"Damn it!" Walter let out in an anguished scream. His non-stop screech pumped power through his punch as the sound of forcing water and sound of cracking clay filled the air. The immense energy shook the ground like a harmless earthquake. Water spilled from the cracks like unpredictable waves on the beach. The yellow clay began to crumble downward, pieces of the sphere beginning to fall. The enormous sphere was being destroyed. Walter's piercing screams were soon muffled by the rushing of water as he felt the Half Spirit's energy pour out of him like an open faucet. The hissing waters watered the surrounding blades of grass, splattering random drops of wetness over their heads.
They continued to sprinkle over the dirt lightly like a topping for ice cream. The threatening hisses scolded the sky and seemed to call the sun forward. This much power… Eric thought as he tried hard to stay on his feet. Amazing…He doesn't look the least bit tired at all. Walter let out a confident cry of anger again. The twin-headed opponents seemed amused.
With a burst of energy, suddenly, the large chunks of clay flew in all directions as more mounds of water spurted out like a garden's sprinkler. It sprayed all over Walter's face and clothes, something he ignored. The wet coolness against his face seemed to cling on to him uncomfortably. It was like wearing a mask. Having that water on his face didn't make him feel normal. As hails of yellow clay came pouring down in a rainstorm of rock, Walter drew back his hand from the crumbling rock and began to dodge each one evasively. He ducked to the right, a large boulder of clay crashing down in the exact same spot a second later. He dodged to the left, stumbling on his feet, and leaned backward as more clay of all sizes came down. "Damn, it, die!" Sanshouuo pleaded hastily.
With a wave of his hand, Sanshouuo sent an explosion to the falling clay, a huge cloud of dust falling over Walter. The blackish puffs of blindness swept over Mark and Eric's eyes, taking away their alert. Mark coughed as he brought a heavy arm to his mouth. He gagged on it as he gave a cold hard stare into the ebony smoke. The red-eyed one makes explosions? He thought as he watched the blackness fade away to its clear, natural color. He wondered if the smoke was poisonous.
Seconds later, everyone found Walter as he burst out of the rising cloud of black. Wisps of devilish fog still clung to his clothes as he escaped the cloudiness. His clothes fluttered wildly as they were brought up in the air. "Maina Mizu: Suidangan! –Water Bullets!-" Walter cried out in midair. His brown hair bristled by as the winds filtered through them, playing with his brunette strands like an instrument. From his back sprung miniature spheres of clear water, bursting out of his skin with an enormous pressure. They were lethal, even if they didn't look like it, and they were half-invisible.
Sanshouuo and Gaia danced with each other's feet maniacally, dodging each bullet as they hit the trunk of a tree behind them expertly. The liquid bullets shot direct holes through the tree's proud, wounded body. Smoke rose from the immense pressure and created a misty scenery around the two-headed ones. Gaia smiled playfully. Sanshouuo gave a serious grin. "Damn it!" Walter spat to himself. "We're not losing!" he cried out in anger as he pulled himself to the floor, and zoomed into thin air.
"Walter!" Eric cried out, desperate to help his fellow Minor.
"Don't get in the way!" Walter's voice cried out as the blur rushed through the dirt. Smoke dragged behind his feet like a trail unable to follow. Eric took a sharp gasp and held himself back. He clenched his fist in restrain as he nervously chewed his own teeth. His red bandanna seemed lose, and his hair was beginning to get uncomfortable under it.
With full preparedness, Walter began to fight the two headed enemy physically. He made various tricks, and he seemed as if he had regained the speed he had lost. It was the confidence that brought it all back, no doubt. The confidence not to give in. Sounds of impact sounded through the trees and echoed off the leaves enticingly. The moves both sides made gave no clue who would win, keeping the observers' interests. Dust flew about as Walter made different punches against Gaia's blocking arm, who seemed as if he felt no pain. There's something wrong here, Walter realized as he continued with the various, unpredictable attacks. My attacks… he thought. They're all being neutralized. But by what? Why can't I land any damage even though I'm hitting him all the time?! Walter's thoughts angered him, thinking to himself that he was weak. He refused to let that become reality.
More dust flew about as he continued to make impact. It seemed to begin to consume him now, wrapping around him in a zero visibility mist. Gaia scoffed in his head as he watched the punches continue. He can't do the least bit of damage to me, Gaia thought. Sanshouuo and I have too many tricks up our sleeves.
"Walter needs help," Mark suggested to Eric. Eric nodded. But they both knew they couldn't find any openings. Walter was taking care of every single one himself. He was amazing. It made Eric believe even further that he was a prodigy. "Here," Mark whispered to Eric as he threw something towards him. Eric sent his attention at the last moment and caught the spear made of rocky earth in his hands. The dusty, thick spear was fragile, but it had to do for now.
