(Permit Only) Japanese Wasteland - Field Night (UHCM and Katsuo)

Fri Jun 13, 2014 12:22 pm

The Talented Bartender,
Hanako Iramasha

It was not typical for a trainer to put the pupil into life threatening situations until they are ready, but when dealing with her former sensei, Hanako has to comply. It was at night time in a storm as thunder crashes down fiercely seemingly every few minutes. For all that Hanako knows, she is driving her pupil to the Japanese wastelands, where her sensei would be waiting for them probably with a couple corpses piled up for show-and-tell to Katsuo.

Before, she was playing "Super Smash Brothers vs. Final Fantasy 3" after dinner until her former sensei called and told her that she is going ahead and Hanako is needed to pick up Katsuo, a high school student that she met at her sensei's metalwork shop at her sensei's workshop tonight. If it is the field day, it is likely that her sensei is warming up the Hollows to give Katsuo some field experience in fighting Hollows. For it to be tonight instead of during the day, she is up to something and the one thing that she learned is any slight changes to behavior will always be something wrong ahead of her.

She was driving a minivan that was meant to transport her kids, but now she owns it for deliveries and carpooling individuals who cannot use their powers for now. Luckily the car is built for hovering, so damages by ground is not an issue as Hanako looks to her left and at Katsuo as she hands him a silver-gleaming short sword version of a katana called a Wakizashi. Then she says to him, "Take this with you; it is not like Yuu's weapons, but at least it will be valuable as a back-up weapon. It is coated and polished in ginto, the liquid spiritual energy that can cut through tough hides of hollows and demons. If something should happen and you're in danger, let me know, fall back to me and do not get in the way because I rather have you live another day than to die in this stupid task that guys like Yuu takes on. And one thing; you are never alone and you will never go alone because people died because they thought they could take on someone or something on their own."

The drive keeps going as she can see shapes of roaming hollows far away and only be visible with the flashes of lightning as the rain pelts the windshield like a million annoying bugs. The wipers are pacing back and forth so Hanako can see where she is going. All while Katsuo would be sitting on any seat, he would find the van to smell like pine, which is a pleasant smell of being at a home as the seats are comfy with cotton cushioning and wooden paneling to give the vehicle a luxury interior; the van is clearly made to fit seven people including him and Hanako.

Eventually, Hanako's phone blares out and Hanako says to Katsuo, "Well. We reached where Yuu should be expecting us. The flash light is in the trunk, so let me know if you need it. For what I know, keep the lights moderated because while light can deter hollows, some would get bold and you can only waste your battery if you relied on it." Hanako pulls up the hood of her bright green raincoat before handing Katsuo a white raincoat. With things prepared, Hanako steps out as she cocks her rather advanced looking pistol and closes the door behind her.

"Yuu! We're here! Where are you!?" Hanako calls out.

Fri Jun 13, 2014 9:16 pm

Katsuo sat silently for the vast majority of the trip, refusing to talk as he felt the powers around him. The Chi energy he felt around him was sparse, the living creatures of this wasteland were barely existent, but his sensing of spiritual energy could clearly see the monstrosities known as Hollows waltzing around unabated by anyone with the strength to stop them. This was a wasteland, a place that was uninhabitable due to the amount of hollows that seemingly had free control over this zone. It was sad to see, but none the less it was not hard to understand that humanity would not try to reclaim this part of the world. After all, not all humans had the powers of some of the humans that he had met. He silently assessed the situation from the window of the van, looking out across the vast expanse of desolation as far as his eye could see.

His sense were blaring for him to ask to go back home, but so far his training with Yuu and Hanako had helped him so much that he ignored his senses, and continued to focus on the task laid out in front of him. A field day of sorts to test his skills in terms of survival. He had survived the forest, but that had been a battle against one man. No, here in the wasteland he would have to survive Hollows of varying powers, and somehow survive. For how long, Katsuo didn't know, but one thing was certain, he would be in for the fight of his life. "At least this time Yuki knows what I'm doing.", Katsuo said to himself as he let out a sigh.

A few moments later Hanako tried to hand him a sword of some sort, she had no idea that he had morning star, or that recently his powers had awoken. Katsuo smiled, taking the sword, and nodding his head. It would be a good secondary if Morning Star was unable to do the job. He listened intently to her speech about the flashlight and to her words about people going out alone and dying. He took a big gulp. Even with his powers awakened, his fear of his own mortality remained. He was still human even if he could punch a hole through a wall or fly or use Geppo. He was not immortal and that is why he would play it safe and abide by the rules set by Hanako.

