The sound of metal clashing against metal rang throughout the forest as Platina struggled to defend against May's furious assault. Each of May's strikes pushed Tina's defense to the edge. The offensive belonged to her, and Platina didn't have even a second to rest.
"I can't beat her like this," Tina thought to herself, "I need to give myself just a little distance." Platina knew that May would be aggressive, and she figured that once she could switch to a more defensive style, she would have an easier time keeping up.
May swung Amber Storm over her head for a powerful downwards chop aimed at Platina's brow, but the attack was stopped with both pieces of Platinum Eclipse. The outsole of May's boot struck Platina's chest, and she flipped in the air before digging her blades into the ground to stop herself. May shot Amber Storm behind her and appeared at Tina's side in an instant. She went for a wide cleave with her axe, but Platina ducked under the attack. May swung again from the other side, and in response, Tina back sprung away on one hand. May shot her weapon twice at her opponent. Tina swung one of the kusarigama at the shots; knocking them both astray, then she aimed her other one up and shot back.
With that, Platina created the opening she needed. She put one half of Platinum Eclipse back in its sheath and regathered the other. Her modified version of kusarigamajutsu, the art of using the kusarigama, was an effective means of attack, but it was much harder to defend with. She was now in a stance she called Ishin-Ryu. She held the rolled-up chain in her left hand and the kama - the sickle - in her right.
May dashed low to the ground to avoid the Dust projectiles that came from Tina's weapon and started sprinting towards her again. She began to swing Amber Storm to the right, but in an attempt to fake Platina out, she forced it around her for an attack from the opposite side. However, Tina still managed to dodge under it and entangle the weapon in her chain, as if she knew that it was coming. Platina stepped on the chain with all of her weight; pulling the battle axe to the ground, and at the same time she swung her kama at May's face. May was quick to react and stopped the attack by grabbing Tina's forearm with her free hand.
As they struggled in a short pushing match, May flashed a competitive smile. Platina began to feel May's hand heat up, and before she knew it her sleeve erupted into flames. Tina panicked and desperately yanked her arm from May. While she was preoccupied with escaping from her grasp, the May curled her other hand into a fist and struck Platina as hard as she could in the face. The amount of shock Tina felt was incredible; she'd never been hit that hard before. The punch knocked her onto her back a couple of feet away with a ringing in her ear. May untangled the chain wrapped around her weapon and tossed it back to her fallen enemy. Platina rolled backward and got back up onto her feet; collecting the rest of Platinum Eclipse as she did so.
"You're really strong." Platina complimented her as she stood up.
"You're quick on your feet." May replied as she readied herself. "Why aren't you using your Semblance?"
Tina smirked and answered, "You know, I don't think I'll actually need it."
Of course, she was lying in an attempt to shake her foe's nerve. As of right now, she was desperately relying on it. The ruse didn't seem to work though; May remained as confident-looking as ever.
"I have to find a way to beat her," Tina began to reanalyzing everything she knew about May's fighting style. "Her shotgun has a spread shot and it's pump action. When it is an axe, it's buckshot and semi-automatic. I could win a long-range fight, but she can close the distance really easily. I can't afford to get too close, especially with her Semblance; the flames don't even bother her at all."
Platina's hands were beginning to shake and she could feel sweat forming on her forehead. "Maybe I can use...no," she shook the very idea out of her head, "I can't afford to do that. I'll just avoid her attacks until I see an opening. A nice hit to the head to daze her then I'll just go ham or something." Her confidence wasn't exactly coming back, but at least she had half a plan.
May was a bit annoyed by her friend's cocky remark. "Don't underestimate me, Tina." She warned. "I want you to give it everything you've got!"
