded her entire body making the clothes stick to her in an uncomfortable way. "Holy shit, he's going to kill me!!" she thought as she tried to catch her breath, a painful stitch in her side. It wasn't like she was out of shape, she was actually in very good shape. But apparently it wasn't good enough to keep up with her teachersridiculoustraining. From a distance she could hear someone screaming at her. "HEY! ITS NOT TIME FOR A BREAK YET, LETS GET GOING!"
It was Black Star, her new teacher. Illayna groaned and fell back on her ass and sat there on the ground. Her body ached all over, in places she hadn't even known could feel pain and she was completely exhausted. "I'm done, I can't take another step..." she said. She realized she sounded whiny but she was so far gone she didn't particularly care. She saw him run back towards her "Done? We just started!" he said scowling at the meister. "What!? No way...." she said slightly crying. "Are you even human? Theres no way you are." she said exhausted. "You may not be but I AM human and I need to rest!" she said falling back until she was laying down on the ground.
human
Takeshi Yamaguchi::Daichi Yamaguchi::Black Star
Black Star's regiment could easily be described as inhuman, especially given the warm-up itself was about three hours long. And the degree of the exercises themselves seemed like each one could be done by itself and the person would be set for the week. How someone like him managed to not kill himself just from the pressures of his own training was a mystery to this day.
"Hey, hey! This is not time for slacking!"the Meister said as he marched over to stand over Illayna's prone form. And despite her protests, he didn't seem on keen on having them stop, crossing his arms and tapping his foot impatiently. Letting out a huff, he just retorted as she called him not a human,"You think I got like this by going soft? If you wanna get strong, you have to push past the pain! Force your legs to move even if they scream for rest! Even if your lungs feel like they're about to collapse, keep sucking down air!"
Still...Even he could see that she was at her limit for now, and conceded."Alright, a twenty minute rest break...We only have thirty more miles to go, then it's onto weights! While you catch your breath, I'll be up here doing crunches!"And before Illayna might be able to get a word in edgewise (if she could even speak by this point), he was already hanging by his legs off the branch of a nearby tree. Naturally, his policy was to meet or exceed a certain limit, and if that couldn't be done, he would do twice as much of another exercise to punish himself and make him succeed the next time.
Elsewhere, Takeshi and Daichi were to be paired with Tsubaki to help them be taught the ways of the Weapon. Being a ninja's tool, it was obvious she was the best choice for them; her Meister had already explained what they were and how they functioned. But for this, they were going to be doing exercises in feeling the resonance of each other...And trying to help awaken them spiritually to the Wavelength of their Meister. Harmonious as they were, it was painfully clear that there was too much distance between them.
"So...Tsubaki, what exactly are we going to be doing? I mean, I appreciate you taking the time to help us...But aren't we supposed to be with our Meister?"Daichi asked, to which Takeski responded,"Did you go deaf or something when it was being explained? We have to learn to synchronize, be able to feel our Meister's Wavenlength"Daichi's eyes narrowed"Yeah, well, I still think if that's the case then Illayna should be be here with us!"
Takeshi just grinned,"What, afraid Black Star's going to try and steal her away or something? Who'd be crazy enough to ditch someone like Tsubaki?"Daichi flushed,"DUDE! Show some respect, she IS trying to help us be better Weapons!"At this, Takeshi just poked his brother's forehead with his good arm,"You're such a dweeb, it's no wonder you couldn't get that one girl's attention in class."Daichi's face turned about as red as a fresh-cooked lobster,"Man, you promised never bring that up in front of someone else"
gpt
Illayna :: Tsubaki
Illayna stared up at her new instructor forlornly, what had she gotten herself into? No human could survive this intense regiment even once a year, let alone every single day! "Ahhhhhaaahahah" was the only sound she managed to actually make before promptly passing out where she was, completely dead to the world.
The female weapon stared at the two siblings mentally shaking her head as they went back and forth. "Now, why does this seem familiar..." she thought to herself.