The van stopped, much to Katsuo's surprise, and Hanako got out of the van. She would tell him where the flashlight was and then begin to search for Yuu out in the dark. Katsuo, slipped out of the van as well, unzipping his jacket, and discarding it inside of the van. Wearing nothing but a wife beater underneath his jacket, Katsuo began to make his way to the back of the van, pulling out the flashlight that had been mentioned earlier. All the while, Katsuo kept his wits about him. Using both his abilities to sense Chi and Spiritual energy to keep himself defended against surprise attacks. He kept the sword close and decided to keep Morning Star hidden in its case for now. A case which he plucked from the back of the van along with a backpack with a bit of supplies in case he needed them later. In essence, Katsuo was not going to let a repeat of the woods happen. He was going to come fully prepared for whatever came his way.

"I wonder where, master Yuu is?", Katsuo said to himself walking up behind Hanako and eyeing the surrounding area. Expanding his senses as far as he could, which wasn't very far due to him being rather new to the whole having powers thing.

Word Count: 634

Fri Jun 13, 2014 10:33 pm

The rain continues to pelt down onto the duo like small gelatin. The roaring could cloak the sound of even the closing of the minivan's trunk by Katsuo. Hanako was still on a sharp lookout, but she has a bad feeling as she raises her left hand to create an orb of light around her fist.

She peers through the radiance of the light she created in hopes of getting a better view of the area, but the rain is obscuring a lot of things. She mutters to herself as her voice was obscured by the rain, "This is too gutsy...even for Yuu. Why can't the planet sense her?" She turns to Katsuo and calls out, "Don't go too far from the van! The rain's thick enough that I can't see further than a good few yards!"

Abruptly, a crack and a boom of thunder blasts through the area after a flash of light gives Katsuo seemingly a good few miles of visibility, despite the evident thickness of the rain storm. However, Katsuo could also see a humanoid being standing with a curved sword in its left hand, but not as big as Katsuo would normally see Yuu hefting. As the light dies down, Katsuo could distinctly see a pair of silver rings that would be where the eyes are on a tall man; the rings then vanishes into the approaching darkness.

Hanako sees something else during the flash of light and it prompts her to walk to Katsuo. She says to him, "I think Yuu have killed a lot of hollows as I can see their corpses littered. What did you see?" With her gun ready, the unsettling feeling still persists as Katsuo can eerily hear footsteps coming from ahead of him.

Should Katsuo tell her about the entity, Hanako would fling the light in her hand it flies forward before touching ground. There is a chance that it would help in detecting something, but it would be like leaving an active flare around for hollows to find and follow. If he chooses not to, Hanako resumes her searching, but more in proximity of Katsuo.

The footsteps stop and a deep, yet calm voice reaches the ears of both Katsuo and Hanako, "Welcome home, my children. I've been waiting to see you two; ... along with others for a long time." Hanako turns to where the voice comes from as it is ahead of Katsuo and Hanako was keeping her cool as she must keep a battle plan in mind or she would end up injured like Yuu was back when she fought Eric. Should the light be cast outward, the figure could be easier to see, but without it, it would hardly make a difference as the figure would eventually have to reveal himself eventually.

Another flash of light reveals more than before, but while the humanoid figure is not visible, there are enough hollow corpses to be called an outright slaughter; the kind of slaughtering that would be seen as inhumane to the inexperienced souls. Hanako was about to curse something, but the sonic boom of thunder devours her sound and whisks it away. Hanako turns her attention to Katsuo and says, "It looks like we're dealing with something worse than them."

Audible to Katsuo's right side, he could hear the same voice again, "She is right, son. Only a Human could commit to this much justice for the sake of Humanity and the Soul Balance."

Thu Jun 19, 2014 6:35 pm

"I saw a bunch of hollow corpses and a figure, but nothing else.", Katsuo whispered to Hanako as he squinted his eyes, trying to adjust to the low visibility around them. As he did so, he heard footsteps in front of him, and at first Katsuo interpreted this as Hanako moving around. Realizing that Hanako was not not making the noise, Katsuo grew tense, and as he grew tense his senses expanded, but by that time the voice finally hit his ears. For a moment, Katsuo was shocked that someone had pierced through his keen senses so quickly, but quickly that shock was overpowered by the need to defend himself.

In an instant Katsuo had drawn the sword that he had been handed earlier while he was in the van with Hanako. He turned to his right, his eyes adjusting to the darkness around him, and his senses kicking into overdrive as he stared in the direction of the voice. For moments there was silence as Katsuo did not move, keeping a tight and defensive stance, as he evaluated the situation. The enemy was an unknown, he had no idea what his or her fighting abilities were, and he had no clue as to what could possibly be the unknown warrior's intent. It would be simple of him to ask, but since the warrior had remained hidden in the shadows, his best guess was that the warrior was not of the 'nice' variety. No, clinging to the shadows was a tactic used by assassins and low lives looking to take advantage of the less skilled and easily preyed upon.

