A/N: I've been watching Karakuri Burst, Magnet and Corrupted Flower yesterday. And I was suddenly filled with Feels! Like, argh, these two will lead me to my heart attack! And I can't help but think about to this fic (especially in Karakuri Burst) when I listened to those songs. Even if they were so far away from my storyline. But still...
I missed them. So much.
The duffle bag fell with a dull thud, dust flying from the rough impact. Rin eyed the dark bag with indifference, wondering to herself how such a silly thing made the human before her mad. Then again, moving his arms had been difficult, she had observed; mostly restricting his movements. Smirking in amusement, Rin brought her eyes back to the said human.
Len cursed to himself, the throbbing in his head disturbing his senses. He had jumped back from the witch, setting a good distance between the two. His legs felt like jelly, his knees nearly giving if it wasn't for his sheer will power. He glared when the witch watched him with a small smirk, as if seeing him in his weak state brought entertainment to her.
Gold met jade in a heated stare.
"So, human, what are you gonna do?" Rin asked, a feral grin stretching her lips. She made her stance seem relax; her back slouch and one knee bent, with her arms relaxed and hidden by the length of her sleeves.
Len ignored her remark, focusing on calming himself instead. He mentally slapped himself for letting his anger take over, making the mistake of engaging her into a hand-to-hand combat. That was absurd of him. He felt even more foolish for thinking that he could take the Pumpkin with just his bare hands. She's a Rogue. Probably the most dangerous one. And he made a risky mistake of going near when her power alone is already draining him. She was fast, and quite arrogant. Her smug smirk is what boiled his anger and that was probably her goal as she dodged every single one like without a care in the world. She didn't even fought back. And every swung of his arms weakened further to the point that would probably shame his title as an Elite.
Len glanced at his right side, staring at the blue hilt of his katana, strapped horizontally behind on his lower back, the long hilt and square guard visible up front.
"Why don't you use it?"
Len glanced back, seeing the witch also eyeing the sword. Len frowned when he spotted a rather fleeting emotion of impatience flash through her eyes.
"If you want," Len grabbed the hilt. "I'll use it," he drew the sword, flicking it out to his side.
"And I'll use it to send you to hell."
Rin blinked, seemingly in awe. She eyed the dark blade as the boy held it up, the edge pointing at her face. As required, they had exchanged the original steel blade to lead as it delivers a powerful and painful impact to witches. She glanced at his face, taken aback by the clear resolve in his eyes. She smiled. This is good.
She sighed, closing her eyes shaking her head as if she had no choice. "Alright, human,"
Len blinked in confusion when the overwhelming feeling of her power suddenly disappeared. He looked down on himself, feeling as if a load of weight was rid of his shoulders. The dull throbbing in his head faded away, and Len felt better to be able to assess himself. But still, had she just lowered her power? None the less, he felt ready.
Rin smirked when the boy suddenly appear sharper than ever, his face serious with his jade eyes set into a calculating gaze, pushing back the confusion to focus better.
"I'll play your game." She held out her hand, calling forth the wind.
Len watched, his eyes narrowed when dusts came spiraling around her hand with the wind. He watched, tense when a warm glow of light coated her hands, her golden eyes glowing along.
"Caelum et evocant," Rin muttered to herself, "et venti meum intende. Formas transentium quod volo."
The wind spun faster, the dust building up before her outstretched hand, forming a shape similar to a hilt. The wind gathered more dust, the particles adding to the length of what Len assumed to be a hilt. The matter began forming and solidifying.
Len tensed, narrowing his eyes when the witch grabbed the made grip, swinging it up and revealing a proper katana with a dark hilt with the help of the light coating her hand. The curved blade gleamed under the sun when she tilted her grip, pointing it towards Len's face, like his was pointed at hers.
"I'll play at your level of strength, and your level of speed… thinking, talent, agility…" Rin shrugged. "Well, basically everything."
She crouched, bringing her right foot forward while the left stayed back, twisting her torso to the side and holding her katana with two hands beside her face in eye level. Her face was wiped off of any emotions, her mouth set into a frown with her eyes narrowed.
Her eyes faded back to its baby blue color.
"I'll play, at the level of a Hunter itself." She finished.
Len stared into her eyes, fixing his stance. He kept his composure, determined not to make not even one remark of hers get into his brain like it did earlier.
Rin fought her smirk. For a guy who loses control quite easily, he has a good self-control. Talk about ironic.
Driven by her own thrill, Rin charged first this time.