She flipped Amber Storm around and launched herself through the air. Platina was ready for that and dived out of the way onto one hand. May swung her weapon while she was still in the air; the attack grazed the heel of Platina's boots. Platina regained her footing and began spinning her chain in circles. Platina threw the weight at the end of the chain towards May, and it ensnared Amber Storm just below its blades. May didn't even have a moment to struggle before Tina pulled hard on the chain; forcing her forward along with her weapon. Platina jumped up and kicked May in what would have been the chest, but May raised Amber Storm just in time to stop the attack.
Tina grabbed hold of the axe and swung her weapon at May. As the twin blades slashed across her face, a hint of anger sparked in the Huntress' eyes. The combined force of Tina pushing off with her legs and May shoving her away threw Platina back a few feet. May wasted no time getting back on the offensive; dashing forward and taking another swing at her opponent. Platina deftly sidestepped the attack, and May retaliated by lighting her fist ablaze and swinging for the face. Platina, with an unwavering glare, took the blade of her kusarigama and redirected her strike upwards. She kicked May twice in the chest with the opening that created, then in a dazzling display, she jumped off a tree, wrapped her legs around May's neck, and spun around to throw her down onto the ground. She landed with a hard thud, then narrowly rolled out of the way of a slash from Platinum Eclipse.
May sprung up from the ground and wildly slashed left and right. Tina jumped backward and shot twice at her. May spun her weapon around in a circle, blocking the shots, then she rapidly shot five times at Platina. They all narrowly grazed her as she dashed forward. May fired Amber Storm behind her and sped towards her enemy; bringing her weapon around her body and swinging straight down. Platina expertly sidestepped her attack, and the axe slammed into the fallen tree behind her.
"Now's my chance!" Tina leaped forward and balled her hand into a fist around her weapon while giving a short yell.
She concentrated all of her power into her arm and slugged May in the face, causing her to let go of her weapon and stumble back with a grunt of pain. Platina cut May across her chest and immediately followed up with a punch to her stomach. She focused all her power into her fist again and socked May in the jaw; lifting her into the air, then she threw her blade forward and slashed May back into the ground. She recalled her weapon and leaped forward for another slash at May, but suddenly, a wave of flames erupted from May's body and engulfed Tina with intense heat. The force of the sudden flames thrusted her back, rolling across the ground.
She struggled to push herself back up. Her knees and arms buckled under her and it was hard to even stand up straight. Even though she was only in the flames for a second or two, it must have sliced off a decent portion of her Aura.
She saw May slowly emerge from the flames. Her eyes were ablaze with a determination that burned nearly as bright as the flames around her. She approached her weapon, grabbed it with one hand while gritting her teeth, and pulled the trigger; flying towards Platina at lightning speeds.
"Damn it," Platina clenched her teeth as she prepared for May's next attack.
Dirt flew up from the ground as the red and black blur came to an abrupt stop. May had plunged the blades of her axe into the ground and was hanging off of the end of the handle.
"A kick?!" Platina realized.
She tried to raise the chain of Platinum Eclipse upwards to block the attack, but she was too slow. The top of May's boot came down on her head with incredible strength; forcing her to fold over her waist and let out a cry of pain. As soon as she raised her head again, May was already initiating a second attack. Her right hand was on fire and was being thrown from as far back as possible. The blend of force from the punch and the intense heat from the flame connecting with Platina's stomach knocked the air out of her and sent her tumbling on the ground; unable to move for a solid second.
Tina struggled to lift her torso and sit up, and when she opened her eyes she found herself staring down the barrel of her enemy's shotgun. May's face was visible right in between the top two blades of the weapon. Her pink hair had fallen flat and nearly covered her amber eyes, which held a look of triumph. Droplets of sweat could be seen forming on her forehead and she was breathing heavily. Platina's whole body flickered with an electric blue Aura, proving just how much damage she took during the fight. Just a couple more blows and it would be drained to zero. May had won.
Reese and her new partner trod slowly through the creepy forest in awkward silence. They had been walking for at least an hour now and they haven't seen any trace of the shrine that Professor Lionheart talked about. The crunch of twigs underneath the two partners' feet was the only thing that broke the silence of the forest. That is, until a haunting screech echoed throughout the morning air.
