Four days had come and passed, and by this time? It truly felt like the participants were in the home stretch. The sun had slowly started to set on this day; which hailed the slow entrance of another nightly fight of survival- undoubtly difficult for all involved. You had to be smart if you wanted to survive.. THAT was the true point of this test. Use the Demon's strengths against them to overcome the hellish test they had to endure, it's easy to grasp once you've gotten the hang on it.
Josuke; and his new ally Senjuro. Had spent the first night fighting the slowly unending range of Demons that haunted the mountain- only finding time to rest in a large open clearing where the sun could pierce the foliage and keep their enemies at bay. It was under that situational rise that both Jojo and Senjuro agreed that the importance of sleep and energy reserving would be an absolute need if they were to survive this thing, as well as the factor of team-work. They spent the day sleeping; all the way through to the late afternoon. There they would search for food of any kind, and I mean ANY kind.
It disturbed Josuke when Senjuro offered him a large leaf of wriggling grubs and crickets, but neither of them had the choice in the matter. They had a grand source of Protein, Iron and various Vitamins that their bodies desperate needed after the straining battle that threw them about the previous night. It's quite the comical display really... Senjuro had no problem lobbing them into his mouth with an audible crunch, while Josuke on the other hand felt like he'd end up throwing up whatever he ate at the pure taste of such they made it through the issue of filling their bellies, allowing themselves a decent rest with 'surprisingly' full stomachs. The next few days were practically the same. Fighting during the night while eating and sleeping during the day- however, things changed on the dawn of the fifth night came upon the two. The current plan; and one that had gotten through these difficult times, was to keep a stealthy step about them. Sure, they could fight Demons, but it was only if they ever needed to. The idea was to keep themselves alive; not to kill every and all demon.
That plan took a sidefacing change when the two came across a literal graveyard of corpses, all littered about in various grotesque mannerisms, not too unfamilar in that respect. They've come across those that were less unfortunate than them before, but this was different. One of these corpses didn't appear to be completely dead at all; and in the distance, the two could hear the sounds of a battle occuring.
As the two were tempted to turn about and head the other way, something took hold of Senjuro's Kimono- one of the dead? No... not dead, not at all. It's a girl, light chestnut hair and gentle green eyes.. if it wasn't for the splutter of muck and blood across her face, you might even catch a few freckles dotting her nose. She looked up the flame-haired teen with nothing more than desperation in her expression and begged him. Not for help, but for the help of somebody else.
"Please... P-Please..."
"Josuke-kun... Over here!" The young man's first instinct was to crouch down to assist this person, a hand moving to dip beneath their back and hoist them up; only to discover that their entire midrif was missing; nothing but a slew of organs that were slowly fading resided where their legs previous stood.
"H-He..Help.. Help me..!" Tears had welled in her eyes, the tightness of her fingers clinging to the fabric of Senjuro's clothing, clearly in fear of whatever had attacked her'. Josuke's feet crunching through the fallen leaves followed quick behind only a few seconds later; immediantly observing the state they were in with a look of instant horror.
"Crazy Diamond..." with the mere utterance of his Stand name, it festered forth from the soul of the young man in a vibrant flame of yellow, and appeared beside Senjuro with a dangling hover. It's heavy pastel hand moved to curved press against this Slayer Applicant's chest, activating his ability. The mostmost terrifying part about the few moments that follow were the idle matter that from around them- a small few of the corpses that laid flat in the muck started to twitch. It captured Josuke's attention who's gentle blue eyes darted to the area about them; fists tensing at the sign of this... something was terribly wrong.
"Of course... Why didn't I notice it sooner." A droplet of sweat poured from his brow, curving over his cheek, voice hushed after coming to a terrifying realization.
"..Josuke-kun?"
Just as Senjuro questioned the change of posture in his ally, he could feel the warmth in the air fade, and a volatile chill rupture through out his spine. What was it? What had his nerves wrecking havoc on him? A demon perhaps?!
"SHINUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE- gffhhg!" The girl, the one they had come to help? wasn't a girl at all; she was nothing more than bait, and a demon at that. She came fast from the ground, clenching her claws deep into Senjuro's Haori, lunging her agape lips at a chunk of his neck!
"DURA!"
There's no surprise that it didn't get too far with Crazy Diamond's reflexes. Its entire mitt clenched around its conscious face mere moments before contact, SLAMMING it's face into puddle of mulch with a shivering squelch.
"This isn't a graveyard, it's a trap!" All around them, what they had originally thought to be corpses, were a large mass of demonic monsters, slithering out of the disgusting gripe of mud and leaves, all of their red glowing eyes locking to their prey. They both walked into a terrible situation, completely fooled by the demon's tactic; both forced to draw their blades, at the ready.
"We've gotta get outta here... Cut a path through. Senjuro-kun, which was it to the clearing?!"
"We came from the east, Behind us!"
"Shit! They're coming! Get ready!" There's a good chunk of enemies they had to fight, and being the newcomers to this league of fighting, it was most certainly better to hightail it than just stand your ground. They were faster, stronger, and could tear you apart with just the swing of their fist. If they wanted to survive, they had to be smart.
Senjuro? He could still feel that burning urge of fear radiate through his body. He did everything he could to summon the power that had saved him all those months ago, but it felt near impossible, he couldn't retain the emotion he felt when he first activated his Stand. But he knew he had to fight. If he didn't? Josuke could very well die here, as could he. His first instinct was to tug the blade from it's sheath, the shimmering glint of moonlight peaking through the canopy above gave it subtle shine, the sharpness keen and ready to cut.
Josuke too was like-minded, but he had the added benefit of his Stand, not entirely capable of killing their foes, though definiately able to disable them for a short time being. These few next seconds were precious, they both had to be of a single mind here. If the plan was to run; they'd need a distraction, something Jojo had already cooked up.
Then, it began. All of their opponents held one ideal in mind, they wanted to feed. There would be no mercy here, it was either the Humans or the Demons, and the demons had them heavily outnumbered. They rushed forth with complete madness, some laughing, others screaming, their speed much faster than an untrained eye could keep up with. The first bunch dive out into a leap, saliva-dripping jaws agape to crunch their bones into paste, ever hungering for flesh of the mortal... but not today! Like his father before him, Josuke was quick-witted, and fast to counter their berserk rush.
"Kooooooooooooooowwwhhhh!"
With the fast spin of his foot, he took hold of his special Haori and fanned it far out like a large sheet of cloth, a completely useless feat in their eyes, but they knew not of the specific fiber that had been woven into his fabric. It flapped around the two in a vibrant shine of orange static, covering the two in a cone-ish tent of pure Hamon Energy that repelled all of their draughting attackers with the blast of Sunlight that sent them careening through the air! The result gave the two a small space to work-with, truly not to be wasted by Higashikata.
"Gomensai! SENJURO-KUN!"
"DURA!"
"J-JOSUKE-KUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUN!" Senjuro had NO say in the matter, just moments after this incredible shell of defense, he felt himself lifted up into the air and TOSSED high into the tree-tops like a flailing doll! Such force and power! He went RIGHT through a heavy branch, then somehow managed to catch another more sturdier one, climbing with an obvious complaint, quickly joined by his friend who had launched himself into the sky in the same manner.
"Don't stop! Keep running!" Jojo's exclamation was clear, the shade of his soul reverting within, making use of the long stretching tree-tops to jump too and fro through the thicket of this dark night. The Rengoku inherent caught on fast, a good reaction to an improvised escape would get him incredibly far in the business of Slaying Demons. But the intense sound of the Demons, clammering behind them with their ungodly speed felt all the more terrifying when they were rushing through the leaf-ridden forest heights.