Ruby eyes glanced at one direction, narrowing in recognition and something akin to annoyance. A hand was held up to her mouth, an enormous blood red, detachable sleeve covering half her face. Red fringe teased just above her eyes, with the rest of her red hair tied into twin-tails styled in spiral curls just caressing her shoulders.
The witch stood high above ground on a thick branch of a sturdy tree. A sleeveless dress with high collar tight around her upper body, displaying womanly curves with the bottom puffing out in a frilly, three-layered skirt down to her thighs. Black leggings hug her legs, with a simple pink doll shoes finishing the touch. She glared towards the South, feeling the smallest hint of goosebumps travel through her.
"We should have known."
The redhead tilted her head, looking behind her to see another one of her kind with blonde hair stand on another branch on another tree behind her.
"Neru." She greeted with glare.
"Teto." The blonde greeted back with disinterest. Her golden blonde hair gathered up high on one side in a ponytail. A backless, orange shirt with thin straps defined her rough and firm stature with black stretch pants adorning her long legs. She sports a pair of Chinese shoes, finding it easier to maneuver with. She stood with one hand on her hips, frowning in the same direction Teto was looking at.
"Shall we go?" Teto asked, closing her eyes.
Neru snorted. "Nah, we'll just wait. Saves energy."
Teto nodded. "What about the others?"
"I'm sure they'll wait too."
Teto hummed in reply, frowning and reopening her eyes when the energy suddenly died out. Like there was nothing in the first place.
"What the hell is she doing?" Neru murmured with a frown. Deep golden eyes glimmered with pure hatred as she channeled it all in a glare.
"Why don't you have fun?" Teto suggested, turning around to face the blonde properly. She received a shrug in reply. Together, they glanced towards the village not far from where they could see. The roofs visible and protected by the thick woods, where they were currently catching their breaths.
Neru grinned, the two sharing a glint in their eyes as they stared at the village like a predator in hunt. "Why not…"
Len skidded back, his back crashing towards a tree. A strangled yelp escaped passed his lips as his eyelids lowered in a wince. The tree made a sickening crunch when he connected with it, his back throbbing in silent pain. Rolling his shoulders, he sighed, thankful they weren't disconnected.
"Damn…" Len winced.
He tensed again, bringing his sword up, managing to block the blade by the second. His arms nearly gave out from the sheer force behind the attack.
"What's wrong?" Rin asked, her tone deep and a frown on her face.
Len scowled, pushing with all his might with a yell. His back throb like hell, still feeling the rough texture of the bark digging deep into his skin through his shirt even after he stepped away.
'Shit!' Len jumped away from the strike, gritting his teeth when the rock below him shattered into pieces from the contact. She didn't stop and swung her katana upwards, in which Len dodged again.
'This is bad. If this keeps up, I won't last long.' Len jumped away, trying to keep a distance away from the witch. He's been on defense since and he couldn't find a single opening. Always busy with blocking her strike after strike. 'I'll have to change that.'
He gritted his teeth again, raising his sword in time just when the katana came rushing down towards his face. The two held their position, both having no intention of giving in.
"What's the matter? Tired?" Rin taunted.
Len glared. "Don't fuck with me!" he sneered.
Blue eyes widened a fraction when Len managed to push her back; with Rin digging her feet firmly on the ground to avoid tumbling over as she skidded across the ground, sending her back on the road from where they were in the trees. When she managed to finally stop, Len jumped out of the trees, bringing down his sword, aiming towards her head.
Frowning, Rin calmly raised her sword up to block it, a tad bit disappointed in his speed. She was taken aback though when her knees buckled from the contact of their swords.
Rin scowled, jumping away from the human.
Len cursed, catching himself before he stumbled. His breathing came out in ragged pants, a thin sheen of sweat coating his forehead and making his fringe slightly damped. He tried to ignore the pulsating pain on his back, even keeping his eyes away from the bruises trailing down his arms. curling his toes, Len steadied the muscles in his legs, determined not to let his weak knees bring him down. Frowning, he looked down his on his sword.
A crack like a gnarly spiderweb appeared on the edge from the previous contact, making the blonde male worry. 'Oh shit.'
Rin was fairing better. Nothing but the burning feeling on her feet from trying to slow herself before. She scoffed in annoyance when she could already feel the skin splitting from the rocks jarring up the ground. But she ignored it. She brought her sword up to her face, inspecting the growing crack appearing on the edge. She frowned.
"You said you would fight on the level of a Hunter."
Rin looked up slowly when she heard the edge in his voice. He stood straight, although she could see the effort it has from his back. His katana hung by his side for the time being, and from what could Rin see, the blade shared the same fate as hers. She eyed the sword with distaste, having done her best avoiding and dodging it, seeing as a slice of that to herself would damage her greatly.