"Walter!" Eric cried out, his voice sounding out the syllables to his name with the longest time thought possible. Walter turned around, unable to catch a breath – unable to let out a word. He could only glance at Eric for a second before he ducked a punch by Sanshouuo.
"What?!" he choked out in anger, wondering why they were distracting him. That was Walter's way of thinking. He always thought he could do things by himself. It was the way he grew up, and the only way he trusted someone.
"Here!" Eric cried out with disregard. He thrust the spear into the air as Walter caught notice of it, catching a glimpse of its rocky texture in the corner of his eye. The Water Minor ducked another punch again as he backed up and jumped into the air. With an enormous jump, he caught the spear in his hand and twirled it skillfully. The movement of his fingers seemed almost threatening, as well as the look painted over his face. Gaia and Sanshouuo felt challenged.
"Thanks," Walter replied reluctantly. Walter never seemed to have manners. Eric smiled lightly as he put on a tough lock on his features. He scoffed under his breath as he watched Walter work the dusty spear like he had used it all his life. The Water Minor swung the rocky shaft over and over again until it got caught in the palm of Gaia. The blade surely dug deep into his skin, but for some reason, no blood leaked out. Not even a cut was made. Just a trembling, brownish shaft. What…? Walter thought in surprise.
"You can't beat us," Gaia informed Walter with a grin. Walter scoffed and narrowed his eyes into mean, demonic triangles. "We have too many tricks up our sleeves while you have too little. There's too much of a difference between you and me," Gaia smirked. Everything seemed to amuse him. The rocky blade of the spear continued to tremble horridly as Walter tried harder and harder to push it into the palm of his hand. It seemed as if it would break. Damn it! Walter spat at himself in his head. Walter pressed it harder and harder until blisters showed on his hand.
"We have to help him," Mark suggested. Eric knew that all ready, but he nodded anyway. Eric seemed to be speechless when it wasn't to Walter. "Fill it with fire," Mark insisted. Eric didn't seem to understand, but he did when the time was right.
With a punch to the floor, Mark sent a wave of dirt from underground, leaving the enemy unsuspected. Mounds of dirt pushed upward like large worms were crawling underneath its first thin layer and trailed towards the lock between Walter and the foe. The rock spear rattled and shook unsteadily as Walter pressed it harder and harder, desperately trying to win over. Despite his efforts, Gaia was the clear winner of this part of the fight. With his hand held above his head, Gaia strangely blocked the dagger-like blade of the spear with just the palm of his hand, feeling no pain or blood, or not even the slightest scratch against his skin while Walter felt the blisters turn into wounds on his hands.
The traveling mounds of dirt reached Gaia and Sanshouuo's feet and unleashed a round prison of stone that surrounded the two, trapping them in surprise. They cried out as Walter held back the spear, letting the two fall into the apparent plan. The stone sphere locked them up in darkness, not giving them one whiff of air to breathe as it sealed tightly. "Okay, Eric, now!" Mark cried out as he clapped his hands together. Traces of brownish, highlighted energy surrounded his fingers and fizzled in the air as holes opened up in the stone prison, large enough to fit a head but not a body. The spherical prison seemed like a giant, whiffle ball statue. "Damn it, what are you trying to pull, stupid kid!?" Gaia's voice echoed through the opening holes that cracked eerily as they pulled wider.
Sanshouuo groaned in despair. "We don't have time for this!" he said in a rising voice, his tone angered and annoyed.
With a clap of his own hands, Eric poured out the flaming, red energy of the Half Spirit within him. He felt the temperatures rise as the heat began to form inside the giant whiffle ball. The heat churned and churned until they became sparks, and the sparks stirred until they became flames as the flames connected and connected until it became a contained wildfire. With a burst of release, Eric let the flames free, and with a crazed explosion, the holes of the stone prison hissed out the red orange flames like a million volcano mouths. The flickering, scolding wisps of flame threatened the grass beneath them and painted the trees bright. The bright hotness spilled over the three Minors' eyes as they used their hands to shield themselves from the intense flames.
The cackling blaze continued to shoot outward, its demonic laughter echoing through the forest. There was no escape for them. As the fire began to die out, hissing white smoke replaced it, swimming upward from the holes as darkness was the only thing remaining inside the prison. "It's over," Eric muttered as the flaming energy tracing his hands faded into nothingness once again. Now, everyone was left with their heavy pants, and just watched the sphere of stone that hissed with intense smoke.