"Well now, I wonder if you're the one whose actually worried Illayna will be "snatched" away, Takeshi?" Tsubaki cut in before the siblings could go any further, placing a hand on her hip "I mean, after all, whats that saying about the dog who barks the loudest...?" she added with a quirk of her brow. For a few moments there was nothing but silence and in that, Tsubaki cracked a smile, flicking Takeshi's forehead. "I'm only teasing. Try not to torment Daichi or Illayna so much." she said, her kind features turning serious. " You two may be brothers but first and foremost you are weapons and partners with Illayna. You need to act more like that and less like typical siblings if you want to improve. If you can't it will continue to affect you in battle and it will be more of a drain on Illyana." she cautioned. "A three way soul resonance is hard enough as it is, there are few who can successfully pull it off. You do not want to be making a difficult task even more difficult. " she finished, staring at them in turn.
Her serious features once more softened up as she spoke again "Don't worry though. Black Stars so dense he forgets to notice everything when you mention training, so Illyana is perfectly safe. Or at least, she is for the time being...." she said trailing off " So, lets start training before that changes." she said clapping her hands together, managing to hide an amused smile. The only real danger the girl was in, and admittedly it was a very real danger, was extreme exhaustion as she was put through his training regiment. She might be Black Stars partner but even she had to wonder how he survived it from time to time.
human
Takeshi Yamaguchi::Daichi Yamaguchi::Black Star
Black Star finished his crunches, looking back down to see if his newest charge was ready to go...Only to find her passed out."Man...Well, I guess that's it for today then."he said, dismounting the tree before going over to poke her forehead. Letting out a sigh, he just hoisted her over his shoulder and went to look for Tsubaki. Maybe he could see how the brothers were reacting.
Takeshi's cheeks pinked a little, Daichi grinning"Uh oh, is someone getting flushed?"Takeshi just shoved his brother,"Shut up, dweeb! You're the one always hounding..."But before the argument could go any further, they both noticed that Tsubaki's facial expression hardened considerably, making them both pale a bit; was she going to kick their ass for fighting? If she was Black Star's partner...Then she was likely strong as hell too.
However, they both kind of relaxed when she went on to explain that her Meister was too dense to make any moves like that."Good thing I suppose...Means we don't have to worry."Daichi replied, Takeshi nodding"I doubt she'd go for him anyway; Illayna's straight as an arrow, but I think even he might be too much for her to deal with."
"Who might be too much for who to deal with?"
At this, both brothers turned to see none other than Black Star there...Holding Illayna's unconscious figure over his shoulder. Both of them were speechless, their jaws open as he set their Meister to lay down on the grass."Oi, Tsubaki...How're things going over here?"he then asked, before long being bullrushed as the brothers came to check on Illayna.
"Illayna?! Illayna!"
"What did you do to her, man!?"
Black Star tapped his foot as well as a finger against his temple, answering rather nonchalantly"Well...First a five-mile swim, 500 pushups, then 1000 squats...And then we were set to do a fifty-mile run, but I guess she ran out of gas halfway through that."
"RAN OUT OF GAS!?" both brothers would reply almost unanimously, Daichi shouting"Dude, what kind of screwed-up regiment is that?!"and Takeshi butting in,"There's no way anyone could survive that!"
Black Star just shrugged,"Honestly, that's a light workout...Maybe her just being back from a mission didn't have her at full energy. We'll try again tomorrow."Both Takeshi and Daichi were utterly speechless; mostly because of how Illayna was...But then it occurred to them that THEY might have to go that too! He was going to kill them!
gpt
Maka :: Blair :: Marie
Maka looked around herself as they sat in Stein and Maries living room, Marie had obviously added her own touches here and there but it was still more or less unchanged. She remembered the first time they had come to this house, an involuntary shiver going through her as she remembered their fight with him. He had completely kicked their asses, hers, Souls, Black Stars and Tsubakis. She had thought they were going to die there, instead he turned out to be a teacher who gave them all a passing grade. He had been a great, if a bit eccentric, teacher to them all and was one of the reason they were as strong as they were now. Shewasa little worried about her former teachers potential reaction to jack and hoped marie was home too in case he started going overboard with things. Again. "Exhausted." maka said quietly sighing. Her eyes went to jack with a scared looking black cat clinging to his shoulders and she wondered again about the strange visitor. "How long are we going to be here?" Blair asked looking around the room uncomfortably, her tail twitching. "Dunno." maka replied shrugging her shoulders "As long as necessary." she added.