Suddenly, from the depths on Rengoku's soul came the small fiery Kitsune, it's brilliant light like a candle in the darkness of this night, It was acting on its User's own subconscious will, something the young boy would certainly need to get a hold of in the future. But it's help was welcomed, zipping fast in a flying mount of cradling flames, it's feet moving to simulate it running on utterly nothing towards the demons.
"Kitsune-san!"
Senjuro instinctively stopped, the sharp tug of an invisible thread connected him to the aberration, like a range limit to how far it could shimmer away from Senjuro without dispersing.
"Ghn? Senjuro-kun! We have to-"
"Wait!.. I.. I can hear it- it's speaking to me" Jojo heard nothing, but Senjuro? He could hear the gentle whispers of guidance throughout his mind, telling him something, clueing him into a detail they had missed during their troubling escape. He fluttered his lids shut, and gripped at his chest.. he felt a burn, a deep burn- not a painful one, but a warm one, a semblance of co-existence between the Stand and his Soul.
"SENJURO!" Time had not stopped, those Demons were still trudging for the two; and they had gotten dangerously close- they must have been a good two meters away before his tall ally could just forth in the attempt to save him, but there just wasn't enough time to get away if he risked it.
"NOW! FOX ON THE RUN! TAKE THEIR HEAT!" Senjuro's eyes flashed wide, the lint of a flaring fire burnt out from his retina in a show of unclouded determination, the following response being nothing shy of an explosive bright light that engulfed, then reformed with a show of change in his being. With this unbound belief in his own burning power, the Stand started to manifest itself in a completely altered appearance. What was once a small Kitsune Pup, had turned into a larger creature. Its legs were still hind, but only two stood tall on its invisible platform of the blaze, trailing up the body were a number of symbols that spelled the word 'Run' in a cross-section pattern of black and orange fur. Its arms were large and metallic, the hands especially which articulate in all oddity of manners. Finally, the head sported a fiery mane that looked close to a scarf sailing into the night, whilst it's face was that of an adolescent Kitsune, its teeth subtly enlarged- peeking from the tips of it's maw.
In an instant, every Demon that had come to claim their bodies as a meal felt the solidifying factor of the mud that had stained their bodies, grow deprived of their heat. What was once soppy brown goo had crackled into thick crumbled dirt-bark, effectively locking many of their joints, causing their tumble into unavoidable branches and shrubbery to slam them into the foliage below.
"Kooooooooooooohhh..." Senjuro took a deep breath, and remembered the breathing technique his brother and father hammered into his mind. Not once had he been able to conjure such power before, but now? with the awakening of his Stand, it was sheer muscle memory. After the galloping inhale had ended, Fox on the Run's main brightened, its flaming scarf extending into a vibrant raiment that nearly enveloped its entire body.
"FLAME BREATHING! SPECIAL FORM! KITSUNE'S WRATH!" One moment was all he needed. His Stand was incredibly fast- one second it was hovering just a few meters away, the next, it had appeared just above the clump of Demons that had fallen beneath.
"UUURRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Remember those metallical fists? It appears that whatever heat had been absorbed flew right into the mass of this Stand, it's arms increasing tenfold with a barrage of fast flown attacks that whipped and swung the large flaming ramnent around with symbiotic flow.
The quick freeze and then reheating of a body in any state was dangerous, it broke the matter down into so many states that just the sheer contact of punching crumbled their forms into mush, for they were not Demons at all, but merely shaped into muddish clones that littered this area!
STAND NAME: FOX ON THE RUN. ACT 1 and ACT 2
STAND USER: SENJURO RENGOKU
DESCRIPTION: Fox On The Run can currently manifest into two separate stands- The first is a small Kitsune Pup that garners the ability to create small glyph like discs that take on strong physical property, The user can move them and place them wherever they so wish which can come in a variety on handy situations.
Act 2 has the ability to steal the the warmth or heat from any physical object. When it takes this heat, it is transferred into it's body to essensually buff it's power as shown by the size of it's flaming scarf. FOTR can also stretch it's arms out for extra range, making it a very formidable combat stand when it needs to be.