"What was that?" The pink-haired boy asked in a frightened voice as he maneuvered closer to the Huntress.
"It's just a crow, man. Calm down." Reese sighed
"Oh, okay..." The Huntsman relaxed and backed up to his original position; straightening his back and becoming taller than Reese.
A rustling in the bushes to Reese's right made the boy step back in fear and raise his assault rifle to his shoulders. A small rabbit hopped out of the shrubs. He breathed a sigh of relief and lowered his guard. He looked back at the skater to find a face of faint disbelief.
"What?" He asked, slightly confused.
"Sorry, it's nothing." She shook her head wearily. "You said it was Nadir, right?"
The boy nodded lightly.
"Were you being for real when you said you don't know what your Semblance is yet?" She asked.
Nadir forced a laugh, "Oh, what, did you fall for that?" He joked.
"You're not serious…" Reese groaned.
"Oh man, I really am gonna stand out for that, aren't I?" He scratched the back of his head.
"Yeah, maybe just a little." Reese shook her head. "Sorry, I'm trying to not let it bother me, but I was really hoping I'd be paired up with someone who could use their Semblance. No offense or anything."
"All of the offense taken." Nadir pretended to wipe a tear from his eye.
"Har har." She mocked. "Well since I'm hurting your feelings anyway, you're not really the best fighter I've ever seen either. How the hell did your transcripts hold up?"
Nadir looked away, "I got lucky is all, I guess." He said quietly.
"Lucky doesn't even begin to explain it." Reese thought to herself. A moment of silence passed as the two continued forward.
"So, uh…still got your scroll?" Nadir broke the eerie silence.
"What? Of course I do. These things aren't hard to lose." She patted her hoodie pocket where she's has it stored.
"Yeah, I guess. Sorry, just running out of conversation topics." He laughed.
Reese mindlessly reached into her pocket and placed her hand around the scroll. Keeping her eyes forward, she pulled it out and raised it to her head level. Twisting it in place, she discovered a large cut about two inches deep had appeared on it since she last checked it. She stared down at it in disbelief as Lionheart's words rang in her ear.
"Fail to return the scroll, or the scroll is damaged or opened, and you are to wait until next year to enroll again."
"You've gotta be freaking kidding me!" She suddenly yelled as she stared down at the gash in horror.
Nadir took to her side to see what was wrong. "No way!" He exclaimed. "How did that happen?!"
Reese took a moment to search through her memory of what happened since she last looked at it. In the short time it had been, one moment came to her; a moment in her fight with Nadir where she wasn't careful and got hit in the stomach with a slash from his sword. Her feelings of dread turned to anger as she glared at her teammate.
"This is all your fault!" She yelled at him. Nadir stepped back, his eyes wide with surprise.
"Reese, w-what do you mean? What did I do?" He stammered.
"Unbelievable!" She continued, "I was creaming you in that fight, and the one good hit you got on me did this!" She shoved the scroll in his face.
"I-Me? Reese, I'm sorry, I-" He fumbled over his words.
"Cut the sorry crap!" She interrupted before laying her hoverboard on the ground. "I deserved way better than this." She threw the damaged paper scroll to the ground and sped off in a blur, leaving Nadir behind to his lonesome.
Tiffany marched through Shi No Mori all alone. The slight breeze dragged her hair with it as she counted how many cylinders of Dust she brought for the second time. She felt uneasy being in this place by herself for this long. She was also feeling a bit confused.
"I thought this place had a lot of Grimm." She pondered. Every now and then she would hear the distinct screech of a Nevermore or the howl of a Beowolf, but that was it.
She came across a rocky incline that blocked her path. She took a deep breath and began climbing. When she reached the summit, she found herself on a rather barren cliff that overlooked nearly the entire forest. The only things that decorated the grass were a large rock, a fallen tree, and a few pink flowers. She approached the edge of the cliff and surveyed for any gaps in the sea of trees.
