Guiltless Bond (Collaborative Narrative)
1
“MEN!” A young green haired man yelled out as he struck a wooden training dummy on it’s head. “DOU!” He cried again, thrusting at it’s torso. “KOTE!!!” He let out a mighty kiai as he swung horizontally at the dummy’s extended arms, breaking them off in a show of sweat and splinters. Taking a breather, he brought down his shinai and bowed, paying the now destroyed doll his last respects.
“Oy Naoki, try to hold back. These dummies don’t come cheap you know.” Another man said walking over, a stern expression on his face. Naoki only grinned.
“I never hold back, no matter who my opponent is.” He replied in an attempt to look cool, several female students could be heard swooning at his line and he scoffed with a smug smirk on his face.
“Well alright then.” The other male answered scratching the back of his head, understanding there wasn’t anything he could do about his fellow instructor. “Anyway, get this mess cleaned and then pack up, we’re done for the day.”
Naoki gave a nod as the man left, leaving him to observe his handiwork. The dummy, despite being made of strong timber, was dented in areas and covered in cracks due to the stress Naoki’s onslaught had delivered. Smiling in satisfaction, he began to clean up.
“Oy Naoki, try to hold back. These dummies don’t come cheap you know.” Another man said walking over, a stern expression on his face. Naoki only grinned.
“I never hold back, no matter who my opponent is.” He replied in an attempt to look cool, several female students could be heard swooning at his line and he scoffed with a smug smirk on his face.
“Well alright then.” The other male answered scratching the back of his head, understanding there wasn’t anything he could do about his fellow instructor. “Anyway, get this mess cleaned and then pack up, we’re done for the day.”
Naoki gave a nod as the man left, leaving him to observe his handiwork. The dummy, despite being made of strong timber, was dented in areas and covered in cracks due to the stress Naoki’s onslaught had delivered. Smiling in satisfaction, he began to clean up.
1
Meanwhile in a small town just off distance from the city of Washington DC stood a house, it wasn’t too sizeable or too minuscule for whomever lived inside. The people know many a story of the person living beyond the brick shelter but all cower from the sound of her name. The girl often retired within her room, she was more than just an outsider or shut in-- she was a NEET. Her housekeeper would often come in to make sure she’d eaten after at least after a couple of days of her wasting her life away in front of her computer.
“She’s a very nice girl once you get to know her,” her housekeeper would say. One day her housekeeper peeked into her room to check on her. “Kulora! Ms. Waverly, have you eaten today?”
Kulora only nodded in affirm, she remained silent as she clicked away on her computer. The housekeeper rummaged past piles of garbage consisting of assorted wrappers and trash bags. She looked to Kulora with disgust as she proceeded to place the trash into the nearest bin. After disposing of the trash she placed a bag of food next to Kulora after removing her figures from the computer desk. They seemed to be of a Japanese nature, the girl seemed to be fixated with things of this sort. The figures would always be of a...well endowed, woman along with her pillows, which were lengthy and had pictures printed of the women. Kulora’s outfit was no different from these girls in the pictures either, it was as if she was mimicking the girls in the shows she watched.
“Kulora...you need to eat something.” Her housekeeper said, concerned. She figured the girl was lying about eating, it would often slip her mind as she was preoccupied with her own business.
“....Fine." Kulora said as she opened the bag and sheepishly ate the food laid out before her. ”May... did anyone see you come in here?” Kulora asked in between bites, the tone of her voice was partly concerned and partly with distaste.
The woman jolted at the question. “Only a family living next door, it seems they just moved in. Nice people.” She said smiling. Kulora clicked her tongue and shook her head in exasperation from this.
“Why don’t you want people to know you exist? I’m sure everyone would have forgotten the incident all those years ago. You were just a child Kulora, I suggest you get over it.” May advised before walking out of the room.
Kulora sat back in her computer chair and sighed. She pinched the bridge of her nose and stared out of the crack of her window blinds. Dulled smoke, sirens, and nervous clamors of the local citizens was a clear indication of one of her greatest fears. ”There was another fire last night...” she said to herself, shivering slightly. The thoughts were interrupted by May’s voice from across the house.
“Kulora. you have a package!” she yelled. Kulora raised a brow at this, she knew it herself that she spent an abnormal amount of time in front of the computer but she had no recollection of ordering anything recently. May brought the mysterious package into the room and turned suit. “Okay, I have to leave Kulora. Please, just… take care of yourself miss.” She said before closing the door behind her.
“She’s a very nice girl once you get to know her,” her housekeeper would say. One day her housekeeper peeked into her room to check on her. “Kulora! Ms. Waverly, have you eaten today?”
Kulora only nodded in affirm, she remained silent as she clicked away on her computer. The housekeeper rummaged past piles of garbage consisting of assorted wrappers and trash bags. She looked to Kulora with disgust as she proceeded to place the trash into the nearest bin. After disposing of the trash she placed a bag of food next to Kulora after removing her figures from the computer desk. They seemed to be of a Japanese nature, the girl seemed to be fixated with things of this sort. The figures would always be of a...well endowed, woman along with her pillows, which were lengthy and had pictures printed of the women. Kulora’s outfit was no different from these girls in the pictures either, it was as if she was mimicking the girls in the shows she watched.
“Kulora...you need to eat something.” Her housekeeper said, concerned. She figured the girl was lying about eating, it would often slip her mind as she was preoccupied with her own business.
“....Fine." Kulora said as she opened the bag and sheepishly ate the food laid out before her. ”May... did anyone see you come in here?” Kulora asked in between bites, the tone of her voice was partly concerned and partly with distaste.
The woman jolted at the question. “Only a family living next door, it seems they just moved in. Nice people.” She said smiling. Kulora clicked her tongue and shook her head in exasperation from this.
“Why don’t you want people to know you exist? I’m sure everyone would have forgotten the incident all those years ago. You were just a child Kulora, I suggest you get over it.” May advised before walking out of the room.
Kulora sat back in her computer chair and sighed. She pinched the bridge of her nose and stared out of the crack of her window blinds. Dulled smoke, sirens, and nervous clamors of the local citizens was a clear indication of one of her greatest fears. ”There was another fire last night...” she said to herself, shivering slightly. The thoughts were interrupted by May’s voice from across the house.
“Kulora. you have a package!” she yelled. Kulora raised a brow at this, she knew it herself that she spent an abnormal amount of time in front of the computer but she had no recollection of ordering anything recently. May brought the mysterious package into the room and turned suit. “Okay, I have to leave Kulora. Please, just… take care of yourself miss.” She said before closing the door behind her.
0
The sun began to set on the small dojo as Naoki exited, locking up as he did so. He stretched out his arms and laughed out a productive day. “Well, I suppose it’s time to head back home.” He said to no one in particular as he made his way to the nearest train station.
Made his way into the more urban areas of Tokyo, Naoki spotted in the corner of his eye a group of men crowding about in an alleyway. Noting their lecherous grins, he moved in to further inspect the scene. Scanning through the group, he understood them to be young delinquents from a nearby high school, furthermore there was a woman among the crowds with most of their eyes focusing on her.
“Heh, these younglings are up to no good, I see.” Naoki remarked to himself, he had seen enough hentai to know where this was heading. Stepping out into the open, Naoki displayed an intimidating posture as his shadow fell onto the group.
Noticing this, a few of the men looked over to him. “Eh? What do you want, old man!” One of them called out, he was supposedly their ringleader Naoki reckoned. He did nothing but chuckle which seemed to anger the delinquent a bit. “Who does this fucker think he is?” The boy asked rhetorically.
Hearing this, Naoki struck a post which further confused them. “I am a warrior whose blood flows with the spirit of the Rising Sun. He who fights alone against the corrupt Shogunate and who will rise this nation from the ashes like a Phoenix!” Reaching his climax, Naoki struck another pose, “The Brave Blademaster Daimyo, Naoki Takahara!”
There was a long silence of confusion before the delinquents began to laugh. Naoki only grinned at this. “What, you’re one of those losers who watch too much anime?” The delinquent deducted, his crew advancing on Naoki with malicious grins. “Get him.” Giving a signal, they charged towards Naoki, howling with maddened laughter and merciless intent. The forerunner jumped as he swung down a lead pipe towards Naoki, a smirk running along his mouth.
CLANG!
The pipe connected but Naoki stood unfazed, the rest of the group stopped in their tracks, somewhat curious at this. The delinquent struggled to push his pipe forward onto Naoki, a smirk still plastered on his face. “What’s wrong?” He asked, “Is that all you got!” The delinquent was thrown back from Naoki into the few behind him. Catching him as he fell, they looked back to Naoki who was wielding his shinai with the same smirk.
The leader scowled, “What are you standing for, it’s just a stick of wood!” He called out to his men, encouraging them to charge forward. Obliging their leader, they resumed their charge towards Naoki who began to walk a brisk pace towards them as well.
The first two came at him with a pipe and bat, swinging down in unison, Naoki blocked both their strikes before countering with thrusts to their gut. Collapsing to their knees, Naoki walked past them, greeted by a third delinquent with a chain.
Swinging it at Naoki, he blocked it with his shinai as usual but the chain wrapped around and restrained it. Seeing this, the delinquent laughed as he prepared a left hook at Naoki. Grinning, Naoki responded with a mirror hook, matching his fist with the delinquents as their knuckles clashed. The delinquent recoiled in pain however and Naoki continued with a straight into his nose.
Collapsing onto his back, Naoki loosened the chain from his shinai before looking onto the ringleader, now all alone trembling. “S-stay away!” He cried out in fear as Naoki looked onto him with what he perceived as a demonic grin.
Silently, Naoki began to advance on the delinquent who seized up in fear. Desperate, he grabbed the woman and held her hostage as he pulled out a small switchblade from his pocket. “I-I said stay back!” He shouted again, pointing the blade at Naoki.
Naoki didn’t react, he only continued to advance with a smile. The delinquent was shaking as he closed their distance, almost as if he had seen the reaper who had come for him. The man screamed as he swung his blade around before it being struck out of his hand with Naoki’s shinai. The man screamed at the pain of being struck at the wrist but was briefly silenced as the shinai impacted his forehead, rendering the delinquent unconscious.
Looking around, Naoki saw that they were all neutralized and sheathed his shinai as he turned to leave the alleyway. “E-excuse me.” A feminine voice called out to him. Turning back, Naoki looked over to the girl he had just rescued. She looked away from him, somewhat nervous as she fidgeted in her place. “T-thank you.” She muttered to him with a blush of red around her cheeks.
Naoki smirked, “There’s no need to thank me.” he responded, striking his pose, “For I am the Brave Blademaster Daimyo! Protecting my subjects is the least I can do!” Silence came between the two as the girl stood flabbergasted at his display. Chuckling, Naoki left the scene, lest he get dragged to a police box.
Made his way into the more urban areas of Tokyo, Naoki spotted in the corner of his eye a group of men crowding about in an alleyway. Noting their lecherous grins, he moved in to further inspect the scene. Scanning through the group, he understood them to be young delinquents from a nearby high school, furthermore there was a woman among the crowds with most of their eyes focusing on her.
“Heh, these younglings are up to no good, I see.” Naoki remarked to himself, he had seen enough hentai to know where this was heading. Stepping out into the open, Naoki displayed an intimidating posture as his shadow fell onto the group.
Noticing this, a few of the men looked over to him. “Eh? What do you want, old man!” One of them called out, he was supposedly their ringleader Naoki reckoned. He did nothing but chuckle which seemed to anger the delinquent a bit. “Who does this fucker think he is?” The boy asked rhetorically.
Hearing this, Naoki struck a post which further confused them. “I am a warrior whose blood flows with the spirit of the Rising Sun. He who fights alone against the corrupt Shogunate and who will rise this nation from the ashes like a Phoenix!” Reaching his climax, Naoki struck another pose, “The Brave Blademaster Daimyo, Naoki Takahara!”
There was a long silence of confusion before the delinquents began to laugh. Naoki only grinned at this. “What, you’re one of those losers who watch too much anime?” The delinquent deducted, his crew advancing on Naoki with malicious grins. “Get him.” Giving a signal, they charged towards Naoki, howling with maddened laughter and merciless intent. The forerunner jumped as he swung down a lead pipe towards Naoki, a smirk running along his mouth.
CLANG!
The pipe connected but Naoki stood unfazed, the rest of the group stopped in their tracks, somewhat curious at this. The delinquent struggled to push his pipe forward onto Naoki, a smirk still plastered on his face. “What’s wrong?” He asked, “Is that all you got!” The delinquent was thrown back from Naoki into the few behind him. Catching him as he fell, they looked back to Naoki who was wielding his shinai with the same smirk.
The leader scowled, “What are you standing for, it’s just a stick of wood!” He called out to his men, encouraging them to charge forward. Obliging their leader, they resumed their charge towards Naoki who began to walk a brisk pace towards them as well.
The first two came at him with a pipe and bat, swinging down in unison, Naoki blocked both their strikes before countering with thrusts to their gut. Collapsing to their knees, Naoki walked past them, greeted by a third delinquent with a chain.
Swinging it at Naoki, he blocked it with his shinai as usual but the chain wrapped around and restrained it. Seeing this, the delinquent laughed as he prepared a left hook at Naoki. Grinning, Naoki responded with a mirror hook, matching his fist with the delinquents as their knuckles clashed. The delinquent recoiled in pain however and Naoki continued with a straight into his nose.
Collapsing onto his back, Naoki loosened the chain from his shinai before looking onto the ringleader, now all alone trembling. “S-stay away!” He cried out in fear as Naoki looked onto him with what he perceived as a demonic grin.
Silently, Naoki began to advance on the delinquent who seized up in fear. Desperate, he grabbed the woman and held her hostage as he pulled out a small switchblade from his pocket. “I-I said stay back!” He shouted again, pointing the blade at Naoki.
Naoki didn’t react, he only continued to advance with a smile. The delinquent was shaking as he closed their distance, almost as if he had seen the reaper who had come for him. The man screamed as he swung his blade around before it being struck out of his hand with Naoki’s shinai. The man screamed at the pain of being struck at the wrist but was briefly silenced as the shinai impacted his forehead, rendering the delinquent unconscious.
Looking around, Naoki saw that they were all neutralized and sheathed his shinai as he turned to leave the alleyway. “E-excuse me.” A feminine voice called out to him. Turning back, Naoki looked over to the girl he had just rescued. She looked away from him, somewhat nervous as she fidgeted in her place. “T-thank you.” She muttered to him with a blush of red around her cheeks.
Naoki smirked, “There’s no need to thank me.” he responded, striking his pose, “For I am the Brave Blademaster Daimyo! Protecting my subjects is the least I can do!” Silence came between the two as the girl stood flabbergasted at his display. Chuckling, Naoki left the scene, lest he get dragged to a police box.
0
The next morning felt strange, like, an unholy resonance lingered about the house. Kulora awoke to what she found was the package she had received the day before, sitting on her bed rest next to her. Did someone move it? She stood up from her bed and moved to her wardrobe, a multitude of assorted costumes from different anime hung inside.
Of course, the girl picked one of her favorite. She tied her lengthy red hair into a ponytail and wore a black vest which revealed her rather flat stomach plain as day, her pants were cut asymmetrically and a white duster coat topped it all off. She pulled on her fingerless gloves and tightened them thoroughly along her hands.
One of her first actions was to log onto her computer and pull up a volume of one of her favorite series: Berserk. One of the pages were rather gritty, which excited Kulora. "Oh man...Guts is a hoot!" Kulora said out of turn. If she were around people, she would have done her utmost best to shroud this type of reaction.
After finishing the chapter, Kulora felt an awry chill down her spine. Somehow, she felt it was related towards that package; she felt out of place ever since.
Kulora reclined into her chair, eyeing the mysterious package from across the room. What could she had possibly ordered? The rising arousal from the package practically screamed at the girl to see it's wonders within. Letting the curiosity defeat her, she hurriedly rolled down to the bed rest.
Kulora then opened the package, to her surprise, what she found inside was nothing compared to lewd figures and collectables-- no doubt what she found inside was something she would have never expected to order-- a sword it was, a katana to be exact.
"What's this? A sword?"
As soon as her finger came in contact with the gold, decorated hilt, she felt an unfamiliar surge, like something flowed through her. Kulora withdrew her hand hastily in her surprise.