"Pumpkin." Len snarled, gaining the attention back at him and not on his weapon. She glared at him in return.
"That's not my name." She said through gritted teeth.
Len held her glare. "I. Don't. Care."
Rin scoffed, rolling her eyes in irritation. How typical it is for humans to act all high and mighty, even in a defeated state. It was irritating yet amusing at the same time.
"What? You're pouting now?" Rin mocked, watching as Len's eyes hardened. She flicked her sword down, her eyes gleaming in challenge.
"A Hunter is trained to be above normal. Their instincts stretched to the maximum, and their minds working for a mile a second. That was one of the goals." Rin get ready for an attack now, not bothering to fix the crack on her blade. She said she'll fight like a human – a Hunter, but still a human – and that means no witchcraft.
"The goal was to stretch passed their limit. Heightening their senses, and crossing the line of what makes them human physically. They must be even with a witch to defeat a witch without the magic, is it not right? Producing a killer machine tasked to kill even worse killer machines. A Hunter aims for inhuman abilities," Rin narrowed her eyes. "As for your question, I am fighting on you level, Elite." She smirked, watching in glee as his hands shook in anger.
"I merely just went on what would seem your full capability. You have still more ways to go, human. You will gain them as you go." she shrugged, uncaring.
Len furrowed his brows, raising his sword to barrel her attack. He didn't dwell on the fact on whether she complimented him or not. The concept itself was confusing.
The clashing of both parties resounded through the area, each not backing down. The cracks on both their sword continued to grow with every contact. Len refused to go back on being the defensive, gritting his teeth in concentration as he delivered blow after blow, going forward when Rin stepped back. He glared when most of his attacks were deflected, hating the way she accessed and observe his every blow.
Rin smirked, an ill glint in her eyes. "You're too open."
A pained yelp came from Len, immediately jumping back and holding a hand to his abdomen. He panted, his hands shaking in after effect. Rin stood patiently, staring as the blood damped his shirt, soon staining the hand on his wound. It wasn't deep, she could tell, but it would cause him immense pain, especially with him fighting.
"Damn…" Len growled, closing his eyes in a vain attempt to block the pain. He should have dodged faster – no, he shouldn't have gone attacking blindly like an amateur idiot. Glaring at nothing in particular, Len tried to calm his mind. Let it be blank. He should focus! Not be blinded like a fucking idiot.
"Giving up already?" Rin tilted her head, frowning in disappointment.
"Never, witch!" he sneered, wincing in turn when he bent too low.
Rin hummed, still staring in doubt at the injured male when she suddenly gasped, glancing at her side with wide eyes.
Her katana finally gave away, breaking in half and leaving a short, jarred blade. But that was not what made her surprised. She could care less about a measly, useless weapon. It was the thin blood, flowing down her arm like a river; the blood dripping down on the ground when it reached her index finger. Rin gritted her teeth in anger when the wound sizzled, making her skin burn in irritation. She let out a low, feral growl when her left arm suddenly went limp, immobile.
"That bastard...!"
He was able to injure her, and render her arm useless. And he destroyed the only weapon she had. She glared at him, receiving one in return. She had clearly underestimated him. She didn't even saw him cut her, nor did she felt the blade cut her arm.
"You immobilize my arm." She stated with a frown.
Len glared at her, pressing his hand to his wound. He could handle the pain, he should. Blinking, he let one smug smirk cross his features. "What? You're pouting now?"
Her brows twitched in annoyance, reflecting on how far do human prides go?
"Touché."
Len blinked when Rin brought that cocky smirk of hers back, watching as she positioned herself confidently in a fighting position. "You think you can fight with just hands?"
Rin blinked at the blunt question, arching her brows in amusement and pursing her lips to what seems like a seal to hold her laughter.
"Are you saying I should use my power?" she taunted.
Len frowned, feeling regret and panic gripped his heart. He raise his sword with one hand, using his other hand to shield his wound.
Rin chuckled, shaking her head. "No, I don't think I wont,"
Len reacted on reflex, swinging his katana up to his right when she appeared right next to him in a flash. His eyes widened when she merely tilted her head, managing only to cut a few strands of her hair. She grinned.
"I might kill you." Smirking, she gave quick spin followed with a powerful back kick, hitting Len straight on the chest, his breath hitching and coughing up blood.
Rin watched, holding her stance, as the boy fell on his back, dropping his katana as he skidded back from the force of her kick. Len felt the throbbing on his back doubled, feeling rocks and dirt press up to his spine and jarring his skin. He reached both hands on both of his side, pushing his muscles to slow himself before flipping back to a stand. Smoke surrounded him where he stopped, coughing when he inhaled some of the ashes as he panted.