A small outline of an object was visible to her left. She took out her revolver-sniper rifle, Noble Reach, and gazed through the scope. As Tiffany turned a dial on the side of the scope to zoom in, the object came into focus; revealing a red, traditional Haven-style roof.
"There we go." She thought as she cracked a smile. "All that's left to do is to meet my teammate."
She knelt at the edge of the cliff and stared off into the distance. For a while, she let the breeze cool her off, which gave her a strange sense of peace. Her moment of rest was cut short as a loud hissing noise snagged her attention from below her. She looked down to find a King Taijitu Grimm slithering in between the trees; the two heads working in tandem to maneuver through the forest. She caressed her rifle gently, as though she were giving it a hug.
"Alright, I can do this," she whispered to herself, "It's just one Grimm. Well, it does have two heads, so it's almost like it's two. Ugh, why'd I have to say that?" She questioned as she hung her head.
Tiffany slowly stood up and pushed open her revolver chamber to remove the current Dust cartridge. She swapped it out with the Gravity Dust on her belt. She inserted the cylinder and closed the chamber, and the two white lines running along the weapon turned purple.
She pulled back on the silver hammer of the gun and leaped off the side of the cliff. As she was falling, she pushed a button on the right side of Noble Reach, which made a bayonet extend from under the barrel.
She fired her gun and propelled herself towards the two-headed snake at a blurring speed. As she rushed passed the creature, a trail of black smoke followed as she tore into the beast with her blade. The snake let out a distressed hiss of pain and surprise. Tiffany landed on the ground and immediately fired again; giving her a little distance from the beast. She planted her black combat boots into the dirt to stop herself and turned around to face the monster.
The two pairs of blood-red eyes pierced into Tiffany's soul, but the Huntress managed to shake her feelings of fear away. She pushed open the revolver chamber and quickly replaced the Gravity Dust with Ice Dust - turning the purple lines a light shade of blue.
The white snake hissed loudly and lunged towards Tiffany, but the Huntress sidestepped the attack. The Grimm's head hit the ground; giving Tiffany the perfect opportunity to strike back. She raised her weapon and shot three times; freezing the first head to the forest floor. Tiffany could feel the second head slithering towards her from behind. She swung her weapon around and plunged the bayonet into the right eye of the beast. It let out a shrill cry of pain and writhed its body around itself. While she struggled to keep the black head of the King Taijitu pinned down, the white head broke free of its icy prison and twisted over its partner to try to swallow the Huntress whole.
Tiffany sacrificed the advantage she had on the black half of the monster to avoid being eaten by the white half. The snake's head sent dirt and twigs flying through the air, which rained down around the Huntress as she ran away. The Grimm wasted no time getting back on the chase; bolting towards their prey. An alarmed gasp escaped her lips as she turned to flee.
She ducked through the trees and used the foliage as cover, barely keeping away from the snapping jaws of the Grimm. As they journeyed deeper into the forest, the trees grew thicker and it became harder for the giant snake to weave through them. Eventually, a tree got in between the two halves of the body, which clotheslined the Grimm. Tiffany turned around and froze the middle of the snake to the tree using her Dust. The twin heads struggled to bite at the Huntress, but they couldn't quite reach her.
Tiffany gave a smile and a short laugh as she watched the defeated Grimm wriggle in place, desperately trying to free itself.
"Wow, I really am getting better at this." She breathed a sigh of relief and wiped the sweat from her brow.
She loaded her original Dust into her rifle and put the snake in her crosshairs. Two loud bangs rang throughout the lorn forest, and then everything was silent again.
May and Platina ambled through the woods in high spirits. May was swooning over Platinum Eclipse; after their fight, the Huntress had become entranced with it. She was playing with the switch on the handle that extended and retracted the chain.
"How do you like it?" Tina asked.
