Stumbling back with a heavy groan as he was struck, Cin closed one eye while glaring with the other at his attacker. He felt a bruise forming despite his aura protecting him. "Fine. If that's how we're going to play." Catching his balance, he slid his left foot back while raising both his hands that balled up into tight fists. "Let's go then!" He shouted as his shoulders swayed slightly. Clearly from his drink that was now spilled out over the ground.
Seeing the unarmed man take a fighting stance, Kagami took a deep breath and slid her right foot back. Swallowing, she shifted her shoulder blade against the sword strapped on her back. She needed to feel it. She needed to know it was there. Even if she wasn't going to pull it out. "Good to hear."
Stepping forward with his right foot, he pivoted on his back foot. His left arm flying through the air towards the girl in front of him. His attempted attack was quickly interrupted as a blast struck his forearm. He stumbled a bit before glancing down at his left arm. Ice fully encased it. Hearing footsteps running up, he quickly turned around while swinging his arm. Using the weight of the ice, he backhanded Kris' candy cane weapons away with a grunt. The ice shattered on impact and fell onto the ground.
Spinning around, he bared his teeth with a low growl while reaching up with both hands. Catching Cheyenne's war club in his left and Elise's baton in his right, he brought his left foot up to kick the Faunus away before grabbing the other girl's wrist. With a heavy groan, he twisted around and hauled her over his back, tossing her aside. The farm girl calmly landed and slid back on her feet. Standing up right as he caught his balance, he whipped his head around only to watch a green and black boot collide with his face. His aura flickering from the blow. He stumbled away, falling to his hands and knees. Growling deeply, he narrowed his eyes coldly at the ground. "Enough..." He spat out while stretching his jaw.
As he went to rise to his feet, Elise jumped over. Her baton went around his neck as she pulled back. "Don't even think about it. Kagami has a few choice words for you. And most of them aren't nice." She grunted softly as he shifted around but managed to keep him steady. Even when he reached up with his left hand and grabbed her weapon, she kept a firm hold on him.
"I said enough!" He shouted as his other hand reached behind him to grab her face. He snarled, his shoulders hunching forward as something seemed to flicker in his eyes. Not that it was a good flicker. It wasn't hopeful or a look of strength from deep within, but instead was much more sinister. It was full of darkness and pure hatred. Clenching his jaw, he pressed his fingers into her skull. The action itself wasn't enough to cause harm, but for some reason, the brunet let out a cry of pain and immediately pulled away stumbling.
Gritting her teeth, the young farm girl's hands began to tremble. Dropping her baton, she fell back onto the ground while staring at her arms. A growing pain burned deep within each and everyone of her bones. A moment later, her eyes began to water. She let out another cry, slowly rolling onto her side as she clenched her eyes shut. Very slowly, she shifted into a fetal position with her fingers curling.
Staring for a moment in shock, Kagami quickly shot her head towards the former soldier. "What did you do?!" Her voice roared.
"My favorite thing to do." He chuckled in a low tone as a sadistic grin began to form. Hearing footsteps rapidly approaching him from behind, he spun around. Holding up his hands, he caught Kris' arms by her wrist. Her bladed weapons a few centimeters from his face. Seeing the anger in her eyes only made him smile more as he tightened the grip he held on her. "Hundreds of fractures for her... how about we do hundreds of needles piercing your skin." The darkness in his eyes flickered once again.
"What?!" With her adrenaline still up from watching her friend cry out in pain, it took her a moment for her to register what had happened. And when she did, her eyes went wide and her pupils dilated. As she let go of her weapons, he let go of her. She stumbled away, tears swelling in her eyes. She began to breathe rapidly. Her body felt like dozens upon dozens of bees had stung her. She tried with all her might to keep herself steady but in the end still collapsed to her hands and knees. She let out a scream, falling over onto her side.
For once, Kagami froze in place. Her hands at her sides as she tried to piece everything together. Questions, thoughts and ideas swarmed her head as she noticed him turning towards Cheyenne who had also gone still in fear. What happened? They had the upper hand. It was four against one. They were winning this fight with ease. He was hardly in shape and half drunk. Had she underestimated him?
And then, it dawned on her.
Her eyes slowly went wide before they quickly narrowed. Baring her teeth, she slid her right foot back and shot forward. "Get away from her!" She shouted as she dropped down and slid under his feet. As he fell onto the ground and grunted, she jumped up. She stumbled slightly from her momentum but quickly caught her balance as she grabbed her friend. Pulling her aside and behind her, she took a few uneasy breaths.