He was exhausted, with his body riddled with bruises, blood dripping down his abdomen, with his shirt damp and torn in some places. His hands burned and throbbed from the friction of slowing himself before. And he could practically feel his muscles screaming in pain. On top of that, he could already feel wounds opening up on his back. He scowled, glancing at Rin who was staring at him with a calculating gaze through the hazy smoke. He frowned. All he managed to do was break her blade and immobilized her left arm. He was definitely the one in disadvantage, but this was probably his only chance on meeting head on with her, considering the way she had hid her tracks and existence in the past years. Whether she was drawing him in or not when he was able to follow her trail and that she was seen here in South, whatever the reason is, Len knew that it will only be a one time thing. And if he allowed her to get away unscathed then…
Rin pursed her lips, observing the human past the smoke that was slowly fading away with the wind. He was resting, she'll allow him that. But she could feel his eyes on her, calculating and accessing, the gears in his mind turning and pushing past his limits. She smirked, at least he knows that he doesn't have much time left. He was doomed to past out soon from all the beating he received.
But he was still not using his all.
She sighed, thinking to herself. He's still young, that was obvious. But he was the best Elite, a bit funny to her, considering that he was one of the youngest. At least, that was what she heard. The one with the most experience and the very best should be the oldest, right? But this was not the time to ramble. He had made a rookie mistake by letting his rage blind him. And from that moment on, she could feel him letting himself down.
"Come on," she muttered, narrowing her eyes. "Pull yourself together." Rin glanced at her arm, still feeling the pulsing pain even though its rendered useless. She was tempted to cut it off, but that would be worse. And barbaric. She scoffed, shaking her head to rid of her thoughts. That was idiotic thinking. Sighing, she focused on the human.
'Well… he's breathing… Now what?' Rin grumbled in annoyance, about to step forward and take the initiative when she felt him suddenly disappear from his spot. Frowning in confusion, she tried to see past the smoke, cursing when it was too slow to fade to her liking.
A thin needle made of the same lead as the human's sword whisked right next to her foot. "Fuck!" Rin growled, her head snapping towards the trees.
Len stood on a thick branch, thin long needles positioned in between his fingers, with three in his mouth. One pant leg was rolled up, revealing sharp, long needles strapped around his leg.
Rin growled in anger, part of having her foot almost being immobilized, and part that she had sensed him too late.
"You sneaky bastard!" she growled.
Focusing on the balls of her feet, Rin followed him, narrowing her eyes when he suddenly fled away, jumping down the branch and running away from her.
Len continued to outrun her, flicking back a set of needles when she got too close. He used his surrounding, hiding from tree to tree, ignoring the way his body pulsed in pain. Glancing back, he past a thick cluster of shrubs, his hand flying up to grab the branch high above and hoisting himself up. He landed in a crouch.
He saw Rin appear behind a tree, her face twisted into a snarl with one hand clenched into a fist. She snapped her head towards his spot, directly glaring into his eye.
Clenching his jaw, he hurled three more needles before he jumped down, not looking back to see how the witch was fairing with his onslaught of attacks. Pivoting his heel, he turned the other way, ducking and jumping from low branches and boulders getting in his way. His face was set, firm in determination.
He twisted his torso, throwing a needle like a knife up towards a tree, watching as Rin ducked and flipped back before she lost her footing on a branch. Len scowled.
'This better work.'
He grabbed another set from his leg, kicking down his leg to set his pant down.
Rin glared at the spot from where Len just stood a second ago. Sneering, she glanced at her surroundings, finding some of the trees familiar. She was confused, they were going around in circles.
"What the hell is this human thinking?"
Scoffing, she continued to follow him.
Len cursed out loud, glancing back to see Rin already on his tail. She was proving to be difficult; one second he lost her and the next he look back, she's already there. Acting on reflex, he delivered a swift hook kick, aiming towards head, growling when she blocked it with her right arm. He entertained himself by thinking that it would, perhaps, leave a bruise.
Glaring, Rin brought her knee up, grunting when Len stepped out of the way before he twisted to her left and bringing his elbow towards her face.
Len scrambled out of the area when his hit landed on her cheek, making her stumble for a second. But that second was enough for him to get away. He ran, pushing his legs to its limit, intent on not letting her catch up this time. 'Almost there.'
Rin was seething, cupping her cheek in irritation yet, she kept her touch gentle. She glared at Len's retreating back, watching as the trees engulfed his form. He's surprising her more and more.