"Oh, it's awesome!" May replied ecstatically. She extended the weapon and sliced off a branch of a tree. "What'd you say this thing was called again?"
"A kusarigama, it's an old Animese weapon." Platina replied smiling.
"Made for disarming and tripping, right?" The Huntress guessed. "The way you used it in the fight was amazing."
"Oh, I wasn't that great." She responded, throwing her hand behind her head. "I mean, you totally kicked my butt."
Great, now she was worried that was a weird thing to say. Thankfully, May seemed unbothered.
"No, you did really well. It's been a while since I had a fight that got me going like that." May's words made Tina feel glad. "Just remember, you have to get stronger than me now." May reminded her.
"Don't worry, I didn't forget." Platina reassured her. "Not just you though, I'll be the greatest Huntress ever."
May retracted Platinum Eclipse and giggled, "That's a big statement, but I can believe it." She kicked a rock and sent it flying out of sight, "You do have a long way to go, though. Hawk is at least twice as good of a fighter as I am, and he's always talking about other Huntsman that are even stronger."
Platina gulped at the thought of people that powerful, even though she always figured there were Huntsmen and Huntresses out there like that.
May returned Tina's weapon to her and continued, "But hey, it's pretty cool that we're on a team together."
"Yeah, I was really worried I was gonna get stuck with a bunch of strangers, or people I didn't like or something." Platina was amazed by the luck she seemed to have ever since she arrived at this school. Not only did she make a few new friends, but one of them is going to be on her team.
May suddenly stopped moving forward. Platina did the same and looked back at her with a curious look. May stood silent for a second before she said anything.
"Do you hear that?" May asked with a serious expression.
Platina didn't hear anything at first, but as she tuned in to the natural sounds of the forest, the sound May was referring to became more clear. Amidst the chirp of the birds and the whistle of the breeze, there was a consistent crunching sound growing louder as it continued toward them. From behind a wall of trees and bushes, a figure cloaked in black emerged. It watched from the shadows in silence.
"It's a Grimm!" May wasted no time taking out Amber Storm and blitzing over to the black figure.
She swung with all her strength, but just before her attack made an impact, the figure dashed underneath her axe and out into the opening where Platina stood. She grabbed Platinum Eclipse and stepped forward to attack. The black figure kicked off a tree next to it and sped past Tina. It stood up as it faced the two Huntresses. It reached out to its head to reveal a human hand under the cloak. They flipped up their hood to reveal a pair of black eyes and long, layered black hair.
"Can't you two stay out of my hair?" He spoke. The two Huntresses recognized him almost immediately.
"Hey, you're that jerk from last night." Platina pointed out. The boy's blank expression hardened.
"And you two are the loud, annoying ones from last night. Point?" He said in his relatively deep, stern voice.
"The nerve…" Tina growled under her breath. Her entire body tensed up with slight anger towards the Huntsman.
"I don't have time for this right now, I've got things to do." The boy mumbled. Tina clenched her jaw and curled her hand into a fist.
"Tina..." Platina loosened up when she heard May's voice. She looked over at the pink-haired Huntress. She wore her usual confident smile, and her eyes were shining with what could only be described as excitement.
"Show this guy what you can do." She said, her words filling Platina's heart with assurance.
"Right," Platina smiled and nodded at her friend before beginning the walk towards the cloaked boy. "I hope you're ready." She said as she cracked the knuckles of one of her hands.
"I have no reason to fight you." He repeated.
"Well, that's too bad." Tina denied the Huntsman the choice. "What's your name?" She asked.
"Doesn't matter." He replied. Something about this guy just irked Platina, and it seemed like he could see that. He continued, "If you have to know, it's Lukas, but you're wasting my time; get lost."
"Even if you don't have a reason to fight, I do." The Huntress stated. Lukas stood there for a second, and even though he didn't show it on his face, he was a little curious about what she meant.
The Huntsman and Huntress locked eyes for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, a voice broke the silence.