”What the hell…?” She said. Kulora slowly eased her hand back to the blade and grabbed the hilt. The blade sung as Kulora ripped the blade from the scabbard out of curiosity, she felt an immense stroke of heat come over her, almost as if she were stuck in a house set ablaze. Suddenly a black cloud appeared in the middle of Kulora’s room, swallowing her whole. "W-What's happening?! B-But, I need to finish this volume. Guuuuts!" The next moment she was gone, leaving the entire house empty.
Of course, the girl picked one of her favorite. She tied her lengthy red hair into a ponytail and wore a black vest which revealed her rather flat stomach plain as day, her pants were cut asymmetrically and a white duster coat topped it all off. She pulled on her fingerless gloves and tightened them thoroughly along her hands.
One of her first actions was to log onto her computer and pull up a volume of one of her favorite series: Berserk. One of the pages were rather gritty, which excited Kulora. "Oh man...Guts is a hoot!" Kulora said out of turn. If she were around people, she would have done her utmost best to shroud this type of reaction.
After finishing the chapter, Kulora felt an awry chill down her spine. Somehow, she felt it was related towards that package; she felt out of place ever since.
Kulora reclined into her chair, eyeing the mysterious package from across the room. What could she had possibly ordered? The rising arousal from the package practically screamed at the girl to see it's wonders within. Letting the curiosity defeat her, she hurriedly rolled down to the bed rest.
Kulora then opened the package, to her surprise, what she found inside was nothing compared to lewd figures and collectables-- no doubt what she found inside was something she would have never expected to order-- a sword it was, a katana to be exact.
"What's this? A sword?"
As soon as her finger came in contact with the gold, decorated hilt, she felt an unfamiliar surge, like something flowed through her. Kulora withdrew her hand hastily in her surprise.
”What the hell…?” She said. Kulora slowly eased her hand back to the blade and grabbed the hilt. The blade sung as Kulora ripped the blade from the scabbard out of curiosity, she felt an immense stroke of heat come over her, almost as if she were stuck in a house set ablaze. Suddenly a black cloud appeared in the middle of Kulora’s room, swallowing her whole. "W-What's happening?! B-But, I need to finish this volume. Guuuuts!" The next moment she was gone, leaving the entire house empty.
0
It was quite late now, with the streetlights beginning to light up and Naoki was rushing back home to his apartment. “Good day today, I think katsudon would be nice tonight, something very filling after a long hard day.” He nodded in confirmation, listing off the ingredients he would need for his feast tonight as he opened the door to his apartment.
It was a compact one room apartment though inside Naoki had a fusion sengoku-anime otaku decor going on that created much visual noise. His plain white walls were stacked with floating shelves lined with various figurines of popular bishojo animes and even a rack of display katanas by a complete set of armor. After such an exhausting day, he decided to take a long relaxing bath to clean off the sweat. Dipping into the hot bath, Naoki relished in the soothing water and took the time to be alone with his thoughts.
………………
After his bath, he adorned his †˜usual’ attire. A set of earthen color samurai robes with his green trademark, fur collared coat and a set of leather handguards. Walking into the main room, he struck his signature pose, ”The Brave Blademaster Daimyo, Naoki Takamura returns! Now then,” Naoki jumped quickly out of his pose and switched the TV on. It immediately turned to an anime that featured high school girls and katanas. ”Oh, just in time for Sengoku Gakuen.” Naoki remarked as he sat down to watch.
Grabbing hold of a dakimakura featuring an exclusive print of one of the characters, Naoki noticed a package that was hiding underneath it. ”Oh, what could this be?” He asked himself as he opened the lid of it. Revealing the contents, he was shocked.
”I-is this. A shinai!?” Inside the package was what appeared to be a shinai covered in a carry bag. The possibilities of how this got here ran through Naoki’s minds. ”I haven’t been expecting an order for a shinai as of late. A gift from that woman? No. That was only today, even with the efficiency of couriers, they couldn’t possibly deliver a package in less than an hour. Which must mean.” A sudden realization struck Naoki, he chuckled at the thought. ”This must only mean a mysterious benefactor has decided to support my cause!” He exclaimed in excitement, laughing triumphantly as if he were moving ahead in life.
”Very well, I accept your dedication. To offer someone who has not agreed to work with you yet clearly shows you need my services. Now then, let’s try it out.” He grabbed the covered shinai and was surprised as he lifted it up. “Oh? What’s this?” The weight and feel of it was much different to a shinai, rather it was heavier and felt more solid. Opening the carry bag and pulling it out, he was amazed to find instead a proper sword.
”A chokutou!?” He exclaimed again, inspecting the weapon in his hands. It was a straight, one edged sword decorated with a green hilt and scabbard matching with Naoki’s coat. ”. . . It would seem my benefactor has something else in mind. Still, this has a good weight to it. The quality of its construction is top notch as well. How about a test swing.”
Gripping the sword with both hands, he raised it above his head and gave it a mighty swing downwards, ”CHESTO!!!” he cried as he brought his blade down, a powerful wind following behind and scattering his collection of figurines and manga all over his room. ”Ah, this isn’t good. I didn’t mean to swing that hard.” He thought to himself as he panicked at the mess.
Before he had a chance to clean it up however, his room began to fill with a dark cloud that spiralled around him. ”What!?” He scanned his room, searching for whatever the source was. ”Damn, is it the Shogunate again!?” He shouted before stopping to think back to what he said. “Wait, again? This hasn’t happened before.” He thought to himself.
Disregarding that blunder, he readied his newfound blade, anticipating for something to try and strike through the cloud. Not noticing anything, he felt the sudden urge to check underneath him and realized he was sinking into the floor into a large portal that had suddenly opened up under his feet and was swallowing him in. “I knew it!” He called out.
”Damn, I can’t get out. This was their plan all along! Damn shinobi!” He struggled trying to pull himself out but it only made him sink further in. Already past his waist, he was finally about to be engulfed completely.
”Crap, I’m not gonna make it.” Naoki extended out his arm towards the TV. “Ichi-chan! Wait for me~!” and with those last words, the clouds dissipated, leaving Naoki’s room completely empty.
It was a compact one room apartment though inside Naoki had a fusion sengoku-anime otaku decor going on that created much visual noise. His plain white walls were stacked with floating shelves lined with various figurines of popular bishojo animes and even a rack of display katanas by a complete set of armor. After such an exhausting day, he decided to take a long relaxing bath to clean off the sweat. Dipping into the hot bath, Naoki relished in the soothing water and took the time to be alone with his thoughts.
………………
After his bath, he adorned his †˜usual’ attire. A set of earthen color samurai robes with his green trademark, fur collared coat and a set of leather handguards. Walking into the main room, he struck his signature pose, ”The Brave Blademaster Daimyo, Naoki Takamura returns! Now then,” Naoki jumped quickly out of his pose and switched the TV on. It immediately turned to an anime that featured high school girls and katanas. ”Oh, just in time for Sengoku Gakuen.” Naoki remarked as he sat down to watch.
Grabbing hold of a dakimakura featuring an exclusive print of one of the characters, Naoki noticed a package that was hiding underneath it. ”Oh, what could this be?” He asked himself as he opened the lid of it. Revealing the contents, he was shocked.
”I-is this. A shinai!?” Inside the package was what appeared to be a shinai covered in a carry bag. The possibilities of how this got here ran through Naoki’s minds. ”I haven’t been expecting an order for a shinai as of late. A gift from that woman? No. That was only today, even with the efficiency of couriers, they couldn’t possibly deliver a package in less than an hour. Which must mean.” A sudden realization struck Naoki, he chuckled at the thought. ”This must only mean a mysterious benefactor has decided to support my cause!” He exclaimed in excitement, laughing triumphantly as if he were moving ahead in life.
”Very well, I accept your dedication. To offer someone who has not agreed to work with you yet clearly shows you need my services. Now then, let’s try it out.” He grabbed the covered shinai and was surprised as he lifted it up. “Oh? What’s this?” The weight and feel of it was much different to a shinai, rather it was heavier and felt more solid. Opening the carry bag and pulling it out, he was amazed to find instead a proper sword.
”A chokutou!?” He exclaimed again, inspecting the weapon in his hands. It was a straight, one edged sword decorated with a green hilt and scabbard matching with Naoki’s coat. ”. . . It would seem my benefactor has something else in mind. Still, this has a good weight to it. The quality of its construction is top notch as well. How about a test swing.”
Gripping the sword with both hands, he raised it above his head and gave it a mighty swing downwards, ”CHESTO!!!” he cried as he brought his blade down, a powerful wind following behind and scattering his collection of figurines and manga all over his room. ”Ah, this isn’t good. I didn’t mean to swing that hard.” He thought to himself as he panicked at the mess.
Before he had a chance to clean it up however, his room began to fill with a dark cloud that spiralled around him. ”What!?” He scanned his room, searching for whatever the source was. ”Damn, is it the Shogunate again!?” He shouted before stopping to think back to what he said. “Wait, again? This hasn’t happened before.” He thought to himself.
Disregarding that blunder, he readied his newfound blade, anticipating for something to try and strike through the cloud. Not noticing anything, he felt the sudden urge to check underneath him and realized he was sinking into the floor into a large portal that had suddenly opened up under his feet and was swallowing him in. “I knew it!” He called out.
”Damn, I can’t get out. This was their plan all along! Damn shinobi!” He struggled trying to pull himself out but it only made him sink further in. Already past his waist, he was finally about to be engulfed completely.
”Crap, I’m not gonna make it.” Naoki extended out his arm towards the TV. “Ichi-chan! Wait for me~!” and with those last words, the clouds dissipated, leaving Naoki’s room completely empty.
0
Naoki woke up dazed after being swallowed up by the portal. Adjusting his eyes to the sun, he stood himself up and looked around to get an idea of where he was. . . At the very least, he knew he wasn’t anywhere near home. Nowhere in Japan had large, unending expanses of sand dunes, which was exactly where he found himself in.
“THE HELL IS THIS!?!!” He exclaimed in shock.
"Uhn, Tenryuu...don't tease...me...there..." mumbled a passed out Kulora. She fumbled around the sand, mumbling obscene things in her state of slumber, likely of one of the fictional characters she's taken with.
“. . . what is that even.” Naoki remarked as he silently stood over the delusional woman. In any case, she was probably dragged into this much like himself, he reckoned as he squatted down to inspect her further. He could tell that the woman wasn’t Japanese at the very least but something about her seemed familiar. “. . . must be the costume. She IS a cosplayer.” he commented to himself. “Oy, you awake there?” He asked as he poked her cheek.
"Eh...?" Kulora had a look of disappointment to her eyes as she rose from her slumber; apparently she was having an eventful dream if anything. She groggily looked up to a man wearing a robe and had green hair and wiped her pupils. The man looked to be of Asian descent now that Kulora got a look at him. Japanese? She suddenly jolted, realizing that she may have been speaking in her sleep in front of him, not only that, this man was the first person other than May whom she had laid eyes on in years.
"Ahh...I...I...where am I? Wh-who are you...?" Kulora nudged around, darting eyes back and forth to the unfamiliar environment in an attempt to find any hint of sanctuary. No use. She definitely was not in Washington anymore.
Naoki’s lips stiffened. “Uh-oh. . . English.”[/i] He thought to himself as the girl looked about the place. Taking a gulp, he started to work his brain into overdrive, “Uh, mai neimu is Naoki Takahara. Who aru you?” He asked as best he could, the girl looked confused but seemed to have gotten the gist of it.
"I-I'm K-Kulora Waverly..." The girl sheepishly replied whilst taking an effort to scribe through the man's attempt at English. She poked both of her fingers together nervously and attempted not to make eye contact.
Naoki smirked at the girl’s nervous display. “Naisu to meet you, Kulora.” He said as he stood back up. Peering towards the expanse, he had a grim expression “Well, despite learning this person’s name, we’re nowhere close to figuring out what’s going.” He thought to himself as he wiped sweat off his brow.
Naoki would have thought further into this until he was interrupted by the blood curdling sound of warped chattering from a distance. The two turned their attention to the source of the sound and the culprits finally revealed themselves as they ran hopped over a dune. The beasts were near hairless, they were no larger than an ordinary ape, and looked as if they hadn’t eaten anything in days. They were traveling in a large pack, about 10 to 15 of them to be exact. Kulora felt a chill down her spine, as she knew exactly from her experiences reading Berserk, these mythical beasts were the ornery type-- especially to women. “T-Trolls!” the girl yelled.
“What?” Naoki queried, switching back to native Japanese. Looking at the creatures, they bore resemblance of creatures he had known. “This is. . . Why are here Onis outside of Japan?” He asked himself, cocking his head upwards in realization, “Could it be that we’re inside the Demon Gate!?” Gritting his teeth, Naoki grabbed hold of his sword, readying himself for battle.
The trolls growled and smacked their lips in anticipation, they hadn’t the taste of flesh in ages and were just about ready to keel over. Seeing this, Naoki scoffed. “You demons dare lay a finger on us who threw you from the Mount Hiei? I will show you a second time, not to mess with humans.” He raised his sword to the ready, steeling his resolve and mentally playing the battle through his head.
Kulora rose to her feet and steadily backed away. She could only understand bits and pieces of what Naoki was saying, but it almost sounded like he was going to fight these creatures. “You’re insane...these things’ll kill you and...who knows what they’ll do to me…” she stressed meekly.
Naoki scoffed, he could tell Kulora was worried even if he could barely understand her. “I am the Brave Blademaster Daimyo, Naoki Takahara. Be it a horde of demons or the king himself, none shall strike me down!” He gave a mighty battle cry as he ran towards the pack.
The creatures roared in response and charged him as well, forming an arc formation to cover his flanks. As they got closer and closer, the trolls began to salivate at the prospect of having meat for the first time as they kept their eyes on Naoki. Suddenly with a flash, he disappeared from their vision. Appearing from behind the formation, he swiped his sword clean of a strange blue fluid and on cue, one of the troll’s head slid clean off his neck.
Enraged at losing one of their own, several broke formation and resumed their charge at Naoki, jumping up and coming at him from all sides. “HOWL! Matsukaze!” Swinging his sword through the air again, he let out a torrential aura of wind that blew away the attacking trolls. Though not enough to kill them, they would have to struggle out of the sand for a while.
The remaining trolls continued the assault, charging towards Naoki much like the previous group. He swung his sword again, throwing sand into the eyes of the foremost troll who covered his face by instinct. Easy picking for Naoki as he slashed through the blind beast with ease. Following up, he struck another troll with a connecting slash, cutting off its arm and leaving it to howl in pain of its lost limb. “Alright.” Naoki called as he began to focus his pressure on the three other trolls who kept their distance, feeling they would be safe it they stayed out of sword’s reach. Grinning at this, Naoki made a full spin as he sliced horizontally and threw a cutting gale of wind at the creatures. As the wind flew past them, they were shred to bits by the sheer power and eroding sand grains.
A separate group of Trolls caught wind of Kulora’s location and grew feral at the sight of a woman. They moistened their lips and cried out in obscene sounds. After doing so, they charged the cowering girl. Noticing this, Kulora practically screamed at her limbs to move, she took notice to a sword, sticking upwards in the sand, the same one she picked up back at her house. Springing into action she dodged to the blade and hastily ripped it from it’s scabbard.
The girl grew warm, hot even as she grit her teeth. The Trolls began to close the distance between them and Kulora. “...Don’t screw with me..!” she yelled as her blade ignited in flames. Kulora swung--hard and without hesitation, she released a wave of fire at the pack. At first they were seemingly unharmed, that is, until Kulora slowly placed her sword back into its scabbard, and with a clank of the blade, the Trolls suddenly were engulfed by flames, losing each of their limbs as they all fell to the ground, dead.
Watching from the peak of his dune, Naoki hummed in interest at Kulora’s display. “Well she can hold her own at least.”[/i] He thought to himself as he stood among the carcasses of their attackers. Looking down at the scattered gibbs and remains, he pondered about their current predicament before making his way back down.
Bewildered completely from the experience, Kulora dropped down and with a loud plop she sat onto the sand. “Why is this happening…? I remember being in my room and then passing out, next thing I knew, I’m here in the middle of nowhere!” she ranted to herself, completely forgetting Naoki’s presence.
“It’s funny you should mention,” said a voice from nowhere, it sounded churlish and playful. For a moment the two jolted and were left scanning the area in thought that they weren’t the only ones out there. “You lucky birds were given a chance to embark on a journey and save your world from being engulfed by darkness.” said the voice again, the two then realized that they weren’t hearing things.
