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~Eimii
Backsliding from the force of the blow, Ryouga dug in his heels, twisting to allow the follow up punch to whistle past harmlessly. A lightning quick pop-up knee to the chin sent his opponent reeling, but the big man rolled with it, attempting to get back out of the bandanna-clad boy's range.
If he wanted some breathing room, then Ryouga was all too willing to oblige. Literally exploding forward, a shower of concrete shards flying from under his feet, he landed a crushing straight-arm to his opponent's center of mass. It picked the battered man up like a rag-doll, hurling him down the alley to crash against the far wall with a sickening crunch.
The body was still sliding to the ground when a weighted chain snaked down from above to wrap around the wanderer's extended forearm. Like a fish on a hook he was pulled into the air as his second attacker dropped to street level. The tall, trench-coated figure holding the other end of the chain cast a meaningful glance at the 'hooker' Ryouga had been trying to save from the crumpled heap at the back of the alley.
Showing admirable teamwork, the provocatively dressed woman raised her hand and two sharp reports pierced the night. The first shot went wide as he swung to the side, but the second was on target. His free hand flashed out and the bullet with his name on it burst into a cloud of stinging lead slivers, too light to penetrate the stone-like hide that the bakusai-tenketsu granted him.
Too close! While he knew he was tough, Ryouga still held a healthy respect for the power of modern firearms. Not wanting to provide a repeat demonstration, he pumped his battle aura with a burst of depression-heavy ki. The lost boy was momentarily amused by the look on the "fisherman's" face as he discovered the wriggling minnow on his line had suddenly become a thrashing whale.
Even more satisfying was the sound he made when he smashed into the fire escape the chain was looped over. Dropping into a crouch, Ryouga felt rather than saw the man release the weapon and land behind him. Kicking backward with another spray of stone, the lost boy scissored both elbows into his assailant's ribs, driving him hard against the unyielding wall of the building.
Another near miss by the woman with the gun convinced Ryouga to switch opponents for a moment. Grasping the chain still attached to his arm, he gave a sharp yank, pulling it free of the ironwork above. Another flick of the wrist sent it whipping toward the back of the alley, causing the blonde's fourth shot to go wide as she danced away.
Ryouga felt the fingers gripping his hair before he had a chance to react to the man's proximity. Damn, that should've kept him down longer! Already bracing to meet either the ground or the wall face first, he was further surprised when the narrow-faced man lunged for his jugular, fangs bared.
Fangs?! The creature's jaws were supernaturally strong, but obviously he'd never tried to chew stone before. Ryouga put an end to his frustrated gnawing with an over the shoulder throw, but the thing in the shape of a man hopped to his feet and backed away before Ryouga could detonate the street next to his head.
Checking his neck to make sure the bite hadn't broken the skin, the lost boy took a defensive stance as he regarded his opponents in a new light. They returned his measuring gaze in turn, vermilion eyes shining too bright in the far-off street lamps. *Vampires...* Scowling in distaste, Ryouga prepared for a real fight. However, while they still looked hungry, the tall man with flowing white hair seemed to have at least a glimmering of intelligence.
"Use the ghouls. Subdue him, kill him, whatever it takes. This location is compromised. Burn it afterward." With that, he leapt back up to the rooftops. Ryouga was about to snare him with his own weapon again, but instead used the chain to pick another bullet from the air before it could become an annoyance. These folks certainly didn't fool around. But that was fine; the time for games was over.
Turning, Ryouga flashed his own grim, fang-toothed grin at the remaining vampire. "Well, well... this is a turn up for the books. Looks like maybe I don't have to kill that sack of shit for attacking defenseless women after all..." Barking a mirthless laugh, the wanderer cast an unpitying glance at the piece of human trash lying at the foot of the wall, then cracked his knuckles ominously. "Too bad you had to spoil it by being a blood sucking monster who deserves even less mercy than I was going to give him. I hope you've got your bags packed, 'cause the next express train to Hell leaves in five minutes."
The pale woman snarled, but before she could renew her attack they were rudely interrupted yet again. Smashing open the doors to the building at Ryouga's back, a swarm of shambling forms slowly poured into the alleyway. Looking and smelling like the half-rotten corpses that they were, the ghouls crowded the narrow passage, forcing the bandanna-clad boy onto the fire escape, lest he lose sight of the main threat.