"Right behind you!" Tina shouted from behind.
"Her Semblance must be clone based." Lukas quickly realized. He drew his sword from the sheath that hung across his waist, turned, and slashed behind him.
His sword made no contact. Nothing was there, not even a trace of another person. He turned back to find himself nearly face-to-face with the blue-haired girl. Her surprise punch to the face caused him to stumble for a moment, but he quickly snapped back into action. He flicked his left hand outwards; activating a black bracer strapped to his wrist, which brought forth a small, hidden knife. He slashed at his opponent, but she dodged back to avoid it and let herself fall into a back spring and back to her feet. Lukas was perplexed at what had just happened.
"What was that?" He thought to himself. He was sure he heard her voice behind him.
"Well, I can't just let you show me up like that." He said as he retracted the knife and raised his sword up with one hand; lifting his cloak slightly to reveal a light gray denim jacket. Platina extended the chain of Platinum Eclipse and got into her usual fighting stance.
"A kusarigama," Lukas observed.
"Yeah," Tina replied. She examined his weapon: a sword with no crossguard and a single-edged, straight blade. "and you have a chokutō, right? I wonder if it can do anything special."
There was another moment of silence and motionlessness. Platina waited for Lukas to make a move, meanwhile, Lukas was trying to think of what he should do exactly.
"Kusarigama are specialized for blocking and countering blades like mine. A frontal attack might not end well." He began brainstorming ideas for how to get around a direct fight, and his thought process led him to his go-to tactic for new opponents. "She'll never expect an attack from behind."
One second he was there, and the next he was gone, leaving only a swirl of leaves in his spot. He was suddenly in the air behind the Huntress. He swung his sword at her head. The blade made contact, not with his enemy, but her weapon. She moved the kusarigama in the perfect position to trap his chokutō in between her blades.
"What?" He thought.
The Huntress dragged the sword downwards and tugged on the hilt with her other hand; planting it into the ground, then she turned around and swung at him with her weapon. Lukas moved his head back but still got hit by the tip of the blades. He extended the knife again and swung at her again. She ducked under the blade and backed away from the next two swings he threw. He tried to kick her, but when he raised his leg, she used the blade of her weapon to pull his other leg out from underneath him.
"Damn it," Lukas grunted as he hit the ground.
He kicked his legs around as he got up and Tina stepped back so as not to get hit. Lukas pushed himself up from the ground and lunged towards his enemy. His two initial slashes with his knife were both blocked by the girl, but he finally got past her defenses and delivered a glancing blow to her head. She tried to block another strike from him, but he kicked away her weapon and struck her face with his fist. He jumped up and kicked her again, but she blocked it in time and only harmlessly slid across the ground.
She dodged two more incoming knife attacks and pushed the Huntsman back with her shoulder, then she swung her kusarigama in a circle around her. Lukas jumped back to avoid it, then vanished again to reappear next to his sword. Just as he was about to grab his weapon, he realized that the kusarigama was heading straight for him. He narrowly ducked underneath and teleported back a yard or two; away from a kick that came from Tina.
Platina retracted Platinum Eclipse, grabbed the hilt of Lukas' sword, and pulled it out of the ground as she ran toward her opponent. She pulled a trigger on the handle, which made a grabbable ring form at the base of the hilt. She jumped up, grabbed it with her right hand, and brought it up to her left shoulder, then the sword split into four blades and arranged itself into a giant starknife. She threw it with all her might at the still Huntsman. Lukas simply raised his arm and caught the spinning weapon through a gap between the blades.
"Nice going, Tina!" May shouted from the sidelines. Platina landed on her feet and straightened her stance.
"Your Semblance is teleportation; interesting." She put on a smug grin. Lukas rose to his feet and transformed his weapon back into a sword.
