The Light of A Broken Destiny:
Akari & Hiro
The scout didn't answer the bewildered mystery woman; instead, they charged, making spell circles. Stone balls shot from the ground at Akari. The mystery woman wasn't afraid of this; she deflected one of the balls with her sword and punched the second one.
Willow watched in shock and awe as the stone shattered into small bits. The plant witch wasn't the only one shocked by this. The scouts were motionless, stunned by what they saw.
Akari saw this and took the opening; she dashed at the scouts, sheathing her sword. She went for a double clothesline, but the scouts recovered and ducked just as the mystery woman reached them. One of the scouts spun a spell circle.
A vine shot out from the ground and uppercutted Akari. The mystery woman grunted as she took the blow and staggered backward. The scouts didn't give Akari the time to recover, and both made spell circles. They fired magical lightning at the girl, but a plant wall suddenly burst through the ground and blocked the magic lightning.
Akari shook her head and looked at Willow. The plant witch had a spell circle around her wrist, and she was giving Akari an unreadable expression. Suddenly, an abomination blade pierced through the wall, nearly cutting into the woman's cheek.
Akari jumped back as two abominations tore through the wall. The mystery woman got into a fighting stance, her right arm over her chest and her other arm out in front of her. Willow got beside Akari as the scouts began advancing on the two.
"Celestial Fire!"
A beam of green energy suddenly blew past the scouts and hit one of the abominations. The golem moaned as it ballooned out and exploded a second later. Everyone could only gawk in shock as the abomination's remains rained down on them.
Before anyone could gather their wits, a figure suddenly appeared in front of the two scouts, his back to them. Sensei spun around on a heel and kicked one of the scouts aside the head. With a grunt, the scout dropped to the ground, unconscious.
Sensai then turned his attention to the other scout, only for the scout's abomination to get him from behind in a bear hug. The scot spun a circle, and the remains of the other abomination began to slither and move to the intact one. The abomination moaned as it absorbed the matter of its fallen brother and doubled in size.
Akari saw her sensei was in trouble and moved to help. The scout saw this, and with another spell circle, a sludge tentacle shot out from the abomination's back.
Akari groaned when she took one across the chin, head flying back slightly. She fell to the ground, and Willow hurried over to see if the girl was okay. Though he couldn't see her, Sensei could tell something had happened to his student, and that made him mad.
"Celestial Spikes!"
Green energy spikes exploded from Sensei's back through his cloak and into the abomination. The magical creation groaned as it lost its structure and melted. Sensei dropped to the ground and threw away his ruined cloak.
Sensi was a teenage Japanese boy with black hair in a small, spiky hairstyle. He wore blue high tops and tattered navy blue jeans. His dark blue nylon jacket was open, exposing his shirtless chest with the X scar running his entire chest.
The left sleeve of Sesei's jacket was ripped up to the elbow, and the man's exposed arm was wrapped tightly in bondages. Finally, he had a katana hanging from his right hip.
Despite looking eighteen, the young human's eyes told a different story; the man's ash-gray eyes were heavy with experience.
"Akari!" Sensei called his student, eyes on the scout. "Are you okay?"
Akari moaned, got into a sitting position, and shook her head quickly. She looked at her teacher with shame and replied reluctantly, "...Yeah."
Sensei nodded and looked ready to say something when he saw the scout move. The Japanese man drew his sword as the scout made two spell circles. Abomination matter slithered to the scout and crept up the witch's body.
Akari gasped as stone and vines began to emerge from the abomination matter. Once the stone covered the scout's left hand, spikes shot out from the stone covering his knuckles. The vines on his right arm spiraled around the limb and formed a drill.
The two elements soon reached the scout's shoulders, and abomination matter overtook them, forming an extra set of arms that grew from the back. The scout was grinning as the abomination matter merged with his mask, creating a helmet resembling the Titan's head.
"Akari," Sensei said calmly, "I want you and the witch girl to get out of here. I will keep this freak busy."
Akari frowned bitterly as she got to her feet. She wasn't going to let her sensei fight this guy on his own and planned to voice her disapproval of this plan.
"Hiro-sensei-"
"For once in our history," Hiro screamed commandingly, interrupting his student, "Do what I damn say!"
The Japanese boy looked at his student with a confident smile.
"You know I handled things bigger than this," Hiro said calmly. "I will join you once I toast this poor excuse of a-Whoa!"
Hiro ducked when the scout threw out his stone arm, it sketching out. The scout shot his plant arm out, its tip aimed at Hiro's head. The Japanese man parried the blow with his sword and straightened.
Akari saw the scout was giving his full attention to her sensei and decided it was time to make a break for it. She grabbed Willow by the hand and ran in the opposite direction.