“What did you say?” Naoki was left looking back and forth in search of the source but only grew frustrated, “Oy you, show yourself!” He called out, almost ready to pull out his sword.
The source of the voice then poked Naoki on the back of his knee to get his attention. “Yo, right here.” she said. The culprit was seemingly a small girl, she wore a brightly colored kimono which resembled the colors of the season of Autumn. She had lengthy jet black hair and her eyes emanated a curious light orange. The things that stood out about her the most-- were the two horns pointing out from her forehead. She smiled and whipped her eyebrows up and down.
Naoki turned back to look at the girl, “Oni!” He shouted as he instinctively jumped back to make distance, keeping his hand at the ready on his sword. The girl seemed to laugh at his reaction. “You. Did you send those creatures after us?” He questioned, very much wary of the girl.
“Well, that’s typical,” huffed the demonic girl, she rubbed her forehead in exasperation. “You do that to all demons you meet? So much for civil rights…” she remarked. The then sighed, getting to the point. “†˜Course not, they merely wandered here on their own-- but getting to the point, I’m sure you two are wondering why you’re here, eh?” she questioned rhetorically.
“Well! I’ll tell ya! As I said before, you two were chosen by my master to save the world, and prolong your existence in this world.” she didn’t even give the two a chance to respond.
“What?” Kulora spoke up, it wasn’t that she could not process what the girl said but merely, she was speaking Japanese and could only hear bits and pieces; basically, she was left out of the conversation completely.
“Oh, right...hehe” the girl then conjured an orb of energy into her hand, and with a casual wave, they went into the duo’s throats. The looked shocked in wonder what the girl had done to them. “Relax, I just made it so that you all could understand each other.” she replied nonchalantly. “Now, to fill you in, you gotta save the world, blah, blah, blah, world’s been plunged into darkness, you get the gist.” she said in a speedy pace, skipping through everything she had said.
“WHAT!?” Naoki exclaimed in response to her last words. He didn’t know what she meant by the world being plunged into darkness but he sure didn’t hope it meant what he thought it meant. “You can’t possibly mean-”
“I do,” The girl affirmed Naoki’s assumption. “To put it in human terms-- you’re fucked.” she wore a twisted smile, her cheeks reaching to both her ears. “God’s really had his eyes on this world and was wondering if he should let it continue like this.” she turned around to gaze at the directionless scenery, her hands wrapped around the back of her head almost uninterestingly.
“Continue like this…? You mean before it was turned into a wasteland.” Kulora stepped in. She wasn’t very sure herself what was happening but she knew that she did not like it one bit. She didn’t seem to be in her meek, nervous state anymore somehow, in fact, she looked riled up.
Naoki paused for a moment to think through it all. “. . . So you’re saying God has decided to put us down?” He asked, almost already sure what the answer was. He didn’t like this one bit and he showed it visually.
“Aaand we have a winner!” exclaimed the girl. She suddenly appeared behind Kulora and walked past her. “Due to corruption and the like, he’s had enough and decided to axe the world as is….sorta like a writer quitting his novel midway, but hey, you guys decided to go against his grand vision, I think he called it.” she replied.
Kulora clenched her fist, hearing the word corruption invade her ears. “What type of God takes it upon himself to erase everything he’s worked so hard to create…?” from everything she’s learned, a god is supposed to sit aside and let the people learn for themselves the error of their ways, this god was a farce and wasteful at that. “Bastard…” she snarled.
“Got a problem with it? Good, then I hope you won’t mind climbing the Tower of Gaia-- that large structure you see over there, and chalk it up with the guy. I’m just your guide in the matter.” she responded. The girl pointed from afar to a towering building, miles away from the group’s current position. It stretched as far as the clouds could reach and was merely much more than what the two had expected. They looked on, stunned by the immensity of the structure as their jaws hung open.
“So this God is at the top of that?” Naoki asked, still taking in the sheer scale of the skyscraper. It would make sense that a God would seat himself so high above the rest of the world.
“You’re a bright one, †˜course he is. Guy wanted to make it hard for you, though why he picked you two of all people in the world, is beyond me.” flames conjured into the girl’s hand as she said this, and with within a second, a clipboard with paper formed. “Let’s see here…” she said poking at the list. “We got...Naoki Takahara; nerd and kendo enthusiast along with...Kulora Waverly; bigger nerd, shut-in, *cough* and arsonist.” the girl said, shrouding her last few words with a false cough, though Kulora didn’t catch it. “Yeah, I’m Asahina Enma, daughter of lord Enma, the lord of hell, good to meet ya!” she once again stated in a speedy tone, but smiled nevertheless.
“Hmph.” Naoki crossed his arms and turned back from Asahina. “So God thinks he’s giving himself a handicap by choosing us. Ridiculous.” He grinned as he looked up to the tower once more. “He underestimates what we humans can do when pushed into the corner.” Naoki’s eyes seemed to fire up with a burning determination as he turned back to Asahina, “Oy Oni, take us to the tower.”
“Heh, as you wish. Anything you’d like to say, Kulora? Last chance to clear the air.” asked Asahina, smiling at the girl in front of her. Kulora merely shook her head, still scowling from the words from before. “Right then. Henshin!” the girl then vanished, along with the two appointed heroes to their destination, the Tower of Gaia.
“THE HELL IS THIS!?!!” He exclaimed in shock.
"Uhn, Tenryuu...don't tease...me...there..." mumbled a passed out Kulora. She fumbled around the sand, mumbling obscene things in her state of slumber, likely of one of the fictional characters she's taken with.
“. . . what is that even.” Naoki remarked as he silently stood over the delusional woman. In any case, she was probably dragged into this much like himself, he reckoned as he squatted down to inspect her further. He could tell that the woman wasn’t Japanese at the very least but something about her seemed familiar. “. . . must be the costume. She IS a cosplayer.” he commented to himself. “Oy, you awake there?” He asked as he poked her cheek.
"Eh...?" Kulora had a look of disappointment to her eyes as she rose from her slumber; apparently she was having an eventful dream if anything. She groggily looked up to a man wearing a robe and had green hair and wiped her pupils. The man looked to be of Asian descent now that Kulora got a look at him. Japanese? She suddenly jolted, realizing that she may have been speaking in her sleep in front of him, not only that, this man was the first person other than May whom she had laid eyes on in years.
"Ahh...I...I...where am I? Wh-who are you...?" Kulora nudged around, darting eyes back and forth to the unfamiliar environment in an attempt to find any hint of sanctuary. No use. She definitely was not in Washington anymore.
Naoki’s lips stiffened. “Uh-oh. . . English.”[/i] He thought to himself as the girl looked about the place. Taking a gulp, he started to work his brain into overdrive, “Uh, mai neimu is Naoki Takahara. Who aru you?” He asked as best he could, the girl looked confused but seemed to have gotten the gist of it.
"I-I'm K-Kulora Waverly..." The girl sheepishly replied whilst taking an effort to scribe through the man's attempt at English. She poked both of her fingers together nervously and attempted not to make eye contact.
Naoki smirked at the girl’s nervous display. “Naisu to meet you, Kulora.” He said as he stood back up. Peering towards the expanse, he had a grim expression “Well, despite learning this person’s name, we’re nowhere close to figuring out what’s going.” He thought to himself as he wiped sweat off his brow.
Naoki would have thought further into this until he was interrupted by the blood curdling sound of warped chattering from a distance. The two turned their attention to the source of the sound and the culprits finally revealed themselves as they ran hopped over a dune. The beasts were near hairless, they were no larger than an ordinary ape, and looked as if they hadn’t eaten anything in days. They were traveling in a large pack, about 10 to 15 of them to be exact. Kulora felt a chill down her spine, as she knew exactly from her experiences reading Berserk, these mythical beasts were the ornery type-- especially to women. “T-Trolls!” the girl yelled.
“What?” Naoki queried, switching back to native Japanese. Looking at the creatures, they bore resemblance of creatures he had known. “This is. . . Why are here Onis outside of Japan?” He asked himself, cocking his head upwards in realization, “Could it be that we’re inside the Demon Gate!?” Gritting his teeth, Naoki grabbed hold of his sword, readying himself for battle.
The trolls growled and smacked their lips in anticipation, they hadn’t the taste of flesh in ages and were just about ready to keel over. Seeing this, Naoki scoffed. “You demons dare lay a finger on us who threw you from the Mount Hiei? I will show you a second time, not to mess with humans.” He raised his sword to the ready, steeling his resolve and mentally playing the battle through his head.
Kulora rose to her feet and steadily backed away. She could only understand bits and pieces of what Naoki was saying, but it almost sounded like he was going to fight these creatures. “You’re insane...these things’ll kill you and...who knows what they’ll do to me…” she stressed meekly.
Naoki scoffed, he could tell Kulora was worried even if he could barely understand her. “I am the Brave Blademaster Daimyo, Naoki Takahara. Be it a horde of demons or the king himself, none shall strike me down!” He gave a mighty battle cry as he ran towards the pack.
The creatures roared in response and charged him as well, forming an arc formation to cover his flanks. As they got closer and closer, the trolls began to salivate at the prospect of having meat for the first time as they kept their eyes on Naoki. Suddenly with a flash, he disappeared from their vision. Appearing from behind the formation, he swiped his sword clean of a strange blue fluid and on cue, one of the troll’s head slid clean off his neck.
Enraged at losing one of their own, several broke formation and resumed their charge at Naoki, jumping up and coming at him from all sides. “HOWL! Matsukaze!” Swinging his sword through the air again, he let out a torrential aura of wind that blew away the attacking trolls. Though not enough to kill them, they would have to struggle out of the sand for a while.
The remaining trolls continued the assault, charging towards Naoki much like the previous group. He swung his sword again, throwing sand into the eyes of the foremost troll who covered his face by instinct. Easy picking for Naoki as he slashed through the blind beast with ease. Following up, he struck another troll with a connecting slash, cutting off its arm and leaving it to howl in pain of its lost limb. “Alright.” Naoki called as he began to focus his pressure on the three other trolls who kept their distance, feeling they would be safe it they stayed out of sword’s reach. Grinning at this, Naoki made a full spin as he sliced horizontally and threw a cutting gale of wind at the creatures. As the wind flew past them, they were shred to bits by the sheer power and eroding sand grains.
A separate group of Trolls caught wind of Kulora’s location and grew feral at the sight of a woman. They moistened their lips and cried out in obscene sounds. After doing so, they charged the cowering girl. Noticing this, Kulora practically screamed at her limbs to move, she took notice to a sword, sticking upwards in the sand, the same one she picked up back at her house. Springing into action she dodged to the blade and hastily ripped it from it’s scabbard.
The girl grew warm, hot even as she grit her teeth. The Trolls began to close the distance between them and Kulora. “...Don’t screw with me..!” she yelled as her blade ignited in flames. Kulora swung--hard and without hesitation, she released a wave of fire at the pack. At first they were seemingly unharmed, that is, until Kulora slowly placed her sword back into its scabbard, and with a clank of the blade, the Trolls suddenly were engulfed by flames, losing each of their limbs as they all fell to the ground, dead.
Watching from the peak of his dune, Naoki hummed in interest at Kulora’s display. “Well she can hold her own at least.”[/i] He thought to himself as he stood among the carcasses of their attackers. Looking down at the scattered gibbs and remains, he pondered about their current predicament before making his way back down.
Bewildered completely from the experience, Kulora dropped down and with a loud plop she sat onto the sand. “Why is this happening…? I remember being in my room and then passing out, next thing I knew, I’m here in the middle of nowhere!” she ranted to herself, completely forgetting Naoki’s presence.
“It’s funny you should mention,” said a voice from nowhere, it sounded churlish and playful. For a moment the two jolted and were left scanning the area in thought that they weren’t the only ones out there. “You lucky birds were given a chance to embark on a journey and save your world from being engulfed by darkness.” said the voice again, the two then realized that they weren’t hearing things.
“What did you say?” Naoki was left looking back and forth in search of the source but only grew frustrated, “Oy you, show yourself!” He called out, almost ready to pull out his sword.
The source of the voice then poked Naoki on the back of his knee to get his attention. “Yo, right here.” she said. The culprit was seemingly a small girl, she wore a brightly colored kimono which resembled the colors of the season of Autumn. She had lengthy jet black hair and her eyes emanated a curious light orange. The things that stood out about her the most-- were the two horns pointing out from her forehead. She smiled and whipped her eyebrows up and down.
Naoki turned back to look at the girl, “Oni!” He shouted as he instinctively jumped back to make distance, keeping his hand at the ready on his sword. The girl seemed to laugh at his reaction. “You. Did you send those creatures after us?” He questioned, very much wary of the girl.
“Well, that’s typical,” huffed the demonic girl, she rubbed her forehead in exasperation. “You do that to all demons you meet? So much for civil rights…” she remarked. The then sighed, getting to the point. “†˜Course not, they merely wandered here on their own-- but getting to the point, I’m sure you two are wondering why you’re here, eh?” she questioned rhetorically.
“Well! I’ll tell ya! As I said before, you two were chosen by my master to save the world, and prolong your existence in this world.” she didn’t even give the two a chance to respond.
“What?” Kulora spoke up, it wasn’t that she could not process what the girl said but merely, she was speaking Japanese and could only hear bits and pieces; basically, she was left out of the conversation completely.
“Oh, right...hehe” the girl then conjured an orb of energy into her hand, and with a casual wave, they went into the duo’s throats. The looked shocked in wonder what the girl had done to them. “Relax, I just made it so that you all could understand each other.” she replied nonchalantly. “Now, to fill you in, you gotta save the world, blah, blah, blah, world’s been plunged into darkness, you get the gist.” she said in a speedy pace, skipping through everything she had said.
“WHAT!?” Naoki exclaimed in response to her last words. He didn’t know what she meant by the world being plunged into darkness but he sure didn’t hope it meant what he thought it meant. “You can’t possibly mean-”
“I do,” The girl affirmed Naoki’s assumption. “To put it in human terms-- you’re fucked.” she wore a twisted smile, her cheeks reaching to both her ears. “God’s really had his eyes on this world and was wondering if he should let it continue like this.” she turned around to gaze at the directionless scenery, her hands wrapped around the back of her head almost uninterestingly.
“Continue like this…? You mean before it was turned into a wasteland.” Kulora stepped in. She wasn’t very sure herself what was happening but she knew that she did not like it one bit. She didn’t seem to be in her meek, nervous state anymore somehow, in fact, she looked riled up.
Naoki paused for a moment to think through it all. “. . . So you’re saying God has decided to put us down?” He asked, almost already sure what the answer was. He didn’t like this one bit and he showed it visually.
“Aaand we have a winner!” exclaimed the girl. She suddenly appeared behind Kulora and walked past her. “Due to corruption and the like, he’s had enough and decided to axe the world as is….sorta like a writer quitting his novel midway, but hey, you guys decided to go against his grand vision, I think he called it.” she replied.
Kulora clenched her fist, hearing the word corruption invade her ears. “What type of God takes it upon himself to erase everything he’s worked so hard to create…?” from everything she’s learned, a god is supposed to sit aside and let the people learn for themselves the error of their ways, this god was a farce and wasteful at that. “Bastard…” she snarled.
“Got a problem with it? Good, then I hope you won’t mind climbing the Tower of Gaia-- that large structure you see over there, and chalk it up with the guy. I’m just your guide in the matter.” she responded. The girl pointed from afar to a towering building, miles away from the group’s current position. It stretched as far as the clouds could reach and was merely much more than what the two had expected. They looked on, stunned by the immensity of the structure as their jaws hung open.
“So this God is at the top of that?” Naoki asked, still taking in the sheer scale of the skyscraper. It would make sense that a God would seat himself so high above the rest of the world.
“You’re a bright one, †˜course he is. Guy wanted to make it hard for you, though why he picked you two of all people in the world, is beyond me.” flames conjured into the girl’s hand as she said this, and with within a second, a clipboard with paper formed. “Let’s see here…” she said poking at the list. “We got...Naoki Takahara; nerd and kendo enthusiast along with...Kulora Waverly; bigger nerd, shut-in, *cough* and arsonist.” the girl said, shrouding her last few words with a false cough, though Kulora didn’t catch it. “Yeah, I’m Asahina Enma, daughter of lord Enma, the lord of hell, good to meet ya!” she once again stated in a speedy tone, but smiled nevertheless.