But this time, this assailant had bit off more than he or she could chew. Katsuo was not a weak human anymore, he was empowered by the natural energies of the world itself, and right now stood among the earth's rarest breed. He was a Chi Enhanced human and if this shadowy figure came to attack them, he would do his best to protect himself and Hanako if push came to shove. "I don't know who you are or what happened to the hollows or hell, I don't even know where Master Yuu is, but if you are a foe of mine...or an enemy of Hanako then I will make you pay!", Katsuo did not ask a question, he exclaimed a truth, and in that he showed the change in his persona. The evolution from a weak minded, scared kid, into a powerful fighter who would protect the people he held dear. Sure, he knew Hanako could handle herself, but that didn't mean he would just let her fight on her own. No, Katsuo would show her that he could take his fair share of the burden.

He didn't awaken yet, still wondering if this unknown person could possibly be an ally or a friend. But, he still stayed on guard. Taking a sword fighting stance that he had read about in many different self-help books to improve his fighting talents behind the scenes. He wanted to improve without help just as much as he could improve with help, but to do that he needed to work on the fundamentals when he wasn't training with Yuu or Hanako. And so far, Katsuo had improved in the fundamentals by leaps and bounds. He looked sharp and he looked focused. His footwork and his hand eye coordination had improved drastically since he had began taking these steps to further improve himself. "Reveal yourself into the light!", Katsuo shouted into the darkness, as he began to inch toward the direction of the voice.

He had already judged that rushing this adversary would be fool hardy and was also keeping his senses about him. The voice had appeared to his right, but the footsteps had been in front of him. By this judgement alone, Katsuo had already assessed that the figure could utilize something like his Geppo, and that would allow the figure to move at high speeds that could be completely unpredictable. As such that could make openings and Katsuo was not one to be open, not after the fight in the woods, and certainly not here in the wastelands. He still had the bruises from his tussle with Sou and he wore them with pride! They were a memorial to the failures he had in the forest, but were also something to remind him of how much he had improved in that fight alone. Now, Katsuo stood a better man, sure he had been out powered, and out gunned in the wilderness, but Katsuo was not going to let that happen here. No, this was Katsuo's turn to stretch his muscles and show off his power.

Fri Jun 20, 2014 2:03 pm

"I am Legend, but many called me by a different name. Perhaps this would help."

Just as the voice says so in response to Katsuo's demands, the driver's side door of the minivan opens on its own and a music rings out (use the embedded player above.) If Katsuo can recall "the Rains of the Stronghold," he would know it as the refrain used to recall the event when a heavily fortified town full of Demons in northern Japan was annihilated by one man who turned into a monster that hunts down sinners for game; that monster (who killed thousands indiscriminately only for the reason that they deserted their own kind) was called, "Echo of the Wind." If not, the tune was haunting and would cast dread to brave individuals who has yet to see the horrors of war; this is the power of a legend that will bring fear to the weak and envy to the strong as it was assured by theme alone...Katsuo is in for the fight of his life.

"And mine are far and vast...as far and vast as yours, Hanako...who betrayed Humanity by sparing the life of the Demon Queen and the Forsaken Mad Demon while healing the enemies behind your allies' back, and Katsuo...who deserted his order to cheat his demise. There are more traitors infesting the world as we speak, so while I sleep, they festered. Now I will stand up to correct what was shirked for so long since the Rains of the Stronghold."

Another crack of lightning lights up the battlefield to reveal Legend once again as a man with a steel mask covering his mouth, nose and cheeks while his body seems to be wrapped in nylon fabric as if they are bandages. His lower body was clothed in a pair of tattered shinigami trousers. His hair was long, dark and ragged as if he has been through hell and back; the curved sword was a katana issued to many Shinigami, but something was off about it as much as Legend could be a walking legend used to scare children to not betray their friends.

Hanako remains watchful of Katsuo's flanks and tail because while she could have paid attention to the figure, she rather not be surprised from behind. She was rather spooked by the tune itself because while she has fought Mr. Caveman and Mana before, she has not fought Legend in person before and that means she is unfamiliar with his style or pattern. She then speaks,

"I do not know about you, Legend, but since you're here to fight us, you don't know how I-"

"Fight? You used various spells gifted to you from your ancestry, but you preferred to use hand-to-hand combat. You gave your wakizashi to Katsuo as he is slightly better than you with it. Mind that Katsuo was still recovering from his skirmish with a particular villain in the Forest, so he may not fight as well as he should have."

"I suspect he does not tell that to me because I didn't ask."