PoVS
"Fishing is boring," Zack muttered from his boredom as he put a hand on his chin. His cheeks pouted childishly as he stared into the cool water, feeling the stream's blue wetness glide over calves and down. In the other hand, he held the black, poor condition fishing pole as he waited. His brownish eyes stared into the shallow waters, watching his own, misrepresented reflection. He stared into it as a pair of faded brown eyes stared back tiredly. The sunlight bounced off the running stream, giving it a bright, pale look to it in the approaching afternoon. The brisk dew of the morning had long ago made its exit, only hoping to return during the next sunrise. It suddenly dawned on Zack that the non-action was a bit boring to him as he waited for even a nibble from below. His wishes were never granted.
"We have to do it," Dylan said innocently as he waited on the other side of the stream. He sat more enthusiastically, wading his bare feet in the water playfully, feeling the coolness try to sweep against him, pushing him away. He sat by his Geta slippers, his emerald eyes peering upward to the brightness that filled the sky. They couldn't very well see the sun, but they found the fluffy whiteness try to find it for them. Dylan took in a deep breath of comfort, the exact opposite of what Zack found himself doing. He played with the handle of the fishing pole with his fingers like it was a toy as he waited patiently. "Besides, we owe it to Derek-san. We ate all the food after all. I feel so guilty about that," Dylan muttered truthfully.
Zack sighed. "Derek-san this, Derek-san that. Why are you so polite all the time?" Zack complained. Dylan looked at Zack as if he were from another planet. "Just call him Derek. He's only like, a year older than you anyway. And why do you care if we owe Derek or not? It's his problem. You're too nice," he scolded Dylan. Dylan didn't take it as a scolding.
Kawari laughed. "I think if you were a bit more formal with others, they would make a better first impression of you," he said as he sat a few feet from Zack, waiting with the fishing rod in his hand as well. He seemed more patient than Zack as well, carrying those wide, innocent white eyes and that handsome, friendly grin. Zack whined, half from boredom and the other in a wordless complaint. "At any rate," Kawari went on. "I think I should go over to the north of the stream to find more fish. Who knows? Maybe there'll be more there. I'll find you guys later," Kawari said as he picked his feet up from the stream. His bare feet touched the flustered grass, the cool, wet toes touching the drying, cold blades. It gave him a certain tingle as he picked up his slippers and his rod, stumbling towards the north of the stream. Soon, he disappeared into the forest.
Zack just watched. He was that bored that it was a necessity to watch a comrade as he disappears into the forest as they went to do the other comrades a favor. Now that he couldn't do that anymore, he was desperate to make conversation. "Hey, hey," Zack muttered to Dylan's side of the stream, smiling as they both waited for the bite they wouldn't get from their fishing hooks. Dylan flashed a curious glance. His green eyes glimmered in the sunlight as they stared blankly. "Which one of the Minors do you think I could beat up the fastest?" Zack asked as he smiled. "What about that short, lanky kid with the red hair? He's the youngest, and all he cares about is his blue-fiery headed brother."
Dylan sighed as his eyes crinkled to a sympathetic look. He peered to his side, watching the water as it rushed past. Zack continued to stare, waiting for his answer. "Zack-san, you're an idiot," Dylan muttered innocently.
"W-What?" the Wind Minor stammered. His eyes went blanker than always, if possible. He picked up his head slightly from his hand and stared at him with a bleak look. Soon, the bleak look turned into a hurtful glare. "Where did that come from? I was just asking a question," Zack scoffed, turning to his side.
"I think just because you know you're a Base Minor, you think you're better than most people in the group," Dylan spoke honestly. Anything the Botany Minor said in his regular tone would be considered truthful. The way he said, people would believe him even if he screamed that elephants had ruled the world.
"Well, isn't it obvious?" Zack replied, turning back to Dylan. The Botany Minor made no eye contact with him. Zack felt somewhat rejected. Zack smirked as he still believed that he was right. It seemed that Dylan had suddenly chosen to remain quiet.
"Okay, I'm done setting up the traps," a new voice entered as it came from the trees. The voice pulled Dylan and Zack's attention towards the person. It was Derek, who stretched his leg over the bushes and began to walk calmly towards them. They stared at him, ashamed to talk for some reason. "If any enemies come in the area, I'll know right away," Derek informed his two teammates, not noticing their blank, shamed stares yet. When he finally did, he narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "What?" he muttered bluntly, a lot less friendly than his last two statements.
Zack and Dylan didn't answer. Zack just gave a nervous wave of a hello. Derek wasn't amused. He sighed at his stupidity as he gave a mean glare, as if poking him with needled eyes to tell him the truth, or else. Derek disregarded it, and went on as he noticed something was missing. "Hey," he called their full attention. "Where's Kawari?"