Their conversation lapsed into silence and after a few minutes a door opened and in walked Marie and Stein. "Hey again Maka, Soul. Hello Blair and...." Marie said trailing off at the strange male "His names jack." the cat replied, still perched on his shoulders. "Nice to meet you jack, my names Marie." she said smiling kindly. "Did kid get a hold of you, Stein?" Maka asked the scientist. "Ah, yeah. He told me there was someone he wanted me to look at?" he replied twisting the screw on his head. "I'm assuming its Jack here." he said turning his eyes on the large male. "Yes, sir." she replied. "What can you tell me?" he asked, still staring at jack. "Well, not much really." she admitted shrugging. "Blair is the one who found him...." "Found him?" he asked raising a brow. "Yes, apparently she found him passed out on the outskirts of Death City and brought him to our house." she answered, a corner of steins mouth lifting in amusement. "According to Blair when he woke up he had no memories or really any other kind of knowledge or information. She's taught him a handful of words but...well, he's honestly like an adolescent child. He didn't even know his own name. Additionally when I tried to see his soul...I was also unable to." she added furrowing her brows in a troubled expression. "We didn't know what to make of him so we brought him to Kid and...well, now we're here." she finished. Stein had remained silent, observing Jack curiously as Maka told him as much as she could. "Curious..." he said when she finally fell silent.
"How sad" Marie murmured looking at the large male, her gaze turning to look at Steins own a little smile playing on her lips at his expression "I suppose I'll go make coffee for everyone, this might take a little while." she said turning and walking out of the room. After a moment, Steins gaze shifted to Blair, the cats tail puffing slightly "Is there anything else you can add, Blair?" he asked her. "Uhm..." she started nervously. "Not...really..." she added her tail twitching slightly. Steins gaze turned back to jack, his hand going up to twist the screw on his head once more as he considered what he'd been told. "Well, lets see what we can find out..." he said finally, rolling up the sleeves on his lab coat a bit.
human
Jack::Soul::Stein
"Muh...ree...?" Jack responded, tilting his head a bit; Stein nodded with a gentle smile and added, "Yes, that's my wife, Marie...I'm Stein." Poor Jack seemed like he was about to blow a head gasket, "Ste..Ste...ehn?" Now Stein usually wasn't one to be surprised, but this took him completely off-guard. No one had ever pronounced his name quite like that before, and it was kind of surprising to be perfectly honest. His eyes peered curiously over the titan, seeming to ponder what exactly was going through his head. And Jack would stare right back, rather blankly in fact...As if he still had no real understanding of emotional cues or body language.
Even so, he wouldn't get flustered, just giving another bit of a smirk and stating"No, no...Say it with me, let's sound it out. Ste?"Jack seemed to catch on with this, replying "Ste..."
"Good, now say 'Aye'...."
"Aye"
"Now Ste-Aye..."
"Ste-Aye..."
"Now say Ehn"
"Ehn"
"Now say "Ste-Aye-Ehn"...."
"Ste-Aye-Ehn"
"Good, good, now all together..."
"Ste-Aye-Ehn"
Well....At least he tried; what could have happened to the lad to make him so damaged? No way it was voluntary; was the poor soul born this way? If what Blair had said was true, then it was a true miracle he didn't perish out in the scorching heat of the desert. Meanwhile, Soul was trying his hardest not to laugh; he'd never heard someone butcher his former teacher's name that badly before. Even if this was a stranger of questionable mental fortitude, it was still childishly humorous to see it happen.
"I know you're not a woman of ill repute, Blair, but at the same time I can't help but question your taste in men."Stein joked, adding"Even so, you are a curious one, Jack..."At this Jack seemed to reach up and tap against Stein's head-screw, causing the Professor to laugh. At this Jack couldn't help but just tilt his head the other way, like a lost puppy. "What it for?" he asked, Stein's reply being straightforward"Ah, that...I imagine you would be curious about that. Call it a failed experiment of mine...Now it's kind of well, stuck there."
"Stuck...What stuck mean?" Jack asked, Stein's smile starting to falter a bit; his vocabulary was rather limited, apparently. The heat must have cooked his brain, the poor thing."Ah...Never mind that for now. Jack...I'm going to look you over, OK? Nothing serious, just want to make sure you're alright...If anything hurts, just let me know."