Hanako was concerned now that she learns about Katsuo's past injury, but she is unsure if it was a trick or a lure to lull her into overprotecting Katsuo and exposing herself to him. If she does so, she could prevent Katsuo's injuries from reviving, but if it was a trick, she would be open to attacks and get hurt for nothing. If she trusts Katsuo too much, Katsuo will get killed on the spot and that would leave Hanako with deep guilt of letting someone died on her watch, but if she called the bluff and was right, she would have the upper hand against Legend.

"Exacta. Would you sacrifice yourself on a false hope, or would you sacrifice your friend on a false trust? All will be in vain."

"He is trying to mess with our heads, Katsuo."

"Twilight of Sanity."

Just as he says the line, a bright light emerges from Legend's position as if he is creating the sun around him. Surely to warriors, he would appear to be a celestial being or he might be as such to produce that holy glow. His body becomes silhouetted save for the silver rings that are his eyes that could pierce deeply into the hearts of soul-inclined humans--like Katsuo--through their eyes.

The ground shifts underneath Katsuo and Hanako with the breeze of great power presses against the two and breaking through their soul as Hanako was quick to regain her balance. Should Katsuo be unable to recover from that, he would feel pushed down by the power as the surge of power destabilize his chi, making them harder to control as they fluctuate between stronger than Katsuo or too weak to be effective. If he does recover from it with the use of Tekkai or Energy Resistance at adept level, he can ignore the destabilizing wave of energy, allowing him to recover his footing easier.

Just as quickly, Hanako begins firing her pistol towards the direction opposite from where Katsuo is looking at Legend. Should he look at what Hanako is shooting, he would be seeing "another" Legend getting judo tossed by Hanako before Legend would dart at Katsuo to toss him away from a rib-cracking punch from the handle tip of his two-handed katana. Should he not check what Hanako was shooting, he would hear a thud to his right as Legend darts at him with amazing speed, attempting to hilt-bash him in the side with enough strength to push him away and break the back-to-back formation.

After that moment, the other Legend vanishes in a flash of bright light, which blinds Hanako as she staggers back away from the position while holding her left arm over her eyes and holstering her pistol because she sees it as not working. Then Legend jumps and spins in mid-air before delivering a dropkick against Hanako while she is still exposed and send her tumbling away a few feet. If Katsuo manages to defend himself against Legend's initial strike, he would use Katsuo as a jumping support to kick Hanako away before rolling over Katsuo and punch Katsuo in the lower half of his spine, which if it hits would make a "POW!" sound as Katsuo would feel more than a punch as it would feel like he was shot in the back by a shotgun as he would fly a great distance (over 20 feet) away from Legend.

As Hanako struggles to get up while still slightly hazy on the vision department, a new round starts with Legend glowing like a divine swordsman with two people potentially caught flat-footed.

Lyrics for Rains of the Stronghold:

Sun Jun 22, 2014 12:13 pm

(Permit Only) Japanese Wasteland - Field Night (UHCM and Katsuo) 650532StriketheBloodFiche

Katsuo growled at being told he had ran from his own demise. He hadn't ran from his demise, he had ran away from the persecution and the beatings at the hands of those that had deemed him the cause of all those horrors seven years ago. Katsuo's eyes grew wide as he listened to this "Legend" talk about his master in a way that pissed him off. He growled and ground his teeth as he realized that this man wore similar clothes and wielded a similar weapon to what a shinigami should have. The man was a shinigami and was suppose to protect people and bring balance to the crazy world of spirits, but this man...this man was doing whatever the hell he wanted to. "And I guess you are suppose to be some sort of saint?", Katsuo shouted at Legend, his eyes full of rage, the music continued to play as Katsuo stood there. The mood music was pissing him off, but at the same time he kept his wits about him, at any moment a fight could break out, and as such he kept his stance staunch and defensive. He didn't know what Legend was capable of and as such he had to be as on his game as he could be.

After Legend spoke about his fight in the woods, he could sense Hanako looking at him with concern. In truth, Katsuo shouldn't have come, and it was obvious that he was not one hundred percent ready for this fight, but yet he had came. He wanted to get stronger so that he could defend people, even if that risked his personal health, and his well being. He kept his eyes on Legend, but would utter back to Hanako: "Don't worry, I'm fit as a fiddle." He lied, to relieve her of some of her worry, and to sort of boost his own confidence. He had no clue if things got too hard if he could keep up with this "Legend" fella. Yet, he stood his ground, and waited for him to make the first move. Some say the first move decides battles, but most people don't talk about the second move. The Counter Attack. The Counter Attack was just as important as making the first move or even more so than making the first move. Katsuo had learned this during his stay in the forest and had taken that to heart, now he was patient, and waiting on Legend's first move.