“Hmph.” Naoki crossed his arms and turned back from Asahina. “So God thinks he’s giving himself a handicap by choosing us. Ridiculous.” He grinned as he looked up to the tower once more. “He underestimates what we humans can do when pushed into the corner.” Naoki’s eyes seemed to fire up with a burning determination as he turned back to Asahina, “Oy Oni, take us to the tower.”
“Heh, as you wish. Anything you’d like to say, Kulora? Last chance to clear the air.” asked Asahina, smiling at the girl in front of her. Kulora merely shook her head, still scowling from the words from before. “Right then. Henshin!” the girl then vanished, along with the two appointed heroes to their destination, the Tower of Gaia.
0
Hours passed, the unlikely paired duo walked the dead environment of a world manifested by the tower itself. The ground was fragile, infertile and was subject to break at the gentlest footstep. The sky erupted in a ghastly green hue and hung over the two like a bad omen. Kulora and Naoki kept their charge strong, though there was no conversation between them, not that it was intentional anyhow, Kulora had no desire to speak and Naoki was simply brewing something up to say.
“So,” Naoki started off to get her attention, “What were you doing before being sent here?” He asked, already having something of an idea from what Asahina had said earlier.
Kulora stared meekly into the man’s face and dug through her head on what to say back. She didn’t want to come off as uninteresting either, given her uneventful lifestyle. “J-Just…sitting in my room, reading a chapter of Berserk...” Kulora stammered slightly, stringing together a sentence.
“Oh?” Naoki hummed, “Well, you did seem like the kind to enjoy manga and all that.” He remarked with a smirk on his face. “You enjoying any other series?” He continued, trying to keep up conversation.
Kulora placed a finger on her chin and looked up to the sky in contemplation, “Hmm,” she hummed. “I’d narrow it down to Ruroni Kenshin, Samurai Champloo, and...oh! I also play Kantai Collection, if anything else.” Kulora said excitedly, glad that she was able to have a conversation with someone with the same tastes as her possibly.
“I see.” Naoki chuckled, “Well it’s good to see someone who appreciates a classic like Kenshin.” He nodded in affirmation, “Kids these days are so infatuated with series about high school terrorists and people flying around with cables and giant box cutter knives. And furthermore. . . ” Naoki started to go on a rant about the modern anime industry that went on for what seemed like ages. “. . . and that is why American dubbing ruined anime for you lot in the West.” He finally concluded as they continued walking down the same featureless terrain.
After Naoki’s long winded tangent, Kulora was left in sheer amazement, perhaps she could relate to this man after all. She had the unwavering urge to tell the man outwardly. “I love you” without hesitation, but painstakingly held it in. “So, what about you?” she questioned, as much as she would want to talk about anime for the remainder of the walk.
“Me?” Naoki asked pointing to himself, “Well. . . “ He paused for a moment to think, “I wasn’t really doing anything in particular when I got sucked in. The day seemed pretty normal for me. . . OH!” He perked up his head in sudden realization, “I left my apartment in a total mess before I got taken away. Argh, no!” He shook his head in frustration.
“Hmm? What’s the matter?” Said Kulora, startled by the sudden shift in attitude.
“Ugh.” Naoki groaned, “All of my figmas and collectibles are just lying on the floor, collecting dust and whatever else might be crawling around there now.” He covered his face with a palm and lowered his head in shame, “Ah, Sen-chan, Ringo, Nene. Forgive me.”
Kulora pat the man’s back apologetically, he seemed to be more taken with anime than she thought. “Well, the world’s ended, so I doubt they would have survived whatever’s back there anyway...if it makes you feel any better, I lost all of my dakis, my figures... my costumes, my--...my computer. Damn it, I lost my computer!” Kulora then fell onto all fours and bore the aura of a defeated woman. If anything, she lost all of her manga, her games, and... ahem, her hentai. She tried to show Naoki that losing their material items wasn’t so bad, but of course she failed at that.
“GAH! DAMNIT ALL!!!” Naoki bursted out, shouting at the sky, “GOD, YOU BETTER WATCH IT WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON YOU!!!” The man’s fury was so evident, you could almost see him blazing with raging hot flames.
The two were stopped in their tracks lamenting in the middle of nowhere until they were interrupted by the crinkling sound of carriage wheels and the constant periodic clacking of horse shoes along the ground. Kulora looked upward from her grievance and met with the eyes of an elderly man and young girl from inside. “Hey there, you two! Need a ride?” the girl stared into the duo’s faces and looked near frightened by their outworldly demeanors.
Naoki’s face lit up at the prospect of transportation. He’s certain their endless trek was contributing to the negative atmosphere. “Many thanks, kind sir. We’ve been walking down this way for who knows how long.” He bowed in appreciation to the man before entering the carriage.
“It’s no problem, you two. Moving along this damned wasteland can be a pain, after all.” said the man, smiling sweetly. He gestured Kulora to climb on as she returned to her nervous state. Apparently Naoki was the only one she got used to so quickly. After blowing a lock of hair from the middle of her forehead, Kulora complied.
“So,” Naoki started off to get her attention, “What were you doing before being sent here?” He asked, already having something of an idea from what Asahina had said earlier.
Kulora stared meekly into the man’s face and dug through her head on what to say back. She didn’t want to come off as uninteresting either, given her uneventful lifestyle. “J-Just…sitting in my room, reading a chapter of Berserk...” Kulora stammered slightly, stringing together a sentence.
“Oh?” Naoki hummed, “Well, you did seem like the kind to enjoy manga and all that.” He remarked with a smirk on his face. “You enjoying any other series?” He continued, trying to keep up conversation.
Kulora placed a finger on her chin and looked up to the sky in contemplation, “Hmm,” she hummed. “I’d narrow it down to Ruroni Kenshin, Samurai Champloo, and...oh! I also play Kantai Collection, if anything else.” Kulora said excitedly, glad that she was able to have a conversation with someone with the same tastes as her possibly.
“I see.” Naoki chuckled, “Well it’s good to see someone who appreciates a classic like Kenshin.” He nodded in affirmation, “Kids these days are so infatuated with series about high school terrorists and people flying around with cables and giant box cutter knives. And furthermore. . . ” Naoki started to go on a rant about the modern anime industry that went on for what seemed like ages. “. . . and that is why American dubbing ruined anime for you lot in the West.” He finally concluded as they continued walking down the same featureless terrain.
After Naoki’s long winded tangent, Kulora was left in sheer amazement, perhaps she could relate to this man after all. She had the unwavering urge to tell the man outwardly. “I love you” without hesitation, but painstakingly held it in. “So, what about you?” she questioned, as much as she would want to talk about anime for the remainder of the walk.
“Me?” Naoki asked pointing to himself, “Well. . . “ He paused for a moment to think, “I wasn’t really doing anything in particular when I got sucked in. The day seemed pretty normal for me. . . OH!” He perked up his head in sudden realization, “I left my apartment in a total mess before I got taken away. Argh, no!” He shook his head in frustration.
“Hmm? What’s the matter?” Said Kulora, startled by the sudden shift in attitude.
“Ugh.” Naoki groaned, “All of my figmas and collectibles are just lying on the floor, collecting dust and whatever else might be crawling around there now.” He covered his face with a palm and lowered his head in shame, “Ah, Sen-chan, Ringo, Nene. Forgive me.”
Kulora pat the man’s back apologetically, he seemed to be more taken with anime than she thought. “Well, the world’s ended, so I doubt they would have survived whatever’s back there anyway...if it makes you feel any better, I lost all of my dakis, my figures... my costumes, my--...my computer. Damn it, I lost my computer!” Kulora then fell onto all fours and bore the aura of a defeated woman. If anything, she lost all of her manga, her games, and... ahem, her hentai. She tried to show Naoki that losing their material items wasn’t so bad, but of course she failed at that.
“GAH! DAMNIT ALL!!!” Naoki bursted out, shouting at the sky, “GOD, YOU BETTER WATCH IT WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON YOU!!!” The man’s fury was so evident, you could almost see him blazing with raging hot flames.
The two were stopped in their tracks lamenting in the middle of nowhere until they were interrupted by the crinkling sound of carriage wheels and the constant periodic clacking of horse shoes along the ground. Kulora looked upward from her grievance and met with the eyes of an elderly man and young girl from inside. “Hey there, you two! Need a ride?” the girl stared into the duo’s faces and looked near frightened by their outworldly demeanors.
Naoki’s face lit up at the prospect of transportation. He’s certain their endless trek was contributing to the negative atmosphere. “Many thanks, kind sir. We’ve been walking down this way for who knows how long.” He bowed in appreciation to the man before entering the carriage.
“It’s no problem, you two. Moving along this damned wasteland can be a pain, after all.” said the man, smiling sweetly. He gestured Kulora to climb on as she returned to her nervous state. Apparently Naoki was the only one she got used to so quickly. After blowing a lock of hair from the middle of her forehead, Kulora complied.
0
During the slow, but easy ride, the two sat beside each other as the young girl from before eyed them both strangely which slightly unsettled them. Both Kulora and Naoki got a small sense of deja vu as this happened, however. The girl suddenly crawled towards Naoki and yanked his green head of hair roughly. “Your hair looks like grass, mister!” exclaimed the girl, she was very interested in the colors of the mop, no doubt.
“Ow!” Naoki exclaimed at the sudden force. Gently, he got the girl to let go of his hair before he started tending to the traumatized strands. “Careful, young one,” He lectured her as he fixed the loose bang in place, “A man’s hair is his pride.”
Seeing Naoki in this state impacted Kulora, causing her to giggle loudly but she stifled it post haste. Her own mop of hair was then yanked by the girl in Naoki’s stead. “Ow, ow, ow, ow! Knock it off!” she exclaimed in agony. The girl then became gentle and began to play with Kulora’s hair lightly.
"So, where do you two come from? You don’t seem like any travelers I've seen before. Most of 'em don't have colorful hair at that." stated the girl. They wondered what her fixation with hair was for a moment but dismissed it.
Naoki chuckled at the young girl’s curiosity, “I am a warrior from the land of Rising Sun,” he smiled, “You won’t find anyone else with hair like mine.” he said jokingly as he pat the girl on the head.
Kulora merely shrugged, though she did see this as a chance to pique the girl's interest. "I'm...ah, erm..." Well that failed. Kulora then sighed in defeat and decided to say whatever came to mind. "I have no home, for I am merely Kantou Vagabond, Guitar Case Drifter. I wander the very crags of the world in seek of adventure--" Kulora then silenced herself with a palm planted across her lips before she had said anything anymore embarrassing and nonsensical.
Naoki raised a brow at Kulora’s words. “Is that so? Well that makes me feel better, having a capable partner such as yourself. Kantou-san~” Naoki jested with a large smile on his face. Kulora stared daggers at the man in response, even she had no clue what she just said.
"Woooow," the young girl beamed. "I knew you two were pretty fun!"
Naoki hummed in affirmation, “We are the chosen heroes out to save the world. What else could we be but that?” He said arms crossed with a smug smile across his face.
"Huh? Save the world?" queried the girl. Kulora pulled Naoki close to whisper to him suddenly.
"Don't think it's wise to tell others about our mission, might be too dangerous." whispered Kulora.
“Eh?” Naoki protested, “If those who disagree with our mission wish to face us, let them feel the wrath of the Brave Blademaster Daimyo.” He puffed his chest out arrogantly as if his pride would be compromised if he didn’t.
"Oh, dear. There are some things even we can't face on bravery alone, just trust me on this one..." Kulora advised, she seemed so sure that something may happen if the people of this world were to catch wind of them.
"Ah, well it doesn't matter. It's your secret. Whatever it is though, I wish you two well on it." She girl shot the two a gleaming smile that would melt the coldest of hearts in an instant.
Naoki smiled back and patted her on the head. “Aren’t you a sweet little thing. You’ll grow up to be an upstanding citizen indeed.”
For what seemed like an eternity, the group conversed until they finally met their destination, a rather nondescript town named appropriately as the 'Town of Beginning'. Kulora and Naoki looked on at the busy streets of people as the carriage passed by. People walked through the town going about their business, while few stood in vendors, selling their wares to the local public. It seemed rather...outdated compared to their home; in fact, it hosted a medieval type setting to it. Kulora exited the carriage and fell back into a deep stretch. "I thought we would never get here..." She remarked. She turned to the elderly man and child, bowing tersely. "T-Thank you for you help."
"It's no problem at all. Take care and good luck on your journey." the man waved and whipped his horses to continue on.
Naoki waved back to the man as he left down the street, now in a good mood after being with hospitable company. “Well now,” He said as he began to stretch, “I guess we’ll have to find some place to stay the night.” he suddenly felt Kulora’s hands on his back as he said this. The girl cowered behind him in response to the immense crowd before them. Come to think of it, they did seem to give them strange looks, likely from their outfits.
"Y-Yeah, you're right..." Kulora replied from behind Naoki.
Noticing this, Naoki let out a hearty laugh. “You should take this in your stride.” He said confidently as he returned his gaze at onlookers. “Their stares mean they wish to know you.” He smiled back to her, trying to instil some courage.
"But...but..." Kulora started. Though Naoki was correct, she wasn't completely convinced the passerby citizens' were duly noble in that notion. "I rather not..."
Naoki couldn’t help but sigh though he understood she doesn’t have the same confidence that he has in himself. “Right then,” He said, keeping her behind him, “Let’s find a vacant place to stay.” Picking a random direction to venture, he began to navigate through the crowds.
The duo searched through the streets for any chance of securing any proper lodgings for at least a lengthy fifteen minutes. From their walk from before, the two were already fatigued and hung on the verge of giving up and camping out in the streets. They walked and searched for a vacant inn and were turned down every time until their metaphorical savior came to light-- a large vacancy sign in the window of a sizable Inn that called itself the Snake in the Tree. Noticing the strange name, the duo were a bit skeptical.
Naoki murmured in curiosity of the hotel, “Odd name but it’s the only one with vacancy we’ve found so far.” With those words, he sung the doors open and entered the building. They found that the interior of the establishment was of a burlesque nature, colorful rugs and decorations riddled the place as a bouquet of different hues. Paintings and statues were also a factor in this; such a fancy establishment being vacant of all the other inns throughout the town was very strange indeed. The innkeeper looked over the duo with fixed eyes for a moment, then wore a welcoming smile.
Kulora swallowed her pride, placing a hand in front of Naoki, she decided to take charge and ask for a room. She marched to the counter and leaned casually over it, she parted her lips in anticipation to say something but naught but hot air exited her lungs. She practically deflated and retreated behind Naoki for refuge.
He chuckled at this display but quickly cleared his throat as he approached the innkeeper who also seemed to have enjoyed the little scene just then. “Good day, we are in need of accommodation, however we do not have any of your currency. Would there be a way we could arrange something to work here?” He asked as formally as possible.
The woman placed a finger on her lips in thought of an answer. Her eyes then lit up as she recalled a few openings. "Actually, yeah. Can you cook? We need a chef for a few last minute guests." asked the woman.
Naoki laughed, “Why yes, I do happen to cook. I should warn you though,” he raised a finger as if to lecture her. “Once you’ve had my cooking, you’ll be wanting to hire me full time.” He jested with a smile on his face.
The woman chuckled at the notion. "I sure hope so." She then wore a wry smile as she looked over Naoki’s shoulder to get get a good look at Kulora. "Mmm, we have a position perfect for your friend too." She said with an aroused look in her eyes, scanning Kulora up and down. The now flushed Kulora covered her body with her coat and hid behind Naoki completely.
“Splendid,” Naoki said with a smile, “When would you like us to start?” He asked with enthusiasm.
"Hell, you can start immediately. We're a little short on people here." the girl said happily. Kulora merely flinched at this while Naoki stood proud and unmoved.
“Ow!” Naoki exclaimed at the sudden force. Gently, he got the girl to let go of his hair before he started tending to the traumatized strands. “Careful, young one,” He lectured her as he fixed the loose bang in place, “A man’s hair is his pride.”
Seeing Naoki in this state impacted Kulora, causing her to giggle loudly but she stifled it post haste. Her own mop of hair was then yanked by the girl in Naoki’s stead. “Ow, ow, ow, ow! Knock it off!” she exclaimed in agony. The girl then became gentle and began to play with Kulora’s hair lightly.
"So, where do you two come from? You don’t seem like any travelers I've seen before. Most of 'em don't have colorful hair at that." stated the girl. They wondered what her fixation with hair was for a moment but dismissed it.
Naoki chuckled at the young girl’s curiosity, “I am a warrior from the land of Rising Sun,” he smiled, “You won’t find anyone else with hair like mine.” he said jokingly as he pat the girl on the head.