The lack of a soul could very well mean he suffered a similar fate to Sid; that much was easy to check, himself soon producing a stethoscope. It was quite simple, really; if he had a heartbeat, he could rule out that much. If not, well...That would warrant further investigation. Placing it over the man's clothed chest - the giant dressed in a plain black T-shirt and shorts that could probably serve as a tent to house a family of three comfortably - Stein listened and heard it. The characteristic 'Thump thump' of a beating heart...Though it did sound hollow for some reason, almost like it was echoing inside his body. THAT was strange, for sure."Hmmm....That would rule out resurrection it seems."Stein mused, Jack looking down and tilting his head, "Resu..Resu...wreck..shion?" the giant sounded out the word, and Stein just grinned a bit,"Nothing you need to be concerned about, Jack. Just means you werent' dead."
Jack shook his head, "Not dead...Woke up. On bed. Saw Blair after first light." Now it was Stein's turn to tilt his head; first light."Don't worry, I didn't get it either...It's almost like he woke up from a coma or something."Stein gave the screw in his head another twist, trying to contemplate options. And it was here he pressed a hand to Jack's arm, and seemed to develop a small expression of surprise."Maka, Soul...If it's alright with you, I'd like to take a sample."
Soul just shook his head,"Stein...Marie talked to you about this, remember?"But Stein could only laugh,"It's nothing like that; his heartbeat sounded hollow. As if it were reverberating. Not only that...But if you feel his skin, there's no give. It would be easy to attribute to a hypertrophic musculature, but look at this..."And at this, Stein pinched...And Jack didn't react in the slightest, only keeping his eyes on the former professor.
And if they were to inspect more closely, they would see that Stein didn't even have a lump of skin between his fingers; no it was more like his nails dug in at the surface, but he couldn't actually pull it."See what I mean? Curious I'd say; it's not so much a sample as it is more a biopsy. You can supervise if you like."
gpt
Maka :: Blair :: Marie
Marie whistled to herself, as she prepared coffee for the small group. She could hear someone in the living room laughing riotously; if anyone was laughing, she was certain it would be Soul but wondered what had happened to make him laugh so much and so loudly. Especially here. Placing the coffee, some sugar and creamer on a tray she started walking down the hall, catching snippets of the conversation as she drew closer to the double doors that led to the living room area; reaching them she backed her way through and sat the coffee down on a nearby table, Maka and Stein standing close to Jack, Soul relaxing on the couch and Blair still perched on the massive being. "Coffee is here for anyone who wants some." she said.
"Thank you, I'll get mine in a second." Maka said without looking up.
Grabbing one of the cups she walked over to Stein and handed it to him, taking it he looked at her and smiled "Thank you, Marie." he replied taking a drink before setting it down next to him and returning his attention back to Jack.
Maka chewed on the inside of her lip, her expression troubled. He was an enigma in pretty much every way possible, she wasn't even surewhathe actually was. She could see no soul but he carried a beating heart, he had skin but it did not act as skin should, no one knew where he'd come from and he looked like an adult physically but mentally he was akin to a newborn infant. Shaking her head a little she straightened up. "It would probably be for the best if you did take a sample, we'll stay here and watch. I'm curious as to what you'll find out." she said looking at Jack before turning and walking over to where the coffee was and making herself a cup.
human
Jack::Soul::Stein
"Thank you, Maka...I promise to be as gentle as I can." Stein would reply, Jack cocking his head quizzically at the man as he pulled up a small scalpel. "What that for? Sample?" the giant would ask, Stein nodding "That it is; since your skin seems to have no give in it, I'm going to just make a little cut on your body. and take some blood into this tube here." Stein would then take out a small glass culture tube from his coat pocket, adding "See? Now can you sit perfectly still?"
Jack nodded in response, his body turning quite rigid...So much so that even Soul was a bit taken aback."Man...Jack doesn't half-do that; even looks like a statue. Won't lie, that's a little bit creepy..." he would comment, Stein snickering "Well, he seems to take what he understands quite literally...But this kind of compliance is a little alien, even for someone who doesn't seem to possess higher cognitive processing, I will admit".