And what a first move it would be. After uttering a phrase, a bright light as bright as the sun would blind Katsuo, causing him to lose temporary vision of his opponent, and as such completely removed the advantage of being able to counter attack. He felt the ground shift beneath him, but Katsuo stabilized his footing by pure instinct, and then as he felt the wind pick up he realized that he could sense Legend's spiritual power increase drastically. He felt sick to his stomach as the power of this man's spirit, caused his chi to go haywire within his body, but he gets it back in control via his Tekkai. None the less it was disconcerting that Legend had this effect on his body's chi energy conduit. His eye sight came back quickly just as the battle was about to begin. The change in pressure from Legend's power had caused the gash above his right eye to reopen and spill blood down the front of Katsuo's face. Katsuo did his best to not show Hanako, because she had her own problems to deal with, and in more ways than one.

He heard the gunfire and as he turned slightly to the left, hiding the right side of his face from view, he would notice Hanako fighting a second Legend. Just what the hell was going on? It was in that moment that the first Legend made his move, dashing at him from the front, but clearly that would be easy to dodge after all, no matter what his speed was, he could see the direction he was coming from. This had to be an attack on his side and his stance, though good at defending frontal assaults, was not good enough to defend against the assaults from the side. He jumped to the side, wincing in pain as he re-aggravated an old battle wound that he had received earlier during his fight in the jungle. Katsuo growled as Legend used him as jumping support and then rolled over him to deliver a painful punch to his back. The sensation of being shot twelve times in the back, combined with old battle wounds being re-aggravated, and then the short lived flight with an impact on the rough dirt was all too much for Katsuo to take. He knelt down on one knee, trying his best to hide his weakness, trying so damn hard to not show Hanako how much pain he was in. He spat up blood from his mouth and breathed heavily to catch his breath as the searing pain coursed through his body like lava through his veins.

He couldn't lose and he couldn't be weak in front of Hanako. He needed to be strong for the both of them, he needed to show her that though he was hurt that he could stand up, and be strong. It wasn't just to show off or flex, no, it was to prove that their ideology, their choices that they were being targeted for were right. So Katsuo stood up, his body staggered, and he looked dead into the eyes of Legend who was now glowing like some saintly being. He would bring Legend back down to Earth.

Katsuo's Chi Conduit came to life, runes began to appear all over his body, each one a strange, and indistinguishable symbol that couldn't be quite deciphered by normal folks. However, instead of a greenish coloration which is what Katsuo had in the forest, the runes on his body were blood red, and glowing with a great deal of radiance which illuminated the wasteland floor around him. While Legend looked like a saintly warrior, Katsuo looked anything, but like a saint. He turned around and looked at Hanako and Legend, the wound above his eye trickled blood down covering his right side of face in a crimson mask, but yet there was a flicker of determination spread across his face. He wouldn't go down, not just yet. His eyes, once a vibrant blue had taken on a deeper shade of red, glowing faintly in the night, and as he took a few steps toward Legend, he began to spin the Hanako's blade in his hand like an expert. "You want to fight for what you believe in...that's fair. But don't you fucking think that I'm going to let you hurt others for your self-righteous crusade!", Katsuo spat out as he reached a respectable distance away from Legend, ten feet at the most, and he stood there staring at him. He continued to spin the blade, around, and around as he continued to breathe heavily. "I don't care who the fuck you think you are, you can Legend, you can be a fucking nightmare, hell, you can be God himself! In the end, it doesn't matter to me...I won't allow you to hurt another God damn person while I am around!", Katsuo shouted as he stopped spinning the blade, and then flung it at a high speed toward the waiting Legend.

The purpose of throwing the blade was to draw Legend's attention to the blade alone because in that moment, Katsuo would make his move, and only in that moment would he show the fruits of his effort. Katsuo opened his left hand wide and focused on summoning the blade from his bag. In a heartbeat Morningstar appeared in his hand in a bright flash and at that moment, Katsuo utilized his Advanced Geppo to close the remaining distance between him and Legend. If Legend had tried to block the incoming blade from the earlier throw, this attack from Morningstar would be very hard to block, and if he had tried to dodge then he would still have the element of surprise on his side. "Extend!", Katsuo shouted as Morningstar activated, drawing energy from his almost endless supply of stamina to extend the blade for as long as he wanted it to be extended. And as such the blade extended, heading directly for the mid-section of Legend at a frightening speed. Katsuo was looking to impale Legend, but also knew that his opponent was quite formidable. He had formulated a follow up if this attack was dodged and his other hand, which held nothing, was already in a similar formation as to what Arrancar's used to launch a Cerro.

However, in Katsuo's hand this was not a Cero, it was a technique known as a Yang Surge, and his hand glowed a bright white as his body began to strain under the pressure of maintaining this volatile awakening. This Yang Surge would be in the shape of a tidal wave, which we would use to cover a wide area. It would cost him a great deal of chi, but in the long run he found it was the perfect option for a follow up.