Unfortunately, the woman seemed to be making good on her original intent to suck the unconscious man dry. Well, perhaps it wasn't so unfortunate; the bastard had been attempting to rape her before Ryouga had intervened, and even if she'd been letting him 'succeed,' it was the thought that counted, right? As such, the lost boy wasn't in a terrible hurry to swoop in and save his worthless hide.
Instead, he looked down at the pack of mindless eating machines surrounding his position. Neither he nor the second vampire had bothered to lower the ladder to the street, so they couldn't get up to him that way, and they were pathetically east to swat aside when they climbed up on top of each other to reach him. They were persistent, however, and a real threat to anyone who might happen by the mouth of the alley, so eliminating them quickly would probably be best.
Jumping up on the railing, Ryouga held on with one hand as he whipped the chain up, coiling it through the air like a ribbon of steel before sending it crashing down into the crowd below. Too stupid to grab the chain, the ghouls were easy meat for Ryouga's punishing lash, and he'd pulped a good number of them into immobility before the vampire finished her meal decided that she'd had enough of being ignored.
Her aim is getting better, Ryouga mused as he swayed to avoid a shot meant to knee-cap him. Aware that he presented a tempting target, and that with enough bullets she might actually get lucky once or twice, the lost boy opted to do the sensible thing. He pushed off, descending into the near-complete cover that the army of ghouls provided.
It was a forest of grasping hands and drooling, toothy maws in the moments that Ryouga was falling, but the closest of them were instantly driven back by the eruption of concrete that marked his landing. He didn't give them a chance to recover, becoming a blur of frenzied motion. A red haze enveloped Ryouga as he danced through the monstrous mosh pit, always followed by a plume of razored stone like the wake of a speedboat on a lake of blood.
Those that were spared the shredding halo met no less sure an end at Ryouga's fists. Adopting an efficient boxer's stance, the wanderer's explosive footwork kept his back and sides clear has he advanced, working the crowd like a punching bag. One jab apiece was all it took, when bare-knucled fists struck with the force of falling stars. Skulls and ribcages offered only token resistance before rupturing like over-ripe melons.
A bullet whizzed past his ear, nearly nicking him; was she tracking by the fountain of bloodied earth, or had he simply thinned the pitiful wretches enough that she could see him? Either way, it seemed like his cue to hurry. Spinning, he wrenched the chain around in a bleeding circle, knocking the remaining ghouls back a step before he lightly tapped the end in his hand.
Suddenly, it was like there were a thousand tiny saw blades slashing through the air as the links along the chain disintegrated in an outward-spiraling storm of shrapnel. While the cloud of death was still expanding he counter rotated, a gymnastics ribbon appearing in his hand. With it he lashed out yet again, bisecting the ring and slicing another bloody swath in what was left of the ghouls before sending it flickering out to snare the cowering vampire.
The wanderer deflected a couple more desperate shots as the woman struggled against the seemingly delicate strip of cloth looped around her arms; unfortunate for her that she didn't think to shoot the ribbon. The moment the Ryouga heard the click of a dry-fire he yanked back, now becoming the "fisherman" himself as he reeled his catch through the air. He didn't even let her feet touch the ground as she landed, instead bringing a claw-fisted hand up to catch her throat, glowing with an eerie internal light. She dangled there for a moment, arms bound and feet kicking futilely as the fang-toothed boy regarded her with almost regretful eyes. "I weep for your soul demon, I truly do. Let me show you the depths of my sorrow..."
Bowing his head, the lost boy began chanting in a reverent voice. "Exorcizo te, omnis spiritus immunde, in nomine Dei Patris omnipotentis," patiently wiping a bit of bloody spittle from his face, Ryouga made the sign of the cross. "et in noimine Jesu Christi Filii ejus, Domini et Judicis nostri, et in virtute Spiritus Sancti, ut descedas ab hoc plasmate Dei," the green glow intensified, as he raised her higher. "quod Dominus noster ad templum sanctum suum vocare dignatus est, ut fiat templum Dei vivi, et Spiritus Sanctus habitet in eo. Per eumdem Christum Dominum nostrum, qui venturus est judicare vivos et mortuos, et saeculum per ignem." Then, with a final resounding "Amen," they were engulfed in a pillar of searing light...
P O N T I F E X • A V I U M • I S C A R I O T