The Scout saw the two running and tried to stop them, throwing out his stone arm. Hiro quickly intercepted the attack, knocking the arm away. He got between the scout and the fleeing girls, bringing his sword to his face.
"Don't even try it," Hiro threatened coldly, the blade of his sword catching fire.
(SC)
Akari was leading Willow away from the fight, unaware of the look the young plant witch was giving her.
"Let me go!" Willow suddenly screamed, wrenching her arm free.
Akari stopped and looked at the plant witch as Willow took a few steps away from her and made spell circles. The swordswoman took a step towards Willow, and the witch back up. Akari sighed and looked around.
The young Japanese woman frowned as she realized they hadn't gotten far from where her sensei and the scout were fighting.
Look," Akari said, trying to reason with the girl, "We can't stop. My sensei is good, but we can't-"
Akaria stopped mid-sentence when two sharp vines suddenly got dangerously close to her face. Sweat rolled down the side of Akari's face as she looked nervously at the plant tip and slowly turned her eyes to the witch controlling them.
Willow's expression was devoid of emotion as she glared at Akari.
"You creeps must really think I'm dumb," the witch spat. "But the human disguise wouldn't work on me!"
Akari might have reacted to this comment if Willow hadn't commanded one of her vines to close the small gasp. The Japanese girl didn't flinch as the vine gently cut across her chin. The vine pulled back, and she saw some blood on it from a cut she got during the fight.
Willow brought the sample close and studied it for a minute. The Japanese girl stood where she was, not out of fear but out of respect. The witch looked at Akari, her expression unchanged.
"...Take off your clothes," Willow commanded bluntly.
"Wait…WHAT!" Akari squeaked, face turning slightly red.
Whatever resistance the girl was thinking about mounting was stopped when Willow thrust her vines out, stopping a mere inch from an eye each.
Akari sighed and proceeded to do as instructed. She first took off her sword and held it out to Willow. The young witch got the idea and summoned another vine. She used the third vine to grab the sword as Akari took off her shirt, showing a bit of reluctance in doing so.
Willow didn't react when she saw the large scar that ran across the upper area of the girl's stomach, wrapped around her right side, and went to the back.
However, Akari's eyes lingered on the scar, sadness heavy in her eyes before she sighed and finished underdressing. Soon, the Japanese girl was left in nothing but her underwear.
"Now, take three steps away," Willow instructed, and Akari did.
Willow summoned another vine and used it to scoop Akari's clothes up. She brought them close and began looking through them. Willow gave the shoes a good shake and turned the shirt and pants inside out. She even checked the socks.
Once Willow was done inspecting Akari's outfit, she looked over the Japanese girl again, pulling her vines away from Akai. Akari kept as still as humanly possible, keeping her hands where the witch could see them.
"...How did you get here?" Willow asked bluntly. "The portal to the human realm has been in Odalia's hands since she rose to power."
Akari stared at the young witch for a second and sighed. She relaxed her body but tried to keep herself as non-threatening as possible. She brought her hands up in a welcoming gesture and tried to get a little closer to Willow. The witch wasn't having it and positioned her vines in front of her.
Akrai put up her hands again but kept her calm demeanor.
"...My sensei and I are travelers of the realms," Akari explained calmly, "We came here by accident, and when I heard you scream, I wanted to help."
Willow continued to eye the Japanese girl with suspicion, and Akari sighed. She tried to get close again, and Willow blocked her path again.
"Look, Willow, was it?" Akari said non-threateningly, "I know what I just said sounds crazy, but it's-LOOK OUT!"
Akari suddenly moved with such speed she was a blur to the naked eye. Willow barely had time to register what happened when she heard a grunt behind her. She looked over her shoulder and saw the Japanese girl elbowing a scout hard in the gut.
The scout hunched over as he grabbed his gut and struggled to get air back into his lungs. Akari jumped up and delivered a downward kick to the scout's head. The scout groaned as he fell to the ground, where he lay unmoving.
Akari looked down at the scout, body tense in case he was still conscious. She relaxed and breathed out when she saw the scout wasn't moving.
Suddenly, a vine jumped in front of her and took the fireball aimed at her head. Akari looked over the vine and saw six more scouts, one with a fireball hovering over their hand.
"I don't know who you are," the scout declared, "But aiding a public enemy is grounds for on-site execution!"
Akari stared at the scout with an unreadable expression and got into a fighting stance. She looked to her right when she felt Willow join her and saw the young witch with stone fists.
"...Does this mean you know I'm not with them?" Akari asked calmly, turning her attention to the scouts.
"The jury still out, as the humans say," Willow retorted coldly. "But I will take any help I can get."
Akari looked at the young witch, taking note of her stance and seeing for the first time the scar on her forehead. She frowned, noted the wound for later, and turned her attention to the scouts.