Sun Jun 22, 2014 3:34 pm

The moment that Katsuo was getting up and making his speech, Legend shifts his right off the hilt and relaxes his katana in his left hand, however, there is no sign of ceasing with his reiatsu. Despite the heroic speech, Legend does not respond. What holds his tongue before the presence of a wounded man?

Katsuo tosses his blade and was going for the surprise assault, but something was wrong as Legend catches the wakizashi by the hilt with his right hand. He then crosses the two blades and shifts to Katsuo's left before being pushed back by Morningstar's extension, but only a couple yards away as the lance strays too far to the right to be effective. And then Katsuo launches the Yang Surge at Legend as a follow-up; Legend raises the wakizashi and swings it downward, sending out a bladed wave of sunlight energy buzzing through the tidal wave of Chi, which Katsuo can see is cutting through it like a serrated blade against a loaf of bread.

While the sunlight blade is passing through, Legend utilizes a burst of speed. By the time the sunlight blade passes by the tidal wave, Legend can be seen passing through the tidal wave before cutting the sunlight blade with his katana's horziontal slash, dissipating his own attack as he drops the wakizashi as it was smoking. He switches the handling of his katana from left to right hand.

Legend is aware of how exhausted Katsuo was, so he sends out a violent pulse of power, similar to the one before. Due to Katsuo's exhaustion, he would have less footing against this pulse this time and be slightly stunned by the approaching danger. If he manages to resist it, he would still have to contend with the damage added to the previous damages.

After the pulse, Legend reaches Katsuo with his katana out and thrust the katana against the region above the heart. It would be a non-lethal wound if it lands, but the wound will still be serious while the pain will be insufferable considering how it would hit many nerve veins; it would be likely that under that strain, some parts of his body would shut down to avoid overloading Katsuo's brain, forcing him to drop Morningstar. It is highly unlikely that he would have enough time to block it or dodge it due to exhaustion, nerve-wracking pain and carrying an awkward weapon.

If it lands, Legend uses his great strength and the great durability of his katana to lift Katsuo off his feet. Seemingly enjoying the sight, Legend smirks behind his steel mask as he watches Katsuo suffer as "punishment." When he would see hopelessness in Katsuo's eyes, he says in a clear, unnerving tone,

"If you know yourself and know your enemy, you need not to fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself and not your enemy, for every victory you gained, you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither your enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle."

After the quote of wisdom, Legend flicks his blade and whips Katsuo away, which would impact the minivan's left side. Legend then walks toward Katsuo like a grim reaper coming to claim Katsuo. Then Legend says to him with his katana posed to deliver a fatal blow,

"The strategy would have worked if I hadn't encountered it before. If you hadn't just accept the punishment for your weakness, we would have not met."

"Don't you dare kill him!"

Hanako stands strong as she stares at Legend with Legend still looking at Katsuo, willing to kill him the moment he even flinched. Hanako believes that she is fast, but knowing how fast he was before, Hanako was sure that Katsuo would be killed before Hanako could reach Legend. She wants Katsuo to live through this one, even if Yuu seems to have not.

"And what would be your punishment for his life?"

"Guilt in giving you the way to continue your quest. You seek power to cleanse the world and I have it."

"Generous. You brought that along with you as a bargaining chip all along, despite the risks that it posed to traitors like that nuclear weapon in Australia, but sadly, it did not kill the traitors in the city. Fine then, he'll live a little longer until I start ridding the world of traitors."

Hanako reaches into her pocket and pulls out a white marble that is the size of a ping-pong ball. As Legend holds out his left hand towards her, Hanako tosses the marble at Legend. It seems Hanako wants to use the marble as a distraction before blitzing him, but she yelps as she falls over onto the ground with the wakizashi lodged through her leg, the same wakizashi that Legend dropped before the lunge attack.

"I know you are fast enough, but you couldn't help yourself being distracted by the sight of a wounded individual...like the mental wound in Eric Zarathos and the psychological wound in Mana Asthavon. Thanks to you, this trinket can allow me to reshape Earth and Soul Society and more, so it all revolve back to the past, when traitors are speculations and people can go on with their powerless bliss. Something you are incapable of doing, despite being close to godly status, Hanako. Farewell."

"Dammit all."

Legend holds up his right hand and presses the marble into his forearm. Before Katsuo's eyes, the marble glows brilliantly and sinks into Legend's arm before a pulse erupts outward. Only one golden wing appears from his right shoulder blade after this as the power within him begin to grow quickly. Then just like that, he turns around and leaves, and then vanishes into the raining darkness like a dying torch.