Kulora merely shrugged, though she did see this as a chance to pique the girl's interest. "I'm...ah, erm..." Well that failed. Kulora then sighed in defeat and decided to say whatever came to mind. "I have no home, for I am merely Kantou Vagabond, Guitar Case Drifter. I wander the very crags of the world in seek of adventure--" Kulora then silenced herself with a palm planted across her lips before she had said anything anymore embarrassing and nonsensical.
Naoki raised a brow at Kulora’s words. “Is that so? Well that makes me feel better, having a capable partner such as yourself. Kantou-san~” Naoki jested with a large smile on his face. Kulora stared daggers at the man in response, even she had no clue what she just said.
"Woooow," the young girl beamed. "I knew you two were pretty fun!"
Naoki hummed in affirmation, “We are the chosen heroes out to save the world. What else could we be but that?” He said arms crossed with a smug smile across his face.
"Huh? Save the world?" queried the girl. Kulora pulled Naoki close to whisper to him suddenly.
"Don't think it's wise to tell others about our mission, might be too dangerous." whispered Kulora.
“Eh?” Naoki protested, “If those who disagree with our mission wish to face us, let them feel the wrath of the Brave Blademaster Daimyo.” He puffed his chest out arrogantly as if his pride would be compromised if he didn’t.
"Oh, dear. There are some things even we can't face on bravery alone, just trust me on this one..." Kulora advised, she seemed so sure that something may happen if the people of this world were to catch wind of them.
"Ah, well it doesn't matter. It's your secret. Whatever it is though, I wish you two well on it." She girl shot the two a gleaming smile that would melt the coldest of hearts in an instant.
Naoki smiled back and patted her on the head. “Aren’t you a sweet little thing. You’ll grow up to be an upstanding citizen indeed.”
For what seemed like an eternity, the group conversed until they finally met their destination, a rather nondescript town named appropriately as the 'Town of Beginning'. Kulora and Naoki looked on at the busy streets of people as the carriage passed by. People walked through the town going about their business, while few stood in vendors, selling their wares to the local public. It seemed rather...outdated compared to their home; in fact, it hosted a medieval type setting to it. Kulora exited the carriage and fell back into a deep stretch. "I thought we would never get here..." She remarked. She turned to the elderly man and child, bowing tersely. "T-Thank you for you help."
"It's no problem at all. Take care and good luck on your journey." the man waved and whipped his horses to continue on.
Naoki waved back to the man as he left down the street, now in a good mood after being with hospitable company. “Well now,” He said as he began to stretch, “I guess we’ll have to find some place to stay the night.” he suddenly felt Kulora’s hands on his back as he said this. The girl cowered behind him in response to the immense crowd before them. Come to think of it, they did seem to give them strange looks, likely from their outfits.
"Y-Yeah, you're right..." Kulora replied from behind Naoki.
Noticing this, Naoki let out a hearty laugh. “You should take this in your stride.” He said confidently as he returned his gaze at onlookers. “Their stares mean they wish to know you.” He smiled back to her, trying to instil some courage.
"But...but..." Kulora started. Though Naoki was correct, she wasn't completely convinced the passerby citizens' were duly noble in that notion. "I rather not..."
Naoki couldn’t help but sigh though he understood she doesn’t have the same confidence that he has in himself. “Right then,” He said, keeping her behind him, “Let’s find a vacant place to stay.” Picking a random direction to venture, he began to navigate through the crowds.
The duo searched through the streets for any chance of securing any proper lodgings for at least a lengthy fifteen minutes. From their walk from before, the two were already fatigued and hung on the verge of giving up and camping out in the streets. They walked and searched for a vacant inn and were turned down every time until their metaphorical savior came to light-- a large vacancy sign in the window of a sizable Inn that called itself the Snake in the Tree. Noticing the strange name, the duo were a bit skeptical.
Naoki murmured in curiosity of the hotel, “Odd name but it’s the only one with vacancy we’ve found so far.” With those words, he sung the doors open and entered the building. They found that the interior of the establishment was of a burlesque nature, colorful rugs and decorations riddled the place as a bouquet of different hues. Paintings and statues were also a factor in this; such a fancy establishment being vacant of all the other inns throughout the town was very strange indeed. The innkeeper looked over the duo with fixed eyes for a moment, then wore a welcoming smile.
Kulora swallowed her pride, placing a hand in front of Naoki, she decided to take charge and ask for a room. She marched to the counter and leaned casually over it, she parted her lips in anticipation to say something but naught but hot air exited her lungs. She practically deflated and retreated behind Naoki for refuge.
He chuckled at this display but quickly cleared his throat as he approached the innkeeper who also seemed to have enjoyed the little scene just then. “Good day, we are in need of accommodation, however we do not have any of your currency. Would there be a way we could arrange something to work here?” He asked as formally as possible.
The woman placed a finger on her lips in thought of an answer. Her eyes then lit up as she recalled a few openings. "Actually, yeah. Can you cook? We need a chef for a few last minute guests." asked the woman.
Naoki laughed, “Why yes, I do happen to cook. I should warn you though,” he raised a finger as if to lecture her. “Once you’ve had my cooking, you’ll be wanting to hire me full time.” He jested with a smile on his face.
The woman chuckled at the notion. "I sure hope so." She then wore a wry smile as she looked over Naoki’s shoulder to get get a good look at Kulora. "Mmm, we have a position perfect for your friend too." She said with an aroused look in her eyes, scanning Kulora up and down. The now flushed Kulora covered her body with her coat and hid behind Naoki completely.
“Splendid,” Naoki said with a smile, “When would you like us to start?” He asked with enthusiasm.
"Hell, you can start immediately. We're a little short on people here." the girl said happily. Kulora merely flinched at this while Naoki stood proud and unmoved.
0
A day had passed since entering the town, and strangely enough, the duo had found work within. Naoki was working in the kitchen of the hotel, funnily enough, his talents weren’t being wasted compared to Kulora. She was assigned to welcome the guests, she was dressed in maid attire and was to bow to the guests professionally as they entered the establishment though, with her timid nature, most customers found this amusing and befitting for the girl; Naoki would describe this as 'kawaii'.
Naoki strutted into the two's newly acquired room while Kulora weakly stumbled in behind him. She sat onto the couch, groaning as she sank into the fabric. "This sucks...I know I like to cosplay but this...this is a travesty. " complained Kulora. "I can’t tell you how many men hit on me, same goes for a few women..."
“Come on now, that just means you’re doing your job well.” Naoki reasoned while he took off his chef apparel. “I’m telling you, you should take this in your stride.”
"Easy for you to say...you're used to speaking to people." protested Kulora. However from her complaints from others weren’t completely solid, some part of her didn't mind it, although Naoki didn’t know that. "I'm a shut-in, a NEET. I can’t do this type of thing."
“Even the greatest of archers begin incapable of pulling back a bow.” Naoki retorted, “Your nervousness with people is simply because you’re unaccustomed to it. I mean, you’re fine with talking to me, aren’t you?” He asked rhetorically. “This should be a good start for you, cosplay gives you courage and honestly you pull off the maid look very good.” He nodded in affirmation, “Mmm, indeed, in fact I’d have to rate you as one of my top in terms of looks.”
“That is why!” He struck a declarative pose, “We’ve got to work on your communication skills so that you can play the part.” Bringing a finger up, Naoki began to enter his lecture/rant mode. “Listen, cosplay involves both the appearance of the costume and playing of the role. You cannot have one without the other.” He brought up a finger from his other hand to resemble to two aspects and brought them together.
“You get it? This is cosplay and you play the role of a greeter for this hotel.” He stood up and began to make large gestures to add emphasis to his words. “Greeters play an important role to an establishment, they are the business’ front line. The greeter’s actions give their customers a first impression on what kind of place this is.” As he bantered on, his eyes seemed to burn with a hot passion. “In my wonderful land of Japan, our maid cafes are one of the best in the world. Why? All of the maids working there, no matter what circumstance, were cheerful and kept a smile on their face for the sake of the customer’s experience.”
To add drama, he dropped back down onto his chair, folding his arms across as he continued his exposition. “And now, with the fall of civilization, that culture is lost. . . “ He sighed in exasperation at the loss. “Do you get it now?” Naoki asked Kulora, “You are the only one who can do this!” Standing up once again from his chair, he pointed to Kulora, “Your courage to adorn and look kawaii where no one else would makes you the only hope of maid culture.” Naoki’s words overflowed with passion and he almost looked as if he were set ablaze, “For the sake of all the lost maids left behind on earth, you must carry on their will and bring about happiness in the lives of our customers! Furthermore, the thought of losing such an outstanding candidate would tear a void irreplaceable in my heart. I DO NOT WANT THAT!”
Naoki’s words overflowed within Kulora’s psyche, and a long winded sigh welled up through her lungs. "Well, I suppose you do make some valid points..." said Kulora in acceptance of the occupation. She sighed again, rubbing the very pit of her forehead. "I guess I could stick with this for a bit longer." the girl then said, meekly pulling her head down to the floor.
"Should I had told him about the innkeeper woman attempting to molest me in the changing room...? Nah, I'm sure it'll be fine." Kulora suddenly thought as she stood up from her seat, straightening out her dress.
“Excellent,” Naoki said in delight, “Well, it’s been a long day now. How about you go take a shower. I’ll go after you.” He offered as he took a seat down.
"Thanks," Kulora said, grabbing a towel from a nearby closet. She then entered the bathroom, with a light slam, Kulora shut the door behind her. The faucet was heard from outside the bathroom as it turned, within a few seconds the entire bathroom was engulfed in steam.
As Kulora washed off in the bathroom, Naoki sighed in exhaustion. He hadn’t had to work in front of a stove for that long in ages. Eying his sword from across the room, he realized this was a good opportunity to see what exactly it was.
Holding it in his hands, he was still taken aback by the craftsmanship of the blade, it certainly wasn’t anything ordinary as he had found out from wielding it. “Just what are you. . . “ He asked, not expecting an answer entirely though he thought it’d be pretty awesome if his sword could talk. Gripping it’s handle, he thought back to the times he used it. “. . . Matsukaze. Your name is Matsukaze.” He declared with a smile. The sound of running water had stopped, the door flew open and with an array of steam seeping into the room, out came Kulora, still dripping wet from head to toe in her towel.
Naoki looked over to the soaking wet Kulora, “Ah, that was pretty quick.” He remarked, getting up to take his turn.
"H-Hold on a minute..." Kulora halted. She looked a little distressed. "Where. are. my. clothes?" She shot an accusatory glare his way, assuming Naoki did something to her usual attire. It was understandable, though he was the only guy there.
“Your. . . clothes?” Naoki asked puzzled as he tilted his head. “I haven’t seen them.” He responded, paying no mind to her gleaming wet figure or at the least he wasn’t fazed by it.
Kulora’s face straightened out a bit, it was foolish of her to assume Naoki of all people would be responsible for her lost garments. "Then what happened to them?" She asked, looking around the room as if that would help.
Suddenly a loud crash was heard in the bedroom and as the only two people seemingly living in that room, the two thought it would be best to investigate. As the two both piled into the room they noticed a silhouette which seemed to be up to no good. It rummaged through what seemed like a massive pile of discarded clothes which at first sight looked like it belonged to someone else, instead it was Kulora’s outfit in a pile on the floor. A head popped from the cloth debris, that mop of jet black hair and horns... it was unmistakable that Asahina decided to do a little mischief of her own. The delinquent demon girl had something on her head as well, one would think that it was a stylish hat except...It had decorations of an animated bear and a bow on the middle...? No, what she wore on her head was nowhere close to a hat. Instead-- Kulora’s panties lied over that dome, and Asahina wore an accomplished smile.
"A-Asahina!" The still-wet Kulora called out rather flustered.
The Demon girl turned to the two and smiled, completely oblivious to what she had done. "Oh, hey guys!" She greeted nonchalantly. "Wow, Ku-chan. You got a really nice body for a shut-in!" The girl found herself gawking at Kulora in her state of undress, practically removing the towel with her eyes.
Naoki jumped in between the two, “OY ONI!” He called out pointing an accusatory finger. “You dare steal an innocent maiden’s undergarments!?” He indicted before furrowing his brows “Hmm? I remember this from somewhere. . .” He thought to himself before dismissing it as simply him remembering the numerous times in anime such a hallmark trope occurred.
Asahina scoffed and wore a face that would easily resemble a cat's, though her horns made it seem so uncanny. "Oh you Humans, chastising someone for an act you were gonna do yourself." quipped Asahina, implying Naoki’s words weren't noble.
“Hmph.” Naoki couldn’t argue that. “Though I’d rather wear Ichi-chan’s panties on my head” He remarked to himself. “Well? Why are you here?” He asked, his arms crossed to signify his irate mood, “Surely the daughter of Enma has better things to do than rummage through our clothing.”
Asahina raised an eyebrow as if she had no clue what the man was talking about but then shouted in enlightenment with a loud "Oh!". She poked her forehead for a moment to conjure up an answer, would be bad to come all this way and forget your reasoning. A metaphorical light bulb went off in Asahina’s head, she put a finger up and parted her lips. "Old man told me to tell you guys, ahem!" she snapped her fingers and with a spark of flame came a piece of paper. "...To get ready for an upcoming storm, he said. His words not mine." Asahina read out the paper slowly and without tone almost like an uninterested robot. She then tossed the paper aside like it was nothing.
“I see,” Naoki nodded, “So that bastard’s already throwing his first challenge at us.” A smile crept onto his face, “Very well. Let him see what the Brave Blademaster Daimyo is. He’ll regret thinking of me so lightly.”
"Ohoho, I sure hope so," Asahina scoffed. She pulled a fan from her kimono and promptly cooled herself off. "It'd be pretty interesting to see you pull this off. Especially since one of you don't have the ovaries to speak a proper sentence without sounding like a dusty record." She joked, darting an eye slightly to Kulora who stood behind Naoki. "I want you two to realize that you're steppin' up against God, y'know. Won't be a simple bike ride through heaven if you think about it." She turned around, fanning her face casually. "By the way..." Asahina began, her voice trailed off a bit. "I forgot to mention that he who kills god must take his throne-- the catch? There can be only one winner. What will you two do when you get up there and are stumped on who with inherit the position, eh?"
Kulora then stepped forward, her meek and embarrassed face was replaced with a mask of genuine anger. "That's enough, Asahina." She interrupted with a stern expression "You and your so-called god can do all you want to turn Naoki and I against each other; it won't work." the girl approached Asahina almost to the point where she towered over her. "You tell him, that if he dares to hurt my friend, or any other person he hadn’t already, I'll do everything in my power to run this sword right through his throat..." with a sudden ball flame, Kulora’s sword then appeared into her hand.
“Well said,” Naoki remarked as he came up by Kulora, “As the Brave Blademaster Daimyo, I cannot let that monster do as he pleases anymore. He shall taste the steel of my blade and repent for what he has done!” He declared, pulling out his sword as he did.
"Hmph, humans are as bold as he says...stupid, but bold nevertheless." Asahina thought, smiling. She shrugged, knowing full well that the two weren’t playing around. "Well in any case, you two may would want get a move on come tomorrow, I'll check on you kids later, peace!" as she then vanished from the room, Kulora sighed in exasperation.
"That girl is starting to piss me off more and more..." commented Kulora as she searched the floor for her scrawled attire, growing tense as she realized they weren't there. "Oh, no, no, no, no. Did she just take my clothes? THAT BITCH, DOES SHE REALIZE THAT WAS MY LAST COSTUME!? I WILL END HER!" Kulora sounded off in sheer fury, her eyes looked like they ignited in flames.
“Hmm, that’s a problem.” Naoki murmured as he cupped his chin in contemplation. “Well, at least you still have the maid outfit.” He remarked, trying to comfort her. “You’ll just have to make due with that.”
Kulora grimaced, in a stroke of unfortunate events, she ended up having to wear the maid uniform after all. Though with Naoki’s pep talk it can be easily remedied to think it as a cosplay-- however there's the matter of Kulora’s lacking undergarments, the very thought flustered her. "Damn you, Asahina..." The girl thought to herself holding up a fist in quivering anger. Kulora sighed in defeat, knowing it might be a problem moving around, and fighting in that skirt.
"Welp, in that case you're sleeping outside." Kulora said simply, walking away, smiling wryly from the corner of her eye.
