Chapter 5: Barrier Mania
The metal on Loaño's arms extended suddenly, creating a pair of sharp gauntlets with curved blades. "Let's raise some hell!" she cried.
"We need to draw these things away from the town. It's too close to fight them here." Yuna said. "One of the villagers might get hurt in the crossfire."
"No problem." Lulu said as she raised her arms and brought them down. A pillar of fire struck one of the Malboro's, making it angrier. The two charged at the group, but they broke into two groups. Celena's group led one of the Malboro's away from the village while Yuna's did the same. The group moved quickly through the forest with the Malboro roaring and following behind. Celena stopped when the group got to a fairly open space and turned to the fiend.
"Okay Lo, now you can raise hell." Celena said confidently.
"Yeah!" Loaño cried before charging towards the Malboro. He tried grabbing her with a tentacle, but Loaño jumped up into the air. She pulled her fist back and slammed it down onto the top of it's head. The Malboro roared at her and one of it's eyes popped. It covered Loaño in a disgusting liquid that burned her skin. "Ow, get it off!" she cried in pain.
"Hold on Lo!" Masurao cried. His hands glowed white as he ran to his cousin. He placed them on her shoulder, the aura covering her. "Esuna." He said calmly as the liquid evaporated.
"Wow, nice job." Loaño said as the burning faded away.
"Thanks." Masurao said, but pushed her down when the Malboro tried grabbing them again.
"Crap!" Celena cried. "How many of us can actually fight?"
"The other one ate my ball and I suck at magic without it." Vidina answered ashamedly.
"I don't have my sword." Masurao said. He gasped when his hooked sword was imbedded in the ground in front of him. He looked up to see Haseo holding his spear and the handle of his sword. "Oh look, my sword." Masurao said weakly. He got up and pulled the blade out. "Okay, that makes three of us." He said confidently.
"Oh, you mean you can actually fight effectively now?" Loaño asked.
"Define effectively." Haseo answered for the other boy.
"Hey!" Masurao cried but then frowned. "No actually, you're right. I suck with a sword."
"Great, this should be fun." Loaño said honestly. "More for me then." She charged at the Malboro and punched the side of it's body, the blade cutting it. It roared out and smacked her aside with a tentacle root. Loaño flipped through the air and landed on the ground easily. She charged at the Malboro's back, cutting and punching into it. "I'm not strong but I'm fast!" she cried confidently. She cut deeply into the Malboro with each attack of her claw weapon. It roared and shook violently, on of it's roots grabbing her ankle and flinging her aside. It turned to her, opening it's mouth full of razor sharp teeth. It charged at her, it's mouth open wide.
Haseo appeared suddenly, forcing his spear into the monster's mouth. The blade cut into it's gums and the pole wedged itself between it's rows of teeth. The Malboro roared angrily as it pulled back, trying to knock the spear out with it's slimy tongue. The spear slowly began dissolving as the Malboro covered it in it's acidic saliva. Loaño took her chance though, and began cutting into the beast's backside again. The Malboro turned on her, trying to strike her with it's vines but she was far too quick. She easily flipped back, jumped forward, and pierced the beast's soft cheek, tearing through it. Loaño grimaced and pulled out quickly while the plant fiend roared with rage.
"Loaño!" Haseo barked. The quick girl took a moment to look at Haseo who wordlessly pointed elsewhere. Loaño looked for a moment before smiling. "Yeah I get it." She answered with a smirk. "Alright ugly, you want me?" Loaño turned, spanking her butt and sticking her tongue out. "Come and get me!" she cried. The Malboro bellowed loudly, the spear finally snapping in two. It charged towards Loaño who quickly ran ahead. The Malboro chased after her, being directed in the forest.
Loaño jumped up a tree, making sure the Malboro saw her. It turned, righting itself before charging at her and knocking the tree over. Loaño jumped to another tree just as the first fell, the Malboro roaring and charging again. It knocked over the next tree, Loaño escaping once again. The Malboro seemed to grow angry, taking a deep breath. It bellowed as it unleashed a cloud of dark green smog from it's breath. Loaño was forced to take a drastic measure, jumping back to the clearing. She narrowly avoided the cloud of smog, the disgusting air moving on to rot several trees and make them fall.
The ghost of a smirk appeared on Haseo's face as he watched. The tree the Malboro had hit fell as it rotted, hitting the second one. This one fell as well, hitting several others, some weakened and some not. Before long the Malboro was covered in trees, leaves, and vines that were tangled up with it's body. A large circle had been made where all of the trees had folded in on the Malboro, keeping it away from the rest of the forest.
"You guys trapped it!" Masurao cheered.
"Nice job Lo!" Vidina congratulated as he helped her up.
"We're not quite done yet." Loaño answered as she looked to Haseo. He nodded and put his hands together. He meshed his fingers together, his pointed and middle fingers sticking up against each other. He took a deep breath, his hands covered in a red aura. "Fire Breath!" Haseo sent a thin jet of flames from his mouth, the flames spreading out when it hit the weakened trees. The Malboro hollowed with pain as it's prison went up in flames, igniting it's own plant-like body. Within minutes the beast was completely covered in fire. Haseo stopped, breathing heavily as he watched the Malboro shriek once more before dieing away. The flames raged on for a moment before dieing away due to the trees being sectioned off and collapsing onto each other.