Mon Jun 30, 2014 2:06 pm

Why did he always let people down? Maybe it had something to do with karma, maybe it had to do with the fact that he wasn't good enough, or maybe there was something deeper to it than even he could realize. As his attacks went through, his slowed reaction time due to the strain being put on his body won out, and Katsuo received a feeling worse than any emotional trauma he had ever felt. As Legend's sword pierced through the flesh above his heart, his eyes went wide, and blood splattered out from the open gash without any sign of ceasing. For a few moments, there was no pain, instead there was a feeling of weakness. Why was he putting himself through all of this if he hadn't made an inch of progress? Why keep on training if there was never going to be a way for him to truly become strong? As these thoughts raced through his pain, his body began to interpret the pain, which sent shockwaves throughout his body.

Katsuo screamed in pain, this had been the first time Hanako would ever hear Katsuo scream in pain, and it was not a pretty sound to hear. It was a screech of despair, the screech that would admit that Katsuo was not strong enough to deal with the threat in front of him, and it was recognition as to the inner turmoil that was plaguing him. This wasn't the normal scream of a man who had been stabbed, but the scream of a man who had gone through so much trauma only to fall short of his goals. It was then that he was lifted up off the ground, like some sort of sick flag being raised for the world to see. Lightning flashed, revealing Katsuo's face, his eyes staring down in hatred at Legend, but none the less a flicker of hopelessness seemingly showed. Yet, Katsuo reached up with his right hand, and touched the blade, it was a hopeless defiance, and yet it was all he could do. He touched it and grunted in pain, his strength was leaving him, and even more so the runes on his body flickered, then faded.

Why does he have to fail? Why does he have to deal with the inevitable defeats that have dealt to him? Life has shit on Katsuo Shugoshin since the moment he began his life. He had lost everything and yet life continued to try and take more from him. He grunted again as Legend lay on a pointless adage of wisdom and then casually flicked Katsuo off his blade, as if he were nothing more than an insect that had dirtied his blade. Katsuo flew and he slammed against the van. Upon impact, there were a few audible snaps, which caused an even more audible gurgling sound to fill the night air as Katsuo struggled to breathe. He knew some bones were broken and he lay there, now on his face. Blood pooled out from his mouth and the open wound near his heart as he lifted his head to look at his assailant. He couldn't move, his body would not reply to his simplest commands, but yet he kept trying to move. Maybe it was just who he was?

All of these struggles he had gone through. His parent's death, his run in with Sou in the woods, and now his fight with Legend had all ended just like this. With Katsuo laying on the floor, crumpled up and discared, just like his temple had done to him after that night. He had always been blamed for everything that had happened, and in some deep crevice of his mind he believed it was his fault too. If only he had the power, if only he could be strong. If only he could be as strong as everyone had wanted him to be, then things would be different, but as Katsuo lay there in the sand, it was clear that would never become a reality. He was too weak and he would always be weak. That was the fate of those like him. The weak would always be crushed under the boot of the strong and no matter how much Katsuo tried to ignore the feeling of dread coursing through him as Legend stood above him, sword held high, and him deeming his life as nothing more than a waste. Katsuo's eyes remained open, he would not pass out.

If Katsuo was going to die here in the wasteland, he wanted to see it. If there was one thing Katsuo could do, it would be to show strength in his moment of passing, and not allow himself to look away. So, he waited for the swift embrace of a death in a place that had once held so much life. However, Legend stopped as Hanako spoke. Katsuo listened to the conversation. "Don't...give...him...anything...", Katsuo stuttered out, blood trickling from his mouth, and the muscles in face refusing to obey his orders to open his mouth to speak. Yet, she was going to give him something precious. Once again, Katsuo's life was being bargained for, and Katsuo hated himself for being such a burden. He watched as Legend gained new power and as Hanako tried to stop him, but she had been unaware of being caught as she was. Katsuo cursed under his breath as Legend began to walk away. Katsuo's arm moved on its own, reaching out for the hem of the pants that Legend was wearing. Subconsciously, Katsuo wanted to stop him from leaving, even if he had no power to fight this being with, he was tired of being bargained for.

"I...won't...let...", Katsuo couldn't even finish the statement as his eyes glazed over, and his head hit the sand with a thud. For a few moments, Katsuo's hand stood outstretched, reaching out into the darkness, trying to grab at someone who was no longer there. He had come so far, but that didn't matter. The only thing mattered now was that Katsuo had failed, the corner of his eyes trickled tears into the sand, as the last vestiges of consciousness slipped away bringing with it a world of darkness unlike anything that Katsuo had ever experienced.