"He went more north of the stream to find more fish," Dylan answered quickly. It was like he prohibited Zack to speak by speaking before him. His voice seemed flustered, which gave more proof. Suddenly, Zack didn't feel so close to Dylan. He wasn't even that close to Derek, either. He seemed to… calm-headed and serious. Those kinds of people pissed Zack off sometimes.
Derek seemed to hesitate before speaking. "I see," he muttered finally after a while, staring into the trees to the north. He gave them a hard, interrogating glare, as if they had a secret they were obviously hiding. That was all he said. He didn't seem to sit down and join his two teammates in the stream. He just kept watching the darkness between the trees, sinking thoughts into his mind one by one, as if uploading them into a computer. That guy… there's something about him… Derek thought. It just doesn't seem right. He has a supply bag like us, yet he's someone who's been forced to lock up here. I'm sure they would confiscate things like bags. He doesn't look or act like they do, and furthermore, he has supplies like fishing poles for us to use. He makes no sense to me…
Derek wiped away a bead of sweat from his forehead as he realized the day was getting warmer. There were bad points to it being a good day. More enemies would be willing to come out. "Hey, Derek," Zack called out to his teammate. Dylan seemed to tense up. Derek noticed suspiciously. "You mind taking over this fish pole for me? Doing this thing for a long time is boring," Zack complained.
Derek scoffed. "Well, if you didn't eat all the food, maybe you wouldn't have to be fishing right now, Derek smiled, and glad to have Zack stuck doing something he didn't like. Dylan nodded in agreement. "Actually, I think it'll teach you something called hard work," Derek said proudly. Zack hissed, returning to his fishing pole.
Rustling came from the bushes from the north. It caught everyone's attention immediately, but it turned out it was only the friendly presence of Kawari – with a handful of fish he could barely carry. The live fish flopped around, trying to escape as their blank eyes stared accusingly. Kawari smiled as he showed them the batch of fish in one hand, putting the fishing pole of his in the other by his side. Derek raised an eyebrow suspiciously, and Zack jumped to his feet, happy that he didn't have to sit around anymore waiting.
PoVS
Hanabikai entered the dark, dimmed room of the Inner World and found Tsukansu sitting at a table, alone. The darkness was all around, yet somehow, they could still see. Everything seemed orange, even the air. The fire council knew that Tsukansu sensed his presence. He could tell by his ear twitching. It always did that when he found something nearby. "What is it, Hanabikai?" Tsukansu said in his serious voice. It was easy to tell that he too had been thinking about the future and how much it worried him so.
Hanabikai gulped. He didn't know why he was nervous. He didn't have a reason to be. "Things are intensifying," Hanabikai pointed out an obvious statement. "Do you think Walter will be all right?" he said, filtering his spiky brown hair through his long, tanned fingers. His round, brown eyes looked to Tsukansu's back, waiting for eye contact as he stood there nervously. He hadn't been this nervous in years. Things really were tensing up.
"Yeah," Tsukansu answered bluntly. "He's got Eric," he pointed out. That was what Hanabikai was worried about. Just as the Fire Council was about to make his reply, Tsukansu granted his wish for eye contact, turning around. His brown, dark eyes peered to the friendly brunette ones. Tsukansu's eyes were piercing and narrowed, thin as a needle yet lethal as a gun. "You and I turned out best friends, right? You saved me, didn't you? Remember?" Tsukansu split up the one question into several ones, flustering his closest friend among the Minors. It amused him sometimes to do that. It took his mind off worries. Hanabikai never complained, so he never stopped.
"Yeah, but…" the Fire Council went on, trailing off. He had hoped for Tsukansu to finish the sentence for him. And he did.
"Don't stress about it. You care about the ones you hold dear to you too much," Tsukansu said with a friendly smirk. "History will repeat itself. Nothing's going to happen to Walter," Tsukansu promised. Hanabikai seemed to loosen after that. He just nodded.
"But, isn't Walter from the Kasumi Family? The family that actually had most members in Void Core?" Hanabikai piqued, raising another worry from the depths of his thoughts. Tsukansu sighed.
"Yes, but he's different," Tsukansu explained. He filtered his large brown hair through his fingers that lay limply in front of his face as he went on, playing with it. "He doesn't have the eternal hunger to kill and a thirst for blood. As far as I know, all he wants is revenge on the things causing badness in his life. He must be able to know that that can be easily achieved by killing White Cloak."
Hanabikai nodded. But he still had his doubts. "Okay," he said reluctantly. Moments later, Hanabikai stepped out as Tsukansu turned back to what he was doing before his closest friend had entered. Tsukansu sighed. Although… the Water Council thought as he clasped his fingers in front of his face eerily. That wasn't how things turned out for me back then…