"What's going on??" The Faunus asked in a panic. Her arms trembled slightly. "How did he hurt them??"
"I don't think he did..." Clenching her jaw, she watched as the man slowly rose to his feet. Swallowing, she glanced back. "I think... he's making them think they're hurt. We can't let him touch you."
"You mean us..." She softly added while tightly holding her war club.
"Yeah. Us." She nodded back while lightly smiling. "If we break his aura, whatever he's doing with his semblance should stop. Simple enough."
"Definitely won't be difficult in any way. All we have to do is hit him a bunch." Cheyenne weakly smiled back before spinning her weapon around. The sound of fear still etched into her voice.
Exhaling softly, she shook her head. She could feel her own fear rising up deep within her core. Her insides felt uneasy. She went to reach back for her sword only for eyes to dart to the side and widen. She jumped away, narrowly missing Kris' bladed weapon that flew past her, and stumbled back a few feet and looked over.
"Hey, these are pretty neat." Cin chuckled as he twirled the second twin candy cane between his fingers in his left hand. "Still doesn't beat a classic saber." He flashed a grin. "Do you remember the one I used to have?" He tossed the second weapon forward, forcing the jadette to dodge and step to the side. "Because I do." He snarled a bit before lunging forward.
With her breath getting caught in the middle of her throat, Kagami struggled to keep herself focused. Swallowing, she clenched her jaw while slipping to the right underneath a swing from the half drunk man. She took a deep breath, swinging her foot around to kick the back of his knees in.
As he collapsed, Cheyenne stepped forward. With her war club behind her, she swung upward with a sharp cry. Her blunt weapon collided with his chin. The thud echoed throughout the area as he stumbled back and away. His aura took a heavy chunk of the blow as he let out a low and pained groan.
Rubbing his face, Cin looked up and narrowed his eyes. His nostrils flaring as he slowly breathed outward through his nose. "Damn you... that stung." He hissed a bit and took a step forward only to freeze as he felt a hand grab his ankle. Blinking once, he glanced down. "Huh?"
Trembling with a firm grasp, Elise glared with one eye closed. Her other eye watering with tears. "Y-Ya know... f-fuck you..." She hissed while speaking through her teeth. Jerking herself towards him, she grimaced in pain before bringing her mouth down and biting into his calf. The taste of iron filling her mouth as she clenched both her eyes shut.
He cried out, jerking away from her and stumbling. Gritting his teeth, he looked down at the crimson color now staining his pants. He took a few quick breaths in an attempt to compose himself, but it didn't do much.
A moment later, Kagami jumped through the air. Both her feet planted firmly against his chest. As he was pushed down, she jumped off him. The force of her jump sent him straight into the ground with a heavy thud. His body bounced on the impact.
He groaned loudly, slowly rolling onto his side. "Damn... it..." He hissed. He went to push himself up, only to fall back down as his head was struck by Cheyenne's melee weapon. With his right eye closed, he glanced up. Breathing out, he watched as the Faunus went for another swing. Bracing himself, he raised his right hand and caught it mid-swing. His hand stinging as he forced the weapon to stop. Jerking himself up, he grabbed the handle with his left hand. "Enough!" He pulled back with his left hand while pushing his right forward, forcing the weapon out of her grasp. Gripping the handle tighter, he swung it forward. The heavy end driving deep into the girl's stomach.
She coughed, gasping for air as she took a few steps back before dropping to one knee. With a heavy groan, she closed an eye while her arms wrapped around her torso.
"Heh." He flashed a smile, spinning her club around. "Keep making that sound." He raised the weapon, going to backhand it against her only to be tackled away by a green blur.
With the war club sliding away, both Cin and Kagami tumbled across the ground. The young warrior attempted to keep herself above him so she could push herself away in the end, but his size and weight let him gain that minor and vital advantage.
Feeling herself being pinned on her back, her eyes widened as she silently cursed. Her breath hitching as she went to kick him away.
He scoffed, keeping her legs down as he placed his hands on her shoulders. His fingers digging deep into the bones. "Not this time..." He leaned down. His breath brushed over her face with the hint of alcohol. Baring his teeth, he flashed a sadistic smile. "How about we relive those old memories." He let out a low chuckle as the darkness flickered in his eyes.
Going stiff, Kagami's eyes dilated. The words quietly echoing in the back of her head. It felt like an eternity she laid there before the pain finally began to creep up on her. Each scar on her back began to burn. The pain searing through her body as it had done years before. She barely managed to inhale as she let out a very quiet and trembling sound.