Mon Jun 30, 2014 7:47 pm

Hanako Iramasha

It happened and Hanako wishes that she did not make that decision. She is capable of chasing him down, but now Katsuo is dying and she will have to risk losing him to save his life. It ends up pointless as the scream of the high school student haunts her and will continue to rest on her conscience if she does not do something about it.

She crawls over to Katsuo and only move the leg that does not have a wakizashi lodged into it. The painful irony of having her own weapon being the one that done in her chances to stop Legend and save Katsuo. While on her side, she pulls on Katsuo so he will be resting on his back.

The pain was bad because not only the steel of the wakizashi is attacking her body, the ginto that is infused onto the blade is attacking her soul body. Unable to ignore the pain, she reaches feel around for the wakizashi. When she feels it, she scream in agony the moment she rips the blade out of her, opening a wound that will not close because of the ginto that is acting like a poison against her soul body.

After she tosses the wakizashi away, she begins mustering her physical and spiritual strength to place her each hand on Katsuo's forehead and on Katsuo's chest. She concentrates the best of her ability to stabilize his health, so she can call in rescue since she definitely cannot drive with the injury she has. Fortunately, Katsuo was only wounded by a normal katana or so as she think because it does not have that silvery glow like her wakizashi has; it will be easier for her to heal than with a wound by ginto.

Tears well up as she was ignoring her pain while seeing her student like this...a broken man was hurting her more than the wound she suffered. As she uses Prayer, a soft glow emits from her hands and in seconds, Katsuo's body begins to glow warmly. During the prayer, she could see Katsuo in darkness created by hatred and sorrow as Katsuo could hear her.

"Katsuo! This is not the end for you! You will get stronger! Just...Just come back to me! Live or you will be more of a weight to others and your sister by dying to an evil man like Legend..."

"Traitors will die...They will all die..."

As Hanako was using Prayer, she was trying to connect the body with the soul so to force a resonance that allows her to heal Katsuo enough to be stable. But with where they are, she cannot fully heal him without attracting unwanted attention while they are wounded. While she maintains Prayer, she motions her hand to pick up her mobile phone so she can call for rescue.

"Saburo Emergency...This is Hanako Iramasha...I have a man down at the wasteland near your town. Serious wounds and I only managed to stabilize him. I need a medi-evac because...I was also wounded by a ginto-infused weapon and I cannot drive my van back. Thanks...I'll hold my ground while I can and leave the mobile phone as a beacon for the team..."

"Sh-Shadin...It's Hanako...I've encountered Echo of the Wind and he nearly killed a student of Karakura High School. I'm stabilizing him, and called Saburo Emergency to have him picked up for hospitalization since they are closer and he is critically wounded. Yuu vanished and I don't know what happened...I'm scared since now I'm unable to get my weapons or defend myself without risk having the student died in his critical state..."

Hanako uses a beacon application on her phone to create a waypoint for the rescue team's global positioning device before putting it close by her and Katsuo. All she has to do is keep her hand on Katsuo's head to maintain the Prayer and allow him to heal without fearing death. Unfortunately, she may as well be risking the chance of attracting Hollows who would stray close enough to sense them.

Without her gun or her blade on hand and she could not risk leaving Katsuo alone to crawl around and retrieve them while he would be back in critical condition during that time...and die. Hanako breathes slowly as she keeps her eyes open for Hollows, despite the heavy rain of night is concealing their positions and their sounds. In this bleak situation, she can only hope that Shadin and the rescue team could come in time.

Sun Oct 04, 2015 12:49 pm

✖| Clean Up Time!! |✚

┣▇▇▇═─ ▸ ☠ ◂ ─═▇▇▇┥

It's been 2014 or even before that!
There for I will be locking this thread, feel free to revisit this and keep on reading!

(Permit Only) Japanese Wasteland - Field Night (UHCM and Katsuo)

(Permit Only) Japanese Wasteland - Field Night (UHCM and Katsuo)

Re: (Permit Only) Japanese Wasteland - Field Night (UHCM and Katsuo)

Re: (Permit Only) Japanese Wasteland - Field Night (UHCM and Katsuo)

Re: (Permit Only) Japanese Wasteland - Field Night (UHCM and Katsuo)

Re: (Permit Only) Japanese Wasteland - Field Night (UHCM and Katsuo)

Re: (Permit Only) Japanese Wasteland - Field Night (UHCM and Katsuo)

Re: (Permit Only) Japanese Wasteland - Field Night (UHCM and Katsuo)

Re: (Permit Only) Japanese Wasteland - Field Night (UHCM and Katsuo)

Re: (Permit Only) Japanese Wasteland - Field Night (UHCM and Katsuo)

Re: (Permit Only) Japanese Wasteland - Field Night (UHCM and Katsuo)

Re: (Permit Only) Japanese Wasteland - Field Night (UHCM and Katsuo)