"Wow, nice job Haseo!" Celena congratulated.
"Hey, I did the hard stuff!" Loaño snapped. "I'd like to see Haseo jump around like that!"
"Too bad about my ball and your spear though, huh brudda?" Vidina muttered. Haseo looked at him for a moment before walking over and sifting through the ashes. A few seconds later Vidina's charred ball rolled towards him, hitting his leg slightly. Vidina picked it up, feeling parts of it flake off. "I think I'll just get anotha one." he muttered, right before the ball completely collapsed into a pile of ashes.
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Celena helped Masato sit up, careful not to hurt his reattached arm. The roaring and explosions of the battle had woken him up, though he had only just recently gotten enough strength to sit up. Celena brought a plate over, a large red apple on it. "Hungry?" she asked, Masato nodding in return. She carefully cut the fruit up into small bits for Masato.
She stopped for a moment, wondering if she should let Masato try to use his healed arm to grab the first piece himself. Would he need rehabilitation after his arm was severed for so long? How long had it been severed for that matter? Did he make it to the village soon after being broken, or did he wander around the island for a while? Masato seemed to answer her question for her, slowly bringing his arm over and picking the apple piece up.
Masato winced, his arm sluggish and unresponsive. He put all of his strength into moving his arm coherently, but it was like moving it through gelatin. He tried moving his fingers but could barely make them twitch. Celena smiled reassuringly and picked the piece up for him, putting it near his mouth. He grudgingly opened his mouth and ate the fruit, trying to ignore the shot to his pride. "Relax." Celena said when she saw his expressions. "Aunt Rikku said that your arm still won't be useable for a day or two. Just take your time, alright?"
"Yeah I guess." Masato muttered after swallowing his food.
Haseo stood up suddenly, moving from his spot in the back of the room and leaving the tent. Celena frowned, wondering what had happened to make him leave but figured he would be alright on his own. 'I should probably talk to him later.' She thought.
Haseo walked out of the tent, his arms crossed over his chest. "That was painful to watch." Loaño said, leaning against a near by tree. She smiled at Haseo and shook her head. "Painful dude. I don't even think she knows that you left because you're jealous."
"I'm not." Haseo answered quietly.
"Oh yeah you are." Loaño insisted, walking towards Haseo. "And my poor cousin is too modest to ever think anyone could be jealous of anyone spending time with her."
"I'm not." Haseo said again, slightly raising his voice.
"You're in denial man." Loaño said again with a shrug. "You're in denial about your feelings. You don't think you're jealous and you don't think you're in love with Celena. But let me tell you," Loaño got a bit closer, poking Haseo's arm. "You love Celena, and you feel like tearing off the limbs of any man that gets near her. Remember how long it took you to get used to Vidina?"
"He's too friendly." Haseo answered.
"Friendly?" Loaño asked incredulously. "Well duh! Of course he's friendly. It's why everyone loves him the minute they meet him. Except, that is, for you. You glared at him, and growled at him, and snapped at him for at least a month before you finally decided he wasn't a threat to your chance with Celena."
"I protect her." Haseo answered, walking away.
"Protect her from what?" Loaño asked as she followed. "Protect her form Vidina? You're kidding right?"
Haseo shook his head. "Masato."
"Oh, well I guess that makes a little more sense." Loaño muttered to herself. "Still, you have to admit that part of the reason why you don't like him, or any guy for that matter, is not because they look like a threat to Celena but because they look like threats to your chances with Celena."
"No," Haseo insisted weakly.
"Yes." Loaño insisted, poking his chest. "Admit it. You love my cousin. You have since you first met when you were eleven and ten. You've protected her since day three for a few reasons, but the biggest one is that you have feelings for her."
Haseo fell silent, looking away from Loaño. The blonde girl tried looking up into Haseo's eyes, but as usual his golden eyes were blank. They only hinted at his conflicted emotions, his jealousy, love, denial, and pride. He looked away, pushing Loaño back slightly. She was forced back a little too hard, forced to catch herself on a nearby house. She was about to say something when someone interrupted her.
"Excuse me." A pleasant voice inquired. The two looked over at the newcomer. He had dark blue hair, the long bangs stretching down and covering the right half of his face. He wore a bright red shirt and baggy pants. He wore three belts, each of them looped through the front and back rings of his pants. He had black boots on and a thin sword at his waist. He had thin wire frame glasses on his pale face. "This is Besaid correct?" he asked politely.
"Yeah." Loaño answered, a little confused as to why this stranger wouldn't know what island he was one. She looked to Haseo, who seemed to be very weary of the stranger.
"Excellent!" he cried with a smile. "So then the temple should be close by, yes?"
"Again, yeah." Loaño answered. "It's that huge building over there. You know, the one that looks like a big temple."
"Oh!" the stranger cried with a look of realization on his face. He turned and gave the two an embarrassed smile. "Yes well, I suppose that would be it then wouldn't it?" he chuckled. "Well thank you very much for your help." With that he turned and walked towards the temple. The two teens looked at each other, both of them clearly worried about the stranger.