"Your Semblance won't give you the edge much longer." He muttered as he stared at the girl. "Whenever I used Chase, you knew exactly where I was going to teleport to. On top of that, you knew the functions of my sword, Memento, without me showing or telling you. I did think about it when you asked me. That's what you wanted, right?"
Platina remained silent and pulled out the second half of her weapon.
"Your Semblance is telepathy. Not only can you read my thoughts, but you can also talk to me like that, and you're so adept at it that you can make me think the voice is coming from a different direction. Paired with the nature of the kusarigama, I'd say it makes it hard to even touch you in a fight, right?"
He paused for a moment and fidgeted with his two bracers, together named "Mori". He glanced back up and continued his monologue.
"I can't say for sure, but I think I also figured out your weakness." Lukas said in a calm, confident voice. "Sure, you can read my moves as I think about them, but the attacks that I didn't linger on...the actions I just did without giving them a second thought; they were the ones that evaded your Semblance. In other words, you can only read my conscious thoughts; natural fighting instinct can't be heard by you!"
He darted towards Platina. The Huntress raised her arm and slashed downwards. Lukas evaded to the right and retaliated with his sword. She ducked under the attack and swept her leg across the ground; hitting the Huntsman's ankle and tripping him up momentarily, but he quickly regained his balance. Tina kicked up towards his chest, and he moved Memento in front of the attack to block it. The two locked up for a split second, each giving a glare of anger and determination.
Lukas pushed her back, which was met by a few swings of the kusarigama that he evaded. The Huntress turned and lunged at him with another attack, just to have it blocked by his sword. She jumped up in an attempt to kick him in the face, but Lukas took hold of her boot and threw her to the side. She flipped once in the air before landing sideways on a tree, then she immediately pushed off. She reached her opponent again and kicked twice. The cloaked Huntsman used his hands to lead the kicks away. When Platina landed, he began swinging his sword at her. She managed to block the first two swings, but the last one slashed her all the way down her chest.
Lukas threw a punch that connected with an arm that Platina raised in defense. She jumped back to avoid an upwards slash from the sword, then she began swinging her right sickle in circles. Lukas darted towards the Huntress, who raised her other gun and shot twice. He ducked under the first and maneuvered around the second, then he raised his sword for a stabbing strike. Platina swung and wrapped her chain around the sword, then she retracted the weapon as much as she could so the handle met Lukas' blade.
She pulled Memento to the right, bringing the Huntsman with it, and she kicked him in the stomach. She struck him twice in the head, and as he recoiled from the blows, she flipped around to face away from him, grabbed the cloak around his neck, and pulled him over her own body. He landed on his back with a thud and a grunt, and Platina raised one kusarigama up and slashed at his face. Just before the blade made contact, however, he vanished.
She looked up and the Huntsman was in the air above her, transforming his weapon into the starknife. He sent the weapon spinning downwards. Tina jumped away and the blade stuck itself into the ground. She looked up to where the Huntsman was and saw two knives crackling with Electricity Dust gliding through the air towards her. She moved her kusarigama in front of her chest and ducked her head underneath to protect herself, but all she felt was the sizzle of the lightning as the knives simply grazed past her arms.
She raised her head and saw that her opponent was sprinting towards her from where his sword had landed; holding it backwards in his hand. He swung it up and the tip barely nicked Platina's cheek as she flicked her head back. He flipped the sword around and swung it back at her. She raised her right scythe and the sword connected with the hilt of it. Tina pushed the switch on the handle inwards, which made the twin blades shift and align with the barrel of the weapon, causing Lukas' sword to slide right off. She swung her other kusarigama at Lukas and smiled to herself; sure that it was going to hit.
The Huntsman deftly maneuvered around the sickle and grabbed Platina's arm, then he glided behind her and forced her arm against her back. He pushed Tina's arm up, and the stinging pain forced her to drop her weapon. He took her arm and moved to her side. He kicked Platina in the chest. She let out a yelp of pain and lost her footing. Lukas' grip on her arm disappeared as he swept his leg along the ground and kicked the one leg Platina was balancing on, then he vanished.