Naoki didn’t respond, only stood in place and lowered his head in frustration. “Damn that oni.” He cursed under his breath as he went to grab his things. Although sleeping out was nothing more than an inconvenience, he was contributing to the rent of their room.
"G'night~." Kulora said to Naoki as he exited, while he did she peeled off her towel with the intent to sleep in the nude. One might wonder what will unfold come the next morning, if things will get awry like Asahina said then the two would need to work on their structure as a team.
Naoki strutted into the two's newly acquired room while Kulora weakly stumbled in behind him. She sat onto the couch, groaning as she sank into the fabric. "This sucks...I know I like to cosplay but this...this is a travesty. " complained Kulora. "I can’t tell you how many men hit on me, same goes for a few women..."
“Come on now, that just means you’re doing your job well.” Naoki reasoned while he took off his chef apparel. “I’m telling you, you should take this in your stride.”
"Easy for you to say...you're used to speaking to people." protested Kulora. However from her complaints from others weren’t completely solid, some part of her didn't mind it, although Naoki didn’t know that. "I'm a shut-in, a NEET. I can’t do this type of thing."
“Even the greatest of archers begin incapable of pulling back a bow.” Naoki retorted, “Your nervousness with people is simply because you’re unaccustomed to it. I mean, you’re fine with talking to me, aren’t you?” He asked rhetorically. “This should be a good start for you, cosplay gives you courage and honestly you pull off the maid look very good.” He nodded in affirmation, “Mmm, indeed, in fact I’d have to rate you as one of my top in terms of looks.”
“That is why!” He struck a declarative pose, “We’ve got to work on your communication skills so that you can play the part.” Bringing a finger up, Naoki began to enter his lecture/rant mode. “Listen, cosplay involves both the appearance of the costume and playing of the role. You cannot have one without the other.” He brought up a finger from his other hand to resemble to two aspects and brought them together.
“You get it? This is cosplay and you play the role of a greeter for this hotel.” He stood up and began to make large gestures to add emphasis to his words. “Greeters play an important role to an establishment, they are the business’ front line. The greeter’s actions give their customers a first impression on what kind of place this is.” As he bantered on, his eyes seemed to burn with a hot passion. “In my wonderful land of Japan, our maid cafes are one of the best in the world. Why? All of the maids working there, no matter what circumstance, were cheerful and kept a smile on their face for the sake of the customer’s experience.”
To add drama, he dropped back down onto his chair, folding his arms across as he continued his exposition. “And now, with the fall of civilization, that culture is lost. . . “ He sighed in exasperation at the loss. “Do you get it now?” Naoki asked Kulora, “You are the only one who can do this!” Standing up once again from his chair, he pointed to Kulora, “Your courage to adorn and look kawaii where no one else would makes you the only hope of maid culture.” Naoki’s words overflowed with passion and he almost looked as if he were set ablaze, “For the sake of all the lost maids left behind on earth, you must carry on their will and bring about happiness in the lives of our customers! Furthermore, the thought of losing such an outstanding candidate would tear a void irreplaceable in my heart. I DO NOT WANT THAT!”
Naoki’s words overflowed within Kulora’s psyche, and a long winded sigh welled up through her lungs. "Well, I suppose you do make some valid points..." said Kulora in acceptance of the occupation. She sighed again, rubbing the very pit of her forehead. "I guess I could stick with this for a bit longer." the girl then said, meekly pulling her head down to the floor.
"Should I had told him about the innkeeper woman attempting to molest me in the changing room...? Nah, I'm sure it'll be fine." Kulora suddenly thought as she stood up from her seat, straightening out her dress.
“Excellent,” Naoki said in delight, “Well, it’s been a long day now. How about you go take a shower. I’ll go after you.” He offered as he took a seat down.
"Thanks," Kulora said, grabbing a towel from a nearby closet. She then entered the bathroom, with a light slam, Kulora shut the door behind her. The faucet was heard from outside the bathroom as it turned, within a few seconds the entire bathroom was engulfed in steam.
As Kulora washed off in the bathroom, Naoki sighed in exhaustion. He hadn’t had to work in front of a stove for that long in ages. Eying his sword from across the room, he realized this was a good opportunity to see what exactly it was.
Holding it in his hands, he was still taken aback by the craftsmanship of the blade, it certainly wasn’t anything ordinary as he had found out from wielding it. “Just what are you. . . “ He asked, not expecting an answer entirely though he thought it’d be pretty awesome if his sword could talk. Gripping it’s handle, he thought back to the times he used it. “. . . Matsukaze. Your name is Matsukaze.” He declared with a smile. The sound of running water had stopped, the door flew open and with an array of steam seeping into the room, out came Kulora, still dripping wet from head to toe in her towel.
Naoki looked over to the soaking wet Kulora, “Ah, that was pretty quick.” He remarked, getting up to take his turn.
"H-Hold on a minute..." Kulora halted. She looked a little distressed. "Where. are. my. clothes?" She shot an accusatory glare his way, assuming Naoki did something to her usual attire. It was understandable, though he was the only guy there.
“Your. . . clothes?” Naoki asked puzzled as he tilted his head. “I haven’t seen them.” He responded, paying no mind to her gleaming wet figure or at the least he wasn’t fazed by it.
Kulora’s face straightened out a bit, it was foolish of her to assume Naoki of all people would be responsible for her lost garments. "Then what happened to them?" She asked, looking around the room as if that would help.
Suddenly a loud crash was heard in the bedroom and as the only two people seemingly living in that room, the two thought it would be best to investigate. As the two both piled into the room they noticed a silhouette which seemed to be up to no good. It rummaged through what seemed like a massive pile of discarded clothes which at first sight looked like it belonged to someone else, instead it was Kulora’s outfit in a pile on the floor. A head popped from the cloth debris, that mop of jet black hair and horns... it was unmistakable that Asahina decided to do a little mischief of her own. The delinquent demon girl had something on her head as well, one would think that it was a stylish hat except...It had decorations of an animated bear and a bow on the middle...? No, what she wore on her head was nowhere close to a hat. Instead-- Kulora’s panties lied over that dome, and Asahina wore an accomplished smile.
"A-Asahina!" The still-wet Kulora called out rather flustered.
The Demon girl turned to the two and smiled, completely oblivious to what she had done. "Oh, hey guys!" She greeted nonchalantly. "Wow, Ku-chan. You got a really nice body for a shut-in!" The girl found herself gawking at Kulora in her state of undress, practically removing the towel with her eyes.
Naoki jumped in between the two, “OY ONI!” He called out pointing an accusatory finger. “You dare steal an innocent maiden’s undergarments!?” He indicted before furrowing his brows “Hmm? I remember this from somewhere. . .” He thought to himself before dismissing it as simply him remembering the numerous times in anime such a hallmark trope occurred.
Asahina scoffed and wore a face that would easily resemble a cat's, though her horns made it seem so uncanny. "Oh you Humans, chastising someone for an act you were gonna do yourself." quipped Asahina, implying Naoki’s words weren't noble.
“Hmph.” Naoki couldn’t argue that. “Though I’d rather wear Ichi-chan’s panties on my head” He remarked to himself. “Well? Why are you here?” He asked, his arms crossed to signify his irate mood, “Surely the daughter of Enma has better things to do than rummage through our clothing.”
Asahina raised an eyebrow as if she had no clue what the man was talking about but then shouted in enlightenment with a loud "Oh!". She poked her forehead for a moment to conjure up an answer, would be bad to come all this way and forget your reasoning. A metaphorical light bulb went off in Asahina’s head, she put a finger up and parted her lips. "Old man told me to tell you guys, ahem!" she snapped her fingers and with a spark of flame came a piece of paper. "...To get ready for an upcoming storm, he said. His words not mine." Asahina read out the paper slowly and without tone almost like an uninterested robot. She then tossed the paper aside like it was nothing.
“I see,” Naoki nodded, “So that bastard’s already throwing his first challenge at us.” A smile crept onto his face, “Very well. Let him see what the Brave Blademaster Daimyo is. He’ll regret thinking of me so lightly.”
"Ohoho, I sure hope so," Asahina scoffed. She pulled a fan from her kimono and promptly cooled herself off. "It'd be pretty interesting to see you pull this off. Especially since one of you don't have the ovaries to speak a proper sentence without sounding like a dusty record." She joked, darting an eye slightly to Kulora who stood behind Naoki. "I want you two to realize that you're steppin' up against God, y'know. Won't be a simple bike ride through heaven if you think about it." She turned around, fanning her face casually. "By the way..." Asahina began, her voice trailed off a bit. "I forgot to mention that he who kills god must take his throne-- the catch? There can be only one winner. What will you two do when you get up there and are stumped on who with inherit the position, eh?"
Kulora then stepped forward, her meek and embarrassed face was replaced with a mask of genuine anger. "That's enough, Asahina." She interrupted with a stern expression "You and your so-called god can do all you want to turn Naoki and I against each other; it won't work." the girl approached Asahina almost to the point where she towered over her. "You tell him, that if he dares to hurt my friend, or any other person he hadn’t already, I'll do everything in my power to run this sword right through his throat..." with a sudden ball flame, Kulora’s sword then appeared into her hand.
“Well said,” Naoki remarked as he came up by Kulora, “As the Brave Blademaster Daimyo, I cannot let that monster do as he pleases anymore. He shall taste the steel of my blade and repent for what he has done!” He declared, pulling out his sword as he did.
"Hmph, humans are as bold as he says...stupid, but bold nevertheless." Asahina thought, smiling. She shrugged, knowing full well that the two weren’t playing around. "Well in any case, you two may would want get a move on come tomorrow, I'll check on you kids later, peace!" as she then vanished from the room, Kulora sighed in exasperation.
"That girl is starting to piss me off more and more..." commented Kulora as she searched the floor for her scrawled attire, growing tense as she realized they weren't there. "Oh, no, no, no, no. Did she just take my clothes? THAT BITCH, DOES SHE REALIZE THAT WAS MY LAST COSTUME!? I WILL END HER!" Kulora sounded off in sheer fury, her eyes looked like they ignited in flames.
“Hmm, that’s a problem.” Naoki murmured as he cupped his chin in contemplation. “Well, at least you still have the maid outfit.” He remarked, trying to comfort her. “You’ll just have to make due with that.”
Kulora grimaced, in a stroke of unfortunate events, she ended up having to wear the maid uniform after all. Though with Naoki’s pep talk it can be easily remedied to think it as a cosplay-- however there's the matter of Kulora’s lacking undergarments, the very thought flustered her. "Damn you, Asahina..." The girl thought to herself holding up a fist in quivering anger. Kulora sighed in defeat, knowing it might be a problem moving around, and fighting in that skirt.
"Welp, in that case you're sleeping outside." Kulora said simply, walking away, smiling wryly from the corner of her eye.
Naoki didn’t respond, only stood in place and lowered his head in frustration. “Damn that oni.” He cursed under his breath as he went to grab his things. Although sleeping out was nothing more than an inconvenience, he was contributing to the rent of their room.
"G'night~." Kulora said to Naoki as he exited, while he did she peeled off her towel with the intent to sleep in the nude. One might wonder what will unfold come the next morning, if things will get awry like Asahina said then the two would need to work on their structure as a team.
0
The next day, it was business as usual for the town. The stalls buzzed with the sound of bartering and people went about their business along the streets. A group of young men were walking, chatting to themselves as they did, without a notice of where they were going. As they turned to enter a side street, one of them suddenly bumped into someone.
“Oh, sorry there mate. Didn’t see. . . you. . . “ Looking to the person he crossed paths with, he was shocked to find himself standing before an ogre. Standing at 8 feet with dark green and calloused skin, the monster looked down on the lad with little consideration, hocking a large ball of spit and shooting it out onto the between them. Slowly, the young man backed away into the main street as did his companions, the ogre pacing forward as well.
The ogre, now in plain sight, came to the attention of more and more citizens and suddenly, panic broke out as people cleared the area. The ogre let out an expression of disdain as a band of trolls followed him out onto the street. Giving a signal, they all rushed in several directions, chasing after citizens and capturing them at random. “Time for a little announcement.” The towering monster remarked as he continued down the road, leaving the chaos to his underlings.
Meanwhile in the inn, Naoki was preoccupied with preparing a meal for an important customer while Kulora remained at the front door confidently bowing to visitors; a significant difference compared to the other day, only now she was faced with the challenge of keeping her skirt leveled.
A citizen suddenly barged in, he seemed so distressed that he nearly knocked Kulora over in the process. He was sweating profusely, so much that his shirt had a large spot on it. There was a long silence inside the building with the visitors as they all stopped to peer at the gentleman. He looked as if he wanted to say something, but his fatigue from running weighed on him. After one last breath of air, the man parted his lips. “M-M-Monsters!” he screamed at the top of his lungs. This threw the citizens into a frenzy and without a second to waste they all began to sprint for the door.
“WAIT A MINUTE!” Yelled Kulora, her voice overlapped the worried clamors of the citizens, reducing them to mere murmurs. She stood in front of the door with both hands on her hips, wearing a stern frown. “You all will wait here and hide. Me and Naoki will handle this.” Ordered Kulora.
“You’re insane!” yelled a citizen within the crowd. “Those things’ll tear you both apart!”
A scoff could be heard from behind them. Turning around, the crowd saw Naoki standing with a smug grin and a plate of food. “Insane, maybe.” He remarked, setting the plate down on the customer’s table, “Weak, unlikely. I am a warrior of the Rising Sun and I won’t let these monsters terrorize as long as I’m still breathing.” Walking up to Kulora at the entrance, he called a powerful wind which summoned Matsukaze into his hand. “Let’s do this.”
Kulora nodded, a ball of flame grew expeditiously into her hand, forming into a katana. She peeked from the inn door for a moment to count what they were up against. “Two, three...four trolls...one ogre, shit.” she thought. “Looks like this God really is giving us a run for our money.” She jabbed Naoki on the shoulder, beckoning him to follow suit. The two pushed out of the inn and took fighting poses as soon as the monsters sniffed out their position.
Spotting the two, the ogre immediately identified them as the ones they were looking for and smiled maliciously. “Welcome.” he greeted sarcastically as he presented the scene before them. Trolls stood in standby around several civilians held hostage and tied to whatever posts they could find.
Seeing this, Naoki became visually angry. “Ora, ora, ora!” He shouted, pointing his sword at the ogre, “You monsters dare take these people captive?!” Although it is the natural course of action for a creature so despicable, it angered him nonetheless. “Just you wait, Oni. Till I take your head!” The ogre did nothing but laugh in response before signalling his trolls to attack.
Kulora drew her sword as a troll approached, moistening it's lips to get a hold of her. Like a flash of light, the girl swung her sword in an arc, cutting into the beast, though it was not enough to kill him. It reeled backwards and retreated back to it's group feeling the sting of the strike.
Another charged Naoki, arms ready to attack him. As he came closer, Naoki gave a smirk before dashing forward at breakneck speed and preemptively striked him, leaving a nice cut along it’s torso before the monster ran back to it’s group like the one before him. Naoki scoffed before jumping back to formation along Kulora.
The troll that was previously attacked by Naoki wagged his head from the pain and set it's sights on the timid maid girl, slipping passed her guard, it managed to gain a lucky strike on her. She fell back to the ground, her skirt partially floated upwards but she managed to keep it down. Kulora managed to gain a hollow scratch from the beast.
As the successful troll returned to formation, the Ogre prepared to strike next. Identifying Naoki as the higher threat, he began his charge towards him. Watching this, Naoki stood his ground as the monster closed in. With an evil grin, the ogre charged his fist down at Naoki but only struck ground as the green haired warrior jumped back to a safe distance. “Slow.” Naoki remarked as he readied his sword, the ogre only clicked his tongue in disappointment as he fell back to formation.
Seeing it's leader fail to strike the green haired fellow low, one of the other Trolls thought it was time to step up to the plate, seeing that red haired woman fumble with her skirt was a sight to see, however. It gritted it's teeth as it snuck in on the side for Kulora, however the girl saw him from the corner of her eye, jumping back to her feet and evading the monster's attack. "Tch, you'll have to move faster than that." scoffed Kulora.
Another began it’s attack, targeting Naoki this time. Going for the full frontal, it charged as fast as it could before lunging towards him. For Naoki, this was only a matter of stepping to the side as he let the creature pass him. Disappointed, the troll backed away from Naoki who only gave him a snide grin.
As expected, another troll rushed for Kulora’s position, starting into a mad dash for the girl. Jumping, he brought his sword downward and knowing Kulora, her first reaction would be to hide behind something. She put her katana in front of her face and to her surprise, the troll’s weapon slid across the surface, somewhat scratching the side of Kulora’s face.