"..Works for me," Akari replied, "But…CAN I GET MY PANTS BACK!"
(SC)
Hiro let out a war cry as he dodged the vine drill, bobbing and weaving around the stretched-out limb. He rushed the scout, the tip of his sword aimed at the scout's chest. The Coven scout acted quickly, thrusting his abomination arms out. The hands of the arms merged and grew, forming a wall and turning to stone.
Hiro saw this but didn't stop. He plunged his sword into the wall, the blade easily piercing through. He thrust up, and a torrent of fire erupted upwards. The wall crumbled away a second later, leaving a shocked scout.
Hiro took the opening and went to plunge his sword into the scout's chest. Suddenly, abomination matter wrapped around the scout's abdomen and pulled him away, the sword missing its mark by a hair.
Hiro glared as he watched the first scout, the one he thought he knocked out a few minutes ago, bring his teammate to him. The human brought up his sword, and the second scout couldn't help but study it.
Hiro's sword had gained a second blade with a two-inch gap between the blades. The outside edge of both blades had sharp red tips held at an angle. Finally, the blades had charcoal black "veins" running down the bodies, giving the impression of molten rocks.
The scouts attacked first; the untransformed scout summoned some vines and whipped them at Hiro. Hiro angled his sword, so he caught the vine between its blades. A spark flew between the blades, and a surge of fire shot up the gap, catching the vine on fire.
The scout let go of his vine as Hiro thrust his sword to the side, sending the burning item to the ground. The Transformed scout was next, swinging his stone arm at the Japanese man. Hiro ducked the blow and saw a slab of stone coming for his face. He darted to his left, the stone slab missing his face by an inch.
Hiro straightened to his full height and brought his sword to the front. The unchanged scout made spell circles as his teammates changed his stone arm, forming it into a club. The transformed scout started things off, swinging his club at the man.
Hiro jabbed his sword into the ground, flames erupting around the blades' tips. "Scorching Earth!" He thrust his sword out, sending a wall of fire twice his size at the scouts.
The transformed scout's arm was knocked off course by the fire attack, catching fire simultaneously. The scout gasped, reverted to his normal state, and jumped out of the way with his partner as the fire surged past them.
Hiro saw his opponents were disoriented and off balance, and he acted; he swung his sword to his side, the blade turning back into its standard katana shape and sheathed it. He ran at the scouts with a speed that shouldn't be possible without magic, his fist covered in an orange fire.
"Fists of the Moral Flame!"
The scouts didn't have time to react as both were bombarded with rapid-fire punches. The scouts couldn't even grunt as nearly 30 punches assaulted them in ten seconds. Hiro pulled back slightly and delivered the final blow via a sharp uppercut to both of them.
The scouts groaned as they were sent onto the back, both out cold. Hiro held his arms up for a second, then thrust them down to his sides, the flares sniffing out instantly.
He breathed out slightly and looked at the scouts. Hiro saw the scouts' chests rising, which meant that they were just unconscious.
"That was way too hard for a couple of Boiling Isles' Coven's Scout," Hiro mused.
The Japanese swordsman filed into the back of his mind as he remembered he had to find Akari and the witch she was looking after.
Hiro took a quick breath and closed his eyes. He opened his sixth sense and tried to find Akari's Ki. He frowned as he had trouble piercing a strange static-like aura covering the entire Boiling Isles.
Hiro growled as he tried to sharpen his sixth sense, hoping to pierce through this strange aura. He fidgeted as he pushed his sixth sense to its limits but still couldn't pierce the aura. He let out a bitter huff of air as he gave up when he couldn't make any progress.
"What's going on here?" Hiro asked, looking at the scouts. "This isn't like any other Boiling Isles, UHHHH!"
Hiro suddenly got sleepy, his body slouching as he held his head. He shook his head to try and get rid of the groggy feeling that overcame him. It didn't work, and he felt sleep overtaking him quickly.
Hiro gasped when he finally heard the music in the air; it was a lullaby, no doubt filled with bard magic. He thrust his right hand to the left side of his neck, stabbing his fingers into his skin. Blood leaked from the open wound as he took out a bandage roll from his jacket pocket. He removed his fingers from his self-inflicted wound, a green fire exploding from it, and grabbed the roll in both hands.
Hiro was about to roll apart, but the bard spell affected him too much; not even the fire sealing his wound was enough to cleanse magic from him. With a groan, he fell to the ground, out like a light.
Once the swordsman was out, four shadows approached Hiro, cautious in their steps.
(G Corner)
If anyone knows where I got Hiro's last attack from, then you win a cookie. Also, I forgot to give some details on Willow's outfit, but since she's wearing a cloak at the moment, it doesn't really matter.