However, Stein would find that was the least alien about him; when the edge of the scalpel poked against the surface of Jack's upper right arm, there was the tiniest 'ting' as it bounced back ever so slightly. Like he hit a metal plate. "Hmmm. That's peculiar; seems to be a metal plate in his bicep area. Even stranger, there's not even the smallest indentation." Stein commented, poking it again."Eh? You mean you can't cut him? Makes me wonder if he's a Weapon then?" Soul mused; Stein said nothing in response at first, continuing to poke his scalpel all over Jack's exposed skin. From his arms to his thighs, the doctor had the same result: With the scalpel at least, his body showing no capacity of being lacerated. Not even surface scratches to show evidence of where he attempted to cut him.
"Jack, you grow more curious by the second...There's one last thing I would like to try" Stein would then say, reaching into his bag and pulling out what appeared to be a high-gauge needle. There was more than a little hint of a mad gleam in the doctor's eyes; clearly Jack's resistance to being cut was making his old 'mad scientist' persona re-emerge ever so slightly. "Whoa, whoa, Stein! Easy! You'll figure out another way!" Soul shouted, trying to bring the man back to his senses...But it was too late.
"Do hold still, alright? This might sting a little"
And with a mighty downward thrust, Stein slammed the needle home....But the response was not like anyone was expecting.
*CRASH*
The needle popped out of Stein's hand, clinking loudly against the floor as it landed and bounced a few times before finally coming still."Dang it, Stein! What were you thinking?! You could have..." Soul started to say in a chastising tone, but one look at Jack would shut him up. After something like that, just about anyone else would be crying about how a madman was about to run them through with a large pointy bit. But...The giant seemed as calm as ever. If anything, it was like he hadn't moved at all.
"Can Jack move?" Jack would ask, turning his head to look at Stein. Who seemed utterly puzzled now that he was looking at the situation; just what manner of human was he? "Yes...You can move. Sorry if I hurt you..." Stein would say, Jack standing up and looking around when the tray of coffee cups caught his eye...But even more so, he would kneel down to get a closer look at the small spoons that came with them.
Without even asking, he would then stick his tongue out - which seemed just normal despite everything that was abnormal about him - and licked it."Oi, Jack, don't do that...That's not yours..." Soul would then say, but Stein then replied,"Wait...Let's see how this plays out..." But if the fact that knives and needles couldn't puncture wasn't enough, then this was surely at least one major clue that he wasn't a normal being.
*KIRIK*
Jack's mouth instantly opened wide and shoved the spoon inside, his teeth crunching down and shearing the metal with apparent ease. And yet, despite the fact that said teeth should be breaking into tiny pieces with that...He continued to chew as if he were eating a piece of bread. Only when he finished and he visibly swallowed the mangled ware did he say, "Iroooooon...Good iron....Jack like. Can Jack have more?" That last question left the man utterly stupefied; even with everything weird they had faced...Never before did he encounter something that could devour metal.
"Perhaps later...Uhm, Blair...." Stein would then turn his attention to the cat-witch after a few moments of trying to process, asking"Could you possibly show us where exactly you found him? I know you said it was on the outskirts...But I would like to get an idea of where he might have come from, if it's not too much trouble."
gpt
Maka :: Blair :: Marie
Maka only nodded to Stein as he promised to be as gentle as possible during the examination. Setting her coffee cup down she crossed her arms over her chest, her fingers tapping against her upper arm lightly. "Hmmmmm." she said at jacks over-compliance, her ears picking up the faint ting as their old professor pressed the scalpel against his arm. "Metal plates in his biceps? Why would he...or anyone else do that?" she wondered aloud. "Not like any weapon I've seen before." she said to Souls comment as she watched the examination even closer. "Well, if he is covered in those metal plates, would explain his slow movement and weight. But why do something like that? There are other ways to increase your defensive abilities; Better too." She said, her brows furrowed slightly. "If it really is metal plates." she added.
Blinking a few times, Maka looked over at Stein and cringed, noticing that familiar mad look. She took a few quiet steps back towards soul and watched. "Well...we need answers..." She said trailing off as she and Soul watched things the way one might watch a train wreck; The high gauge needle bounced off of Jack as harmlessly as the scalpel had, the small group watching the needle roll across the floor. "Uh oh...." Maka thought to herself. Looking over at Soul she shook her head, her hand motioning him to stop. When stein got like that, there was no telling who he might view as an experiment/test subject next. Marie was fairly safe but Maka didn't want to test how safe she and Soul might be. Though she shouldn't have worried as Soul cut off anyway when he glanced at Jack, expecting him to be shaken at least a little, only to find him sitting and acting the same as before. No changes noted whatsoever.