"Hey!" Loaño cried over as they ran to the boy. "What do you want with the temple?"
"Hm?" the boy muttered as he looked back at them. "Oh nothing much. I'm just researching something is all." He answered with a small smile. He turned to walk on but Haseo put a hand on his shoulder, stopping him.
"No offense man, but things have been really weird around here lately." Loaño said, making no effort to hide the accusing tone in her voice. "So when some weird guy comes up, not knowing where he is, and asking about the temple for some weird research it's bound to raise a few flags."
The boy smiled at the two, letting out a small sigh. "Please, I assure you that I have no intention of harming anyone unless you get in my way."
"That sounds like something a bad guy would say." Loaño accused calmly.
"That sounds like someone asking for a fight would say." The boy answered, his emerald eyes glowing with contempt. The boy brought his hand down to the sword at his waist, but in a flash Haseo grabbed him by the neck and tossed him towards one of the homes. He landed with a crash as he broke through a few barrels and boxes. The people around it fled, sensing that something was wrong with the scene if it madew the calm Haseo toss the boy so violently.
They were smart to run.
The boy stood up, panting heavily as he did so. "Oh dear." He wheezed. "I can't believe this really is ending in violence. I do so wish they had sent someone else. I'm not the offensive type." He straightened up, picking his glasses up and putting them on. "But they didn't, so I'll have to make do." He added with a small smile.
Loaño, her gauntlets activated, stared at the boy. He seemed laid back, as if they weren't even fighting. "This guy is either a moron, or really dangerous." She warned, Haseo nodding in agreement. The blonde girl quickly assessed the situation. 'A mystery guy with a sword. Not knowing where he is implies he may have a form of long distance teleportation or something like that. Haseo is weaponless, and I don't have my grenades on me. Come to think of it, the only one that has his weapon is Masurao and he doesn't really count.' She turned to the tense white haired boy beside her. "Go find Yuna and the others. I'll hold him off."
Haseo seemed reluctant for a moment before nodding. His hands glowed green for a moment ad he took a deep breath. A thin jet of green gas flew from his mouth, exploding into a thick cloud of smoke that filled the area when it hit the ground. Loaño took her chance and hid while Haseo moved to find the adults. The gas cleared soon enough, revealing an empty area.
"My, quiet a skill." The boy said. "Rather stinky though. That was a Malboro's Bad Breath ability if I remember right. How odd for a human to use it. I must make a note to research that later." He looked around, unable to find Loaño. He knew though, that the moment he took a step towards the temple she would ambush him. He shrugged, realizing that waiting would be too boring. He moved towards the temple, raising an eyebrow when another smokescreen appeared.
"It's not a grenade but it'll work!" Loaño cried from within the smoke. She flew down from above, aiming to take out a leg so the boy wouldn't be able to move. Her blades aimed for his shin, ready to cut in but to her surprise her attack was stopped. A shield surrounded the boy, a blue barrier that glowed around him. He smiled at Loaño, his right arm raised up.
"As I said, I'm not the offensive type." He said with a simple smile. "I'm the defensive type. Try as many times as you like, but my barrier is impassable." Loaño landed and tried again, but the moment she got close to Masato the barrier prevented her attack. She tried again and again but each time the barrier merely flashed and repelled her attack.
"Let me in you bastard!" she cried.
"Okay." the boy answered calmly as his barrier shrank. Loaño fell forward, her punch carrying her forward since she had expected to be stopped by the barrier. In a flash a wall of energy knocked into her, sending her staggering back. The boy brought his arm out, the energy wall flying forward and pushing Loaño back. She was slammed into a tree before the wall disappeared. "What's wrong?" he asked calmly. "I thought you wanted my barrier to drop."
"Shut up." Loaño growled angrily.
The boy shrugged, a round shield appearing above Loaño and pressing her down to the ground. She cried out as the barrier crushed her down into the ground, squeezing the air from her lungs. She gasped in pain as she felt the shield, forcing her down into the ground. The boy watched with the same calm smile as before, obviously not caring that he was squeezing the life out of the young girl. On the contrary, he seemed to like it.
"Loaño!" a shocked voice cried out.
The boy looked over, in time to see a black gloved fist plant itself in his face and force him to stagger back. Shield disappeared, Loaño gasping for some much needed air. She got up, gasping and glaring angrily at the boy. She looked over to see her savior, a smile forming on her face. "Hey." She wheezed quietly.
"It's been a while Loaño. Too bad we had to see each other again under such bas conditions."
"You." The boy said, a frown set on his face as he staggered back up. It was quickly replaced by a wide smile though as he knew who the new man was. "My, how lucky of me to meet you. I really am curious about you, you know. Quite Curious in deed, Tidus."
The blond haired man only glared at the boy. He set a large sword down next to him, drawing a smaller sword from his side. "You seem to know my name, but I haven't got a clue about you. So what is it? And why are you here?" He asked angrily.
"Ah yes, I should introduce myself. Quite rude of me." The boy said as he adjusted his glasses. "My name is Akuma. I am one of the Eight Dark Sages."