"Care to take the reigns, Takahara?" asked Kulora to Naoki, confident to the fight. Although she knew they won't be able dodge for too long. Naoki only grinned as he held up his sword, eyeing down his foes.
Spotting the one with the sword, Naoki reckoned that wound of his was slowing him down. Drawing back his sword, he charged forwards towards the creature before striking diagonally across it’s torso before retreating back to formation still with a smirk on his face.
Taking her chance, Kulora decided the troll overstayed it's welcome in this world, the blade of her katana burned brightly as energy flowed through the girl. She smiled heavily at the near-dead troll before lashing an arc of flame at it; the flame lingered, too. Without a moment to realize, the troll was engulfed in flames and Kulora was entranced as she watched the troll burn, rapidly reducing the beast to ash.
Angered by this, another troll targeted Naoki charging forward with his teeth bared. Jumping into the air, he lunged and managed a hit on Naoki. Leaving a scratch on his arm, Naoki winced as the creature fell back to the group. Though it wasn’t so much the pain that got to him as it was that the attack left a nice cut down his coat sleeve, “Damn oni, I’m gonna gut you alive!” Naoki threatened, waving his sword in fury.
The ogre decided to take a shot at Kulora after it’s failed attempt with Naoki. The brute swiped his arm towards the girl’s feet with the intention to grab her, it failed however as Kulora leaped over the beast, evading it’s grip by a single hair. She could hear the ogre groan in annoyance of the group’s fleet of foot.
Stealing the opportunity, the second troll made charge at the still venting Naoki, Diving down and striking his other arm, the creature managed a cut on him before retreating. Naoki once again winced but wasn’t a visual in his anger this time as before. Instead taking a deep breath, his eyes relit with a determined expression to utterly destroy these monsters. Same as Naoki, one of the trolls sprinted by and slipped by Kulora’s guard, slashing at her leg a bit. She grit her teeth annoyingly from the recurring pain and scowled at the troublesome beasts.
“Bastards…” Kulora snapped, once more her sword emanated in flames, she had half a mind to lash another flame sweep at the beasts but paused as she looked to Naoki, who was also itching to get an attack out as well. She suddenly got an idea, Naoki seemed to get it as well, looking back to her. She smirked visibly at him, which he returned with a nod and larger grin.
“Alright, let’s do this!” He shouted as a torrential aura began to build up around him. Bring his blade back as if ready to strike, Kulora could see from her spot the winds gathering Naoki’s blade. “Tatsumaki! REPPU-ZAN!” With his kiai, he swung his blade horizontally and a slashing gust of wind began speeding towards the mob of enemies. With this, Kulora released the eager flames from her Katana, into Naoki’s Reppuzan. The flames then merged into the violent winds if not becoming them itself, crashing into the mob of monsters. Some of the remaining trolls sustained a significant amount of damage from the attack while the ogre merely dusted himself off a bit.
Beholding the sight of the trolls in flames, Naoki let out a mighty laugh. “This is,” He struck his pose, “Hissatsu; FURINKAZAN!” He declared in a gutsy manner, almost enough to make large strokes of kanji appear behind him.“This is our strength put together; swift as wind, fierce as fire. Truly, the Wargod Shingen smiles upon us.” He let out another laugh, feeling assured of their victory even more.
"Don't get too excited," Kulora noted. "Apparently that wasn't enough to stump 'em." She said almost low in spirits. She stepped forward next to Naoki with her sword propped over her shoulder. She was starting to get annoyed from this little bout. The ogre interrupted Kulora as he cooked his hand backwards and made contact with her body, the force of the impact flung her into a building. It did not kill her but she possibly broke a few ribs. "Uhn..." Kulora managed to struggle back to her feet, eyeing down the ogre angrily.
Her golden pupils widened, emanating a dim light like two suns from afar. The flames on her sword began to spread onto her leg, then her clothes, the next thing she knew it, her entire body was engulfed in flames. She stood unmoved from the searing burns, or the heat. "...I want to see you burn-- no, I NEED to see you burn!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. She ignored her sustained injuries, almost as if the flames in her lungs circulated throughout her body, which kept her from faltering.
“Oh boy,” Naoki remarked as he witnessed Kulora’s change of character, “Guess I got to up my game as well.”As those words left his mouth, he took off towards the burning mob. Targeting the most weakened one and with one swift strike, separated its head from it’s body.
Hoping to take him off guard, the ogre came up behind Naoki with his fist at the ready. Throwing a right hook, Naoki brought up his sword and managed to take the brunt of the monster’s strike. Peaking up at the ogre, Naoki gave a smug smirk before jumping back in line with Kulora.
Kulora readied her blade and dug her feet into the ground, running into a wild dash for the ogre, tracking flames into the ground with each step she made. She ran upward along the Ogre’s arm and jumped over his head, dropping down into a slash towards his shoulder. The flames from her blade lingered from the attack, igniting the ogre’s wound in flames. Kulora landed on her feet and jumped back to Naoki’s position like a flash of light.
The remaining trolls managed to regain their composure as the fire dispersed from their bodies, returning their sights to the duo. Realizing this, Naoki prepared to strike at another. With a clean strike, he cut through the beast, mortally wounding it before he retreated
From afar, Kulora sheathed her blade, eyes planted at the ogre. Flames slowly grew inside the scabbard from the prolonged time inside, waiting to be unleashed. Almost like a flash she loosed her sword at the ogre, a large dragon-like flame emerged from the slash and engulfed the Ogre’s entire body. The flames then dispersed, revealing the now weakened Ogre, his knees buckled for a moment from the sheer force of the attack, receiving a few extra scars along his body. Seeing this, one of the final two trolls took a heated dash towards Kulora in hopes that it would make contact with the girl, in hope to finish her off. Evidently the enraged girl made a swift sidestep, evading by the skin of her teeth. Similarly, Naoki dodged an attack made by the remaining troll. A smirk laid on his face as he could tell they were nearing their end.
“Alright, the finisher!” Naoki declared as wind picked up around his blade. “REPPU-ZAN!!”He shouted, swinging his sword upwards and launching a cutting gale towards the ogre. The monster, covered himself with crossed arms and the gale flew past, leaving minor cuts along them. “Tch, only grazed him.” Naoki remarked, disappointed. From the corner of his eyes, Naoki spotted Kulora charge past him to finish his slack. The girl turned her sword backwards so that her hilt faced the front of her hand, she ran for the ogre’s leg, causing a deep laceration into it’s flesh.
The ogre finally fell, dead. Seeing their leader fall, the trolls were alone and wounded to the point where they might keel over as well, they stared in fear of the two warriors before them, damn near pissing themselves in the process. They nearly tripped over themselves as they fled the town. "Heh...that’s more like it. Run like the cowards you ar--” Kulora began before falling to her knees abruptly, dropping her sword. The flames which surmounted the girl’s body had simmered, a heavy steam emanated from her.
Naoki walked up behind her and rested a hand on her shoulder before recoiling it back from the heat. “We’re gonna need to patch you up.” He remarked as he scanned the area for people, “You fought hard out there. Good work.”
“You weren’t...bad yourself, Daimyo.” Kulora struggled to say as she attempted to struggle to her feet, she faltered of course, her injuries were serious. The civilians the beasts had taken hostage ran up to the duo, all relieved that they were saved in the nick of time. They stood amazed from witnessing the maid girl and the green haired samurai in action. A storm of applause came from within the crowd, same as from the inside of the inn. A few villagers came along to assist Kulora, tossing the girl into their arms, but reeled for a moment as she was still encumbered by steam. Her skirt nearly flew up once more, but as if by instinct, she straightened it down quickly.
She smiled visibly at Naoki, as she did not care about the crowd for that moment, she was just content to be finished with the fight. Perhaps the two were fit to be called heroes.
“Oh, sorry there mate. Didn’t see. . . you. . . “ Looking to the person he crossed paths with, he was shocked to find himself standing before an ogre. Standing at 8 feet with dark green and calloused skin, the monster looked down on the lad with little consideration, hocking a large ball of spit and shooting it out onto the between them. Slowly, the young man backed away into the main street as did his companions, the ogre pacing forward as well.
The ogre, now in plain sight, came to the attention of more and more citizens and suddenly, panic broke out as people cleared the area. The ogre let out an expression of disdain as a band of trolls followed him out onto the street. Giving a signal, they all rushed in several directions, chasing after citizens and capturing them at random. “Time for a little announcement.” The towering monster remarked as he continued down the road, leaving the chaos to his underlings.
Meanwhile in the inn, Naoki was preoccupied with preparing a meal for an important customer while Kulora remained at the front door confidently bowing to visitors; a significant difference compared to the other day, only now she was faced with the challenge of keeping her skirt leveled.
A citizen suddenly barged in, he seemed so distressed that he nearly knocked Kulora over in the process. He was sweating profusely, so much that his shirt had a large spot on it. There was a long silence inside the building with the visitors as they all stopped to peer at the gentleman. He looked as if he wanted to say something, but his fatigue from running weighed on him. After one last breath of air, the man parted his lips. “M-M-Monsters!” he screamed at the top of his lungs. This threw the citizens into a frenzy and without a second to waste they all began to sprint for the door.
“WAIT A MINUTE!” Yelled Kulora, her voice overlapped the worried clamors of the citizens, reducing them to mere murmurs. She stood in front of the door with both hands on her hips, wearing a stern frown. “You all will wait here and hide. Me and Naoki will handle this.” Ordered Kulora.
“You’re insane!” yelled a citizen within the crowd. “Those things’ll tear you both apart!”
A scoff could be heard from behind them. Turning around, the crowd saw Naoki standing with a smug grin and a plate of food. “Insane, maybe.” He remarked, setting the plate down on the customer’s table, “Weak, unlikely. I am a warrior of the Rising Sun and I won’t let these monsters terrorize as long as I’m still breathing.” Walking up to Kulora at the entrance, he called a powerful wind which summoned Matsukaze into his hand. “Let’s do this.”
Kulora nodded, a ball of flame grew expeditiously into her hand, forming into a katana. She peeked from the inn door for a moment to count what they were up against. “Two, three...four trolls...one ogre, shit.” she thought. “Looks like this God really is giving us a run for our money.” She jabbed Naoki on the shoulder, beckoning him to follow suit. The two pushed out of the inn and took fighting poses as soon as the monsters sniffed out their position.
Spotting the two, the ogre immediately identified them as the ones they were looking for and smiled maliciously. “Welcome.” he greeted sarcastically as he presented the scene before them. Trolls stood in standby around several civilians held hostage and tied to whatever posts they could find.
Seeing this, Naoki became visually angry. “Ora, ora, ora!” He shouted, pointing his sword at the ogre, “You monsters dare take these people captive?!” Although it is the natural course of action for a creature so despicable, it angered him nonetheless. “Just you wait, Oni. Till I take your head!” The ogre did nothing but laugh in response before signalling his trolls to attack.
Kulora drew her sword as a troll approached, moistening it's lips to get a hold of her. Like a flash of light, the girl swung her sword in an arc, cutting into the beast, though it was not enough to kill him. It reeled backwards and retreated back to it's group feeling the sting of the strike.
Another charged Naoki, arms ready to attack him. As he came closer, Naoki gave a smirk before dashing forward at breakneck speed and preemptively striked him, leaving a nice cut along it’s torso before the monster ran back to it’s group like the one before him. Naoki scoffed before jumping back to formation along Kulora.
The troll that was previously attacked by Naoki wagged his head from the pain and set it's sights on the timid maid girl, slipping passed her guard, it managed to gain a lucky strike on her. She fell back to the ground, her skirt partially floated upwards but she managed to keep it down. Kulora managed to gain a hollow scratch from the beast.
As the successful troll returned to formation, the Ogre prepared to strike next. Identifying Naoki as the higher threat, he began his charge towards him. Watching this, Naoki stood his ground as the monster closed in. With an evil grin, the ogre charged his fist down at Naoki but only struck ground as the green haired warrior jumped back to a safe distance. “Slow.” Naoki remarked as he readied his sword, the ogre only clicked his tongue in disappointment as he fell back to formation.
Seeing it's leader fail to strike the green haired fellow low, one of the other Trolls thought it was time to step up to the plate, seeing that red haired woman fumble with her skirt was a sight to see, however. It gritted it's teeth as it snuck in on the side for Kulora, however the girl saw him from the corner of her eye, jumping back to her feet and evading the monster's attack. "Tch, you'll have to move faster than that." scoffed Kulora.
Another began it’s attack, targeting Naoki this time. Going for the full frontal, it charged as fast as it could before lunging towards him. For Naoki, this was only a matter of stepping to the side as he let the creature pass him. Disappointed, the troll backed away from Naoki who only gave him a snide grin.
As expected, another troll rushed for Kulora’s position, starting into a mad dash for the girl. Jumping, he brought his sword downward and knowing Kulora, her first reaction would be to hide behind something. She put her katana in front of her face and to her surprise, the troll’s weapon slid across the surface, somewhat scratching the side of Kulora’s face.
"Care to take the reigns, Takahara?" asked Kulora to Naoki, confident to the fight. Although she knew they won't be able dodge for too long. Naoki only grinned as he held up his sword, eyeing down his foes.
Spotting the one with the sword, Naoki reckoned that wound of his was slowing him down. Drawing back his sword, he charged forwards towards the creature before striking diagonally across it’s torso before retreating back to formation still with a smirk on his face.
Taking her chance, Kulora decided the troll overstayed it's welcome in this world, the blade of her katana burned brightly as energy flowed through the girl. She smiled heavily at the near-dead troll before lashing an arc of flame at it; the flame lingered, too. Without a moment to realize, the troll was engulfed in flames and Kulora was entranced as she watched the troll burn, rapidly reducing the beast to ash.
Angered by this, another troll targeted Naoki charging forward with his teeth bared. Jumping into the air, he lunged and managed a hit on Naoki. Leaving a scratch on his arm, Naoki winced as the creature fell back to the group. Though it wasn’t so much the pain that got to him as it was that the attack left a nice cut down his coat sleeve, “Damn oni, I’m gonna gut you alive!” Naoki threatened, waving his sword in fury.
The ogre decided to take a shot at Kulora after it’s failed attempt with Naoki. The brute swiped his arm towards the girl’s feet with the intention to grab her, it failed however as Kulora leaped over the beast, evading it’s grip by a single hair. She could hear the ogre groan in annoyance of the group’s fleet of foot.
Stealing the opportunity, the second troll made charge at the still venting Naoki, Diving down and striking his other arm, the creature managed a cut on him before retreating. Naoki once again winced but wasn’t a visual in his anger this time as before. Instead taking a deep breath, his eyes relit with a determined expression to utterly destroy these monsters. Same as Naoki, one of the trolls sprinted by and slipped by Kulora’s guard, slashing at her leg a bit. She grit her teeth annoyingly from the recurring pain and scowled at the troublesome beasts.
“Bastards…” Kulora snapped, once more her sword emanated in flames, she had half a mind to lash another flame sweep at the beasts but paused as she looked to Naoki, who was also itching to get an attack out as well. She suddenly got an idea, Naoki seemed to get it as well, looking back to her. She smirked visibly at him, which he returned with a nod and larger grin.
“Alright, let’s do this!” He shouted as a torrential aura began to build up around him. Bring his blade back as if ready to strike, Kulora could see from her spot the winds gathering Naoki’s blade. “Tatsumaki! REPPU-ZAN!” With his kiai, he swung his blade horizontally and a slashing gust of wind began speeding towards the mob of enemies. With this, Kulora released the eager flames from her Katana, into Naoki’s Reppuzan. The flames then merged into the violent winds if not becoming them itself, crashing into the mob of monsters. Some of the remaining trolls sustained a significant amount of damage from the attack while the ogre merely dusted himself off a bit.
Beholding the sight of the trolls in flames, Naoki let out a mighty laugh. “This is,” He struck his pose, “Hissatsu; FURINKAZAN!” He declared in a gutsy manner, almost enough to make large strokes of kanji appear behind him.“This is our strength put together; swift as wind, fierce as fire. Truly, the Wargod Shingen smiles upon us.” He let out another laugh, feeling assured of their victory even more.