Maka's brows rose as he asked if he could move, her brows climbing higher in surprise as he began to eat the silverware. He and his actions so out of the norm it even snapped Stein out of it as he went back to observing the strange man. After a moment of silence he spoke, Blair jumping in surprise and letting out a startled hiss as he did so, the fur along her back and tail puffed out. "W-what?" she asked nervously, her tail swishing back and forth. "O-oh....y-yeah...I can do that." she said nodding her head slightly, her ear flicking a bit as she calmed herself down. She'd always been a bit scared of Stein.
Hours later they were all heading outside of the City, following Blair as she headed off to where she'd found their mysterious guest. "He was out quite a ways. What were you doing out here, Blair?" Maka asked the cat as they trekked through the desert. "Oh, I wanted to try a new spell but I was short an item I needed, it only grows out here." she replied simply. "Its a good thing she didn't get to try....I imagine we would have come back to an even bigger disaster..." the Scythe meister thought to herself, sighing slightly. After awhile, the magical cat came to a spot and stopped "I found him here. He was lying face down in the sand...this way..." she said gesturing a bit, showing his head had been facing Death City.
human
Jack::Soul::Stein
It took some time, because Stein had to help Marie get their child settled in; such a trek was going to be a little bit, and all would see that Stein was capable of being quite the nurturing father. Though Soul had to admit that even with all this time, it was still weird to see the man with a baby harness, the little platinum-haired toddler looking around curiously, a wide-brimmed brodie hat on his head helping to shield him from the sun. Granted it wasn't high noon, so it wasn't that hot nor was the sun that intense; even still, Stein didn't want his and Marie's child to be exposed to unnecessary danger, no matter how slight.
Even now, Stein and Marie would seem like quite the happy couple; it was so funny to imagine how she had been so adamant on them never being together, Kid's father being the one to tease them about how they seemed quite happy together. Funny how even 'Death' was able to see such things; then again, it made sense considering Shinigami-sama's power.
Though as Maka asked what Blair was doing out here, Soul just snickered,"Forget what she was doing out here; what the heck was this guy doing? If he was lying face-down, that means he walked here, doesn't it?" There was only one road that led into Death City; everywhere else was houses and inaccessible cliffs. No way someone as heavy as him would be able to climb that...Right?
"Seems that way...But from where? There's nothing around here for miles..." Stein then asked, the toddler on the front of his chest giving a little giggle as Jack stared at the baby curiously, the infant waving a small rattle happily. "Small...This is...human? Why small?" Jack asked, Stein raising a brow in surprise; this man must have been incredibly sheltered to not know what an infant was. Given everything he'd seen thus far, it was very clear that the man was not natural. But as to why he was as unnatural? There simply wasn't enough information.
"All humans start off this way, Jack; I'm sure even you were at one point." Stein replied, turning more to the man and asking, "Jack...I want you to stand over here. Face towards the city....And tell me if you remember anything..." Jack seemed a bit confused by this, but nodded and complied, soon standing where Stein had instructed him. His eyes just stared blankly at the City, the wind rippling the loose pure white cloak around his massive figure.
"Jack....Remember....Was here. Before Darkness....Before First Light...." the giant then said, Soul expression's changing to one of surprise, "You were out here....Just standing here? The heck, it must have been a hundred and ten plus! No wonder he can't remember anything, the heat must have fried his brain." Possible, Stein thought....But not likely at all; he could have suffered heat stroke, sure, but even the memory impairment would have been short-term unless he was out here for weeks. And he'd be long dead before then.
"Jack...Do you remember anything else?" Stein then asked, Jack replying "Nothing...Here...Darkness....Then First Light. See Blair...Touch Blair....Fall down stairs..." And as Jack started to ramble in a robotic fashion, Jack was then interrupted by a pat on the shoulder, "Jack, that's enough. You did very well. Now then, Maka, Soul? I hate to apologize for the inconvenience, but while Jack is staying with you...Could you keep an eye on him? And let me know if he experiences anything strange, or remembers anything?" Soul's face instantly turned to one of displeasure, "You're gonna have to be more specific...He had a metal snack not a couple hours ago...Pretty sure most things he'll experience will be strange..."