She felt a jolt of pain spike her back. Platina spun in the air and saw Lukas was on his back underneath her and had kicked her upwards. He pushed himself up and kicked her again. Lukas stood up and raised his arm to Platina. A small dial on Mori spun around and glowed a deep red. Fire Dust came from the bracer and blasted Platina in the face, which launched her higher into the air. The explosion shocked her to her core.
Lukas teleported just above her and prepared to kick her to the ground. Platina crossed her arms to block his attack, and he brought the heel of his boot down on her forearms. Her entire body spun as she fell back to the ground.
She landed with a loud crash. Dust flew into the air and quickly settled again. A few feet ahead of her, Lukas popped into existence. Both were motionless for a moment. Lukas sheathed his sword, turned around, and picked up the two knives he had thrown earlier in the fight. He began walking away, but stopped when he heard something crack behind him. He turned and found the Huntress hobbling over to her second kusarigama. She bent down to pick it up, then she shakily got into her fighting position.
"W-what? You think I'm done?" She whimpered. Her knees nearly gave out as she stood back up, and her arms barely had enough strength to raise them as much as she did.
"It's over, just give up." Lukas commanded in his usual cold tone.
"No…" She growled through her clenched teeth. She raised her head and displayed her lavender eyes that sparked with determination.
"I'm not gonna give up, I will beat you!" She shouted.
That's when Lukas noticed it. Her eyes...they were different somehow, almost sinister. And what was that surrounding her body? It was so thin that it was barely visible, but he could swear it was there...black Aura?...
Tina blinked and her eyes immediately softened. She looked down at herself and began taking in long, deep breaths. The darkness around her faded from his vision almost instantly. Had he imagined it? Nevertheless, Lukas took this opportunity while she was distracted.
In a flash, he was standing directly in front of the Huntress; clutching her by the neck and raising her into the air. She dropped Platinum Eclipse and grasped onto his wrist; pulling as hard as she could and kicking at his body to get free. Lukas kept his hold though, and the dial on Mori spun once again, this time flashing a bright yellow. A wave of electricity burned throughout Platina's body. She yelled in pain but could no longer struggle as her muscles went stiff.
"Let her go!" A voice screamed from outside of the battlefield.
A gunshot rang through the air and May was over in an instant. She swung Amber Storm at Lukas, who released his grip of Platina and jumped back just in time. Tina's whole body felt heavy as she dropped to the ground, then collapsed to her knees. Right before she let her whole body fall, however, an arm caught her from behind. May was crouching beside her, holding her up with her right arm while steadying herself with her weapon in her left.
"That's enough!" May roared. "You're going too far! It's over. Just leave…"
Not a sound was heard while the skilled Huntsman and the passionate Huntress stared deep into each other's eyes. Lukas finally sighed and turned around again; walking away from the two partners. After a few steps, he stopped and looked back at the two girls.
"You two better not get in my way…" His words sounded like a threat, but May didn't care about them right now.
"Tina…" May breathed softly to her partner as she flipped her to her back and rested her head on her hand. Platina's eyes were closed, but it seemed like she was still conscious, because she responded to her words.
"May…" Tina's voice was barely audible, but it seemed she would be okay with some rest. May smiled at the thought, but it disappeared when she saw a tear forming in her friend's eye.
"I-I can't believe I lost t-twice…" She croaked out with the last of her strength; the single tear breaking from her eyelid and running down her cheek. The Huntress' soft crying was soon drowned out by the gentle blowing of the wind and the rustling of the leaves.
Semblance Notes #1 Telepathy; The Semblance of Platina Steel. Telepathy allows her to tap into someone's consciousness. It targets one person within 40 feet of Platina and allows her to hear the target's surface-level thoughts. In addition, she can send mental messages to people within the same distance. Trying to target more than one person jumbles the thoughts she receives and takes a greater toll on her Aura.