She scowled, following him. And here she thought Hunters were supposed to chase witches, not the other way around.
Len cursed when she finally catch up to him, appearing on his right. This time, he made the move, crouching low and sweeping his foot under her. Rin saw his intention, jumping out of the way before pulling back her fist in a punch towards his face. She smirked, when she hit her goal.
Len stumbled back, clutching his cheek. He sent a glare towards her, no longer running. He frowned when she merely arched her brows in question.
"Done running?"
His answer was kick.
Rin jumped out of the way, missing the aim towards her abdomen. She let a smile grace her lips. At least he's no longer running.
Len allowed himself to let loose for a moment, swinging his fists and kicking his legs in an attempt to injure her further. In return, she dodged his blows, swinging and kicking her legs or using her knee whenever she saw an opening, ignoring his cries when all of them landed. She was still pouting over the fact that her left arm just swayed like a boneless limb with her movements.
Len grimaced, raising both his arms up in defense when she gave another kick towards his head. He was getting exhausted. And he was running out of time...
This need to end. Now.
With a new resolve, Len stared right into her eyes, making her blink in confusion at the sudden change of attitude.
Her eyes widened when she saw a thing string attached to his finger, almost unseen until the light gave it away. She paled, failing to notice the small smirk on Len's lips.
He pulled the string.
"SHIT!" Rin tried to run when dozens of dozens of lead needles came whisking out of their hiding spots above and below, leaving her in the middle. She sent a glance towards Len, wondering how he did this in such a short period of time, and unbeknownst to her too. She froze in realization. He was running towards the trees to set them unnoticed. And he had lured her in, probably using her arrogance against her. And then he went around, putting distance so he could just pull the string with a single snap of his wrist, before going back to the same spot again, where his trap was.
She screamed when the needles sliced on every part of her being. On her thighs, knees, legs, hips, waist, chest, shoulders, hands, fingers, neck.
Everywhere.
She shielded her face the last second with her able arm, gritting her teeth to pass the pain.
Len closed his eyes, gripping the wound on his abdomen as he panted. His legs finally gave, falling on his knees and planting a hand on the ground to steady himself. He brought his gaze up, meeting the blue eyes of the witch.
Rin fell, slumped on a tree bark, ignoring the sizzling pain of the needles as her whole body went paralyzed. Her shoulders were slumped with her hands on her lap as she watched him.
A chuckle went pass her mouth. "Well, congratulations." she gave a lazy grin.
Len muttered one word, his chest puffing out air in relief before he collapsed on the ground, face first, unconscious.
"Finally."
A/N: I hope it was a good enough fight... I planned to continue after Len, uh, collapsed. But it was getting too long so... yeah..
Hope you guys are satisfied.
NO REVIEWS FOR TODAY CUZ NONE ASKED. XD
Clockwork Marionette : Lol, you amuse me, my friend. Yes, I did thought that was the reason why you sent two reviews. hehe... But yeah, Rin is cool. So cool i wish I was her! HAH! In a million years. Thank you for loving Witch!Rin ! But there is more than what meets the eye...
mirrors02 : You came back! I'm happy! I thought you gave up on me XD! But yes, I've noticed that too... I didn't really payed attention to it before but when you said it, I felt really sad. Most vocaloid fans I see today are going off to other fandoms. And that sucks... But thank you for thinking that my story has potential!
hatelife : T-H-A-N-K-Y-O-U !
PureWishes02 : lol, you're the first to ever call on my fashion sense XD! I just love the clothes in anime and vocaloid that I just... yeahh... and sorry for making you wait, sweetie. I won't do that again...*salutes*
Rikasa :I'm glad you think Rin is cool. I thought a lot would hate on her attitude... hehe... BUT RINNY IS JUST TOO LOVABLE EVEN IF SHE'S EVIL! And yeah, I guess, now that you said it, it does remind me of Snk now... Well, I won't look at it the same anymore, whenever I watch it. But thanks! I just thought, since Miku is like, the "Diva" in Vocaloid, I'd make her a TRUE diva. psh. The name Pumpkin just spread, nothing important really. It will explained later on.
TSHakane : AW! Thank you, honey! I hope you like Miku! You'll see more of her soon.! Love ya!
www : You should, when you're up for it. Just share stories, even if I will never know your account name. I shall try to watch that! I will keep it in mind, and demand my family to lend the remote to me!
Lolly101 : You're welcome, sweetie! I'm sorry for the long wait...
THANK YOU EVERYONE! I LOVE YOU ALL! NOW I HAVE TO GO CLEAN...