"Don't get too excited," Kulora noted. "Apparently that wasn't enough to stump 'em." She said almost low in spirits. She stepped forward next to Naoki with her sword propped over her shoulder. She was starting to get annoyed from this little bout. The ogre interrupted Kulora as he cooked his hand backwards and made contact with her body, the force of the impact flung her into a building. It did not kill her but she possibly broke a few ribs. "Uhn..." Kulora managed to struggle back to her feet, eyeing down the ogre angrily.
Her golden pupils widened, emanating a dim light like two suns from afar. The flames on her sword began to spread onto her leg, then her clothes, the next thing she knew it, her entire body was engulfed in flames. She stood unmoved from the searing burns, or the heat. "...I want to see you burn-- no, I NEED to see you burn!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. She ignored her sustained injuries, almost as if the flames in her lungs circulated throughout her body, which kept her from faltering.
“Oh boy,” Naoki remarked as he witnessed Kulora’s change of character, “Guess I got to up my game as well.”As those words left his mouth, he took off towards the burning mob. Targeting the most weakened one and with one swift strike, separated its head from it’s body.
Hoping to take him off guard, the ogre came up behind Naoki with his fist at the ready. Throwing a right hook, Naoki brought up his sword and managed to take the brunt of the monster’s strike. Peaking up at the ogre, Naoki gave a smug smirk before jumping back in line with Kulora.
Kulora readied her blade and dug her feet into the ground, running into a wild dash for the ogre, tracking flames into the ground with each step she made. She ran upward along the Ogre’s arm and jumped over his head, dropping down into a slash towards his shoulder. The flames from her blade lingered from the attack, igniting the ogre’s wound in flames. Kulora landed on her feet and jumped back to Naoki’s position like a flash of light.
The remaining trolls managed to regain their composure as the fire dispersed from their bodies, returning their sights to the duo. Realizing this, Naoki prepared to strike at another. With a clean strike, he cut through the beast, mortally wounding it before he retreated
From afar, Kulora sheathed her blade, eyes planted at the ogre. Flames slowly grew inside the scabbard from the prolonged time inside, waiting to be unleashed. Almost like a flash she loosed her sword at the ogre, a large dragon-like flame emerged from the slash and engulfed the Ogre’s entire body. The flames then dispersed, revealing the now weakened Ogre, his knees buckled for a moment from the sheer force of the attack, receiving a few extra scars along his body. Seeing this, one of the final two trolls took a heated dash towards Kulora in hopes that it would make contact with the girl, in hope to finish her off. Evidently the enraged girl made a swift sidestep, evading by the skin of her teeth. Similarly, Naoki dodged an attack made by the remaining troll. A smirk laid on his face as he could tell they were nearing their end.
“Alright, the finisher!” Naoki declared as wind picked up around his blade. “REPPU-ZAN!!”He shouted, swinging his sword upwards and launching a cutting gale towards the ogre. The monster, covered himself with crossed arms and the gale flew past, leaving minor cuts along them. “Tch, only grazed him.” Naoki remarked, disappointed. From the corner of his eyes, Naoki spotted Kulora charge past him to finish his slack. The girl turned her sword backwards so that her hilt faced the front of her hand, she ran for the ogre’s leg, causing a deep laceration into it’s flesh.
The ogre finally fell, dead. Seeing their leader fall, the trolls were alone and wounded to the point where they might keel over as well, they stared in fear of the two warriors before them, damn near pissing themselves in the process. They nearly tripped over themselves as they fled the town. "Heh...that’s more like it. Run like the cowards you ar--” Kulora began before falling to her knees abruptly, dropping her sword. The flames which surmounted the girl’s body had simmered, a heavy steam emanated from her.
Naoki walked up behind her and rested a hand on her shoulder before recoiling it back from the heat. “We’re gonna need to patch you up.” He remarked as he scanned the area for people, “You fought hard out there. Good work.”
“You weren’t...bad yourself, Daimyo.” Kulora struggled to say as she attempted to struggle to her feet, she faltered of course, her injuries were serious. The civilians the beasts had taken hostage ran up to the duo, all relieved that they were saved in the nick of time. They stood amazed from witnessing the maid girl and the green haired samurai in action. A storm of applause came from within the crowd, same as from the inside of the inn. A few villagers came along to assist Kulora, tossing the girl into their arms, but reeled for a moment as she was still encumbered by steam. Her skirt nearly flew up once more, but as if by instinct, she straightened it down quickly.
She smiled visibly at Naoki, as she did not care about the crowd for that moment, she was just content to be finished with the fight. Perhaps the two were fit to be called heroes.
0
Meanwhile in a hospital not too far away from the events of the previous battle, Kulora lied passed out in her bed while Naoki sat by, awaiting her to come to. The hospital lied quiet, despite the constant noises of doctors rushing down hallways, pens hitting the side of clipboards and patients calling for assistance. As per usual, Kulora muttered things under her breath in her state of repose however they weren't the occasional lewd ramblings about Tenryuu. No, the girl tossed and turned, tirelessly sweating. “I’m hot… it’s hot...it wasn’t my fault, they...they…” she said unknowingly.
“A bad dream?” Naoki thought to himself as he watched his distressed comrade. Furrowing his brows, he stroked her forehead sympathetically, “Do not worry, they cannot reach you here. You’re safe.” He assured her, not entirely knowing what she was disturbed by, only that it was something he knew they would have to resolve later.
Kulora’s face twitched a little, her eyes parted open to the the empty white room, as well as the green haired man above her. She did not say anything but stared blankly into the ceiling. A single tear fell down her half lidded eye as she came to. “Wha…?” she spoke up, staring into Naoki’s face. “I thought I was…”
Naoki chuckled, “Finally up, I see.” He commented, dismissing her thought, “How are you feeling?”
“Strangely...good, it’s as if my injuries closed up from the whole time I was asleep.” Kulora said swiftly wiping the tear in hopes Naoki didn’t see. She sat upward in her bed looking over where she was hit, her injuries faded into naught but dull scars and faint pain. She looked over to her Katana, which stood propped next to the room’s window. She smirked. “Ah, so it was you…” Kulora thought, remembering her powers in display, especially when she got riled up. “Yeah, I’m doing well. And it was all thanks to you, Daimyo.” she smiled playfully at the man.
“Heh,” Naoki scoffed smugly, “Don’t put yourself down too much, the battle was as much your victory as mine.” he smirked. “Well, it’s good to see nothing’s wrong with you. I can’t lose my precious comrade already.”
Kulora smiled and wiped her slitted eyes thoroughly, still groggy from her rest. “By the way, Noaki…” Kulora began, her voice trailed off as she said this. “What do you think these things are-- the swords? For some reason, we’re able to do things we were never able to do before; we’re shrugging off attacks from mythical creatures, heavy blows from ogres, and the way we heal has been accelerated. Why do you think?” Kulora studied the physical changes as soon as they laid hand on the blades. Apparently having a near death experience would make one wonder what kept them alive.
“Hmm, who knows. . . “ Naoki pondered, holding his chin as he thought long and hard. Coming to a conclusion, he gave a distinct smirk, a telltale signal that he was going to go on one of his chuunibyou rants. “Hey, did you know? In Japan, we don’t have only one God but many under a hierarchy.” He began, folding his arms as he lent back on his chair. “And to each God was assigned a single aspect to watch over. Raijin; the God of Thunder and Lightning, Hachiman; the God of War and Agriculture, and so forth. Long ago, we had many more who faded into obscurity and now we’re left with only a select and trendy few.” Leaning forward to Kulora sitting up from her bed, he pointed a finder at her. “What do you suppose happened to the rest?” He asked rhetorically.
“Hmm. Likely faded away, or better yet, killed off because their state of obscurity didn’t do so much of a good job in gaining them followers. ” Kulora replied, playing along with Naoki’s schtick. “Either that or the one we currently call God managed to take them all as prisoner for some reason. It’s truly a mystery.” the girl crossed her arms, not realizing that she came up with her own absurd theory. Was she slowly metamorphosing into a chuunibyou same as Naoki? Or was she already one to begin with?
“Ah damn. Way to steal my thunder, you guys.” said a voice, it came from the window where Kulora’s weapon lied. As the two turned their heads they saw that it was once again Asahina wearing a mischievous smile like usual. Following the events from before, Kulora’s first instinct was to lunge at the girl. However her injuries had faded, the pain still lingered, she recoiled back in pain from moving so suddenly. Asahina smiled visibly at this.
“Bitch, I’ll kill you! I hope you know how much time it took me to make that outfit!” snarled Kulora, likely killing whatever silence there was in the hospital.
“Hey, hey, hey. Chill out, Waverly. Besides, you’ll want to hear this answer to your question.” Asahina replied. Kulora stifled herself just long enough to listen, still riled up at the very sight of the girl. “So, about your questions with the swords granting you special powers and Grass-hair chan’s theory on the Gods disappearing…” Asahina began. “These †˜weapons’ were made by God himself, granting you the ability to even stand a chance against him.”
“. . . I see.” Naoki murmured as he gazed at the wall beside him. He seemed a bit ticked about the nickname Asahina had given him, gripping hard on the hilt of his sword. “In that case, these aren’t the only ones out there, correct?”
“That’s correctomundo, sir!” replied Asahina. “Also! Those missing Gods you were talking about play a huge part in helping you fight-- literally.” Asahina pointed at Naoki’s Mastukaze and smiled. “You were right, Kulora. The one we call God managed to go on this massive campaign against the other gods and imprisoned them all, evidently sealing every last soul into those Thorns you’re holding.”
Kulora looked surprised at the revelation, eyes shot wide and all. “...And he did that all for the sake of this sick game?”
“Damn right, he did.” Asahina then materialized Kulora’s Thorn into the girl’s hands with a snap of her fingers. “With that said…” Asahina then snapped her hands once more, materializing a present box into Kulora’s lap. “That’s for you Kulora, a thank you gift for your outfit. Ufufu~” Ignoring the comment and every thought that would be incorporated with it, Kulora opened the box. To her surprise, Kulora pulled a pulled a black coat with a furred hood out of the box, it was a splitting image to Naoki’s coat to boot. Kulora looked contently at the rest of the outfit inside and sighed, realizing she would have to drop her gripe towards the demon.
“Thank you kindly.” Kulora bowed tersely to Asahina.
“Don’t mention it. Now, you two may wanna get a move on to the next floor; world’s deteriorating you know.” reminded Asahina.
Naoki had been staying mostly silent the whole time, inspecting Kulora’s new outfit with his eyes. “. . . Oy, Oni. Where are the kneesocks?” He questioned Asahina, the tone of his voice being a tad more serious than usual.
“K...Kneesocks?” replied Asahina with a tilt of her head to the side.
“Yeah,” Naoki affirmed, “For the most part, I approve of this outfit. But this lack of kneesocks, to me, is unacceptable!” He began to raise his voice, visually becoming more riled up and bothered.
“She doesn’t need kneesocks with shorts, mate. That would be plain tacky. W-What does it matter anyways?” asked Asahina still unable to see his point in the matter.
“What did you say?” Naoki questioned with a threatening gaze. At this point, he looked like he was ready to pull out his sword at any moment. “IT IS BECAUSE OF THE SHORTS THAT KNEESOCKS WORK IN THE FIRST PLACE!!!” He shouted, exuding vast amounts of pressure at Asahina. What about kneesocks could fuel such spirit?
“Listen carefully,” Naoki lectured, raising up his hand and subsequently three of his fingers. “There are three things that fuel a man’s soul.” He began, dropping down one finger, “One; Love.” He dropped another, “Two; Courage.” Standing up, he dropped his third finger, balling his hand into a fist before pumping it up into the air like an uppercut, “AND THREE; KNEESOCKS!!!”
The two stood aback by the man’s declaration but he wasn’t done yet. Throwing off Kulora’s blanket, he revealed her bare legs. “Observe this.” Naoki said as he brought over the short pants from Kulora’s new outfit, laying it over where it would normally be when worn. “These pants sit up nice and high on her person, revealing quite a bit of her thighs.” He commented, much to her embarrassment.
“Already, with the tight fitting and shiny surface of the material, it gives her one hundred percent sex appeal.” He smirked. “And NOW!” He threw the blanket back up, only covering her legs slightly past her knees to imitate the covering of kneesocks. “With the majority of her legs covered up, the allure of bare skin becomes multiplied!” He declared, pointing over the area of naked leg between the blanket and shorts. “And this phenomenon is known as; ABSOLUTE TERRITORY!!!” He shouted, with a spirit strong enough to call forth kanji as he did so.
“Indeed, no matter what walk of life you come from, all men can appreciate the Absolute Territory.” He continued, “It is the allure of minimal skin shown along tightly fitted and silky smooth material that drives the souls of all men.” The man was about to reach his climax, “I WANT TO SEE MORE SKIN! But it’s the moral restraint of not stripping down the girl where she stands that holds me back. Yes, that restraint is what makes it Absolute Territory. This burning desire which I cannot satisfy, only grows stronger for me to harness elsewhere”
He took heavy breaths as he recuperated from his rant, “Indeed, out of Love, Courage and Kneesocks. KNEESOCKS TRUMPS THEM ALL!!!” The room stayed silent for a while afterwards with the two girls still trying to piece together what just happened. Naoki only sighed and plopped back onto his seat. “Well there you have it, Oni. I cannot accept the way this outfit is at the moment without kneesocks.” He declared to Asahina, still demonstrating his adamant spirit on the matter.
Kulora lightly chopped the man in his forehead, shaking her head with a content smile. “I think it’s fine for now, Naoki. We’ll just have to make due until then” the girl said hushing Naoki’s ramblings. “Then again, knee socks do sound appealing at this point…” she thought, thinking back to his long-winded rant.
“Anywho, like I said, you two may want to leave soon. You spent way too much time in this single world.” noted Asahina. “Keep in mind that there are a vast amount of worlds to visit in order to make the throne.”
“Is that so.” Naoki commented, “Well then, we may as well get to it once you’re discharged, Kuu-chan.” he directed at Kulora. “Kuu-chan. . . ?” He thought to himself. Though it felt natural, it wasn’t until he said it that he realized that was the first time he called her that.
Kulora flinched at the name, †˜Kuu-chan’, smiling embarrassingly. That was merely the first time anyone would use an honorific for her name, let alone give her a nickname in the first place. “Y-Yeah. You may want to find something to do with yourself until then. I’ll be here, don’t worry.” she said putting a thumb up.
Naoki smirked and replied to her in kind before standing up from his seat and leaving the room. “Just make sure not to get too restless before I get back.” He joked, obviously referring to the demon still accompanying her. Asahina pouted from the comment, promptly sticking her tongue out at the man as he exited. Kulora waved to the man and strained a diplomatic smile before turning back to Asahina who was already gone from the room..Kulora sighed.
“What now?”
“A bad dream?” Naoki thought to himself as he watched his distressed comrade. Furrowing his brows, he stroked her forehead sympathetically, “Do not worry, they cannot reach you here. You’re safe.” He assured her, not entirely knowing what she was disturbed by, only that it was something he knew they would have to resolve later.
Kulora’s face twitched a little, her eyes parted open to the the empty white room, as well as the green haired man above her. She did not say anything but stared blankly into the ceiling. A single tear fell down her half lidded eye as she came to. “Wha…?” she spoke up, staring into Naoki’s face. “I thought I was…”
Naoki chuckled, “Finally up, I see.” He commented, dismissing her thought, “How are you feeling?”
“Strangely...good, it’s as if my injuries closed up from the whole time I was asleep.” Kulora said swiftly wiping the tear in hopes Naoki didn’t see. She sat upward in her bed looking over where she was hit, her injuries faded into naught but dull scars and faint pain. She looked over to her Katana, which stood propped next to the room’s window. She smirked. “Ah, so it was you…” Kulora thought, remembering her powers in display, especially when she got riled up. “Yeah, I’m doing well. And it was all thanks to you, Daimyo.” she smiled playfully at the man.
“Heh,” Naoki scoffed smugly, “Don’t put yourself down too much, the battle was as much your victory as mine.” he smirked. “Well, it’s good to see nothing’s wrong with you. I can’t lose my precious comrade already.”
Kulora smiled and wiped her slitted eyes thoroughly, still groggy from her rest. “By the way, Noaki…” Kulora began, her voice trailed off as she said this. “What do you think these things are-- the swords? For some reason, we’re able to do things we were never able to do before; we’re shrugging off attacks from mythical creatures, heavy blows from ogres, and the way we heal has been accelerated. Why do you think?” Kulora studied the physical changes as soon as they laid hand on the blades. Apparently having a near death experience would make one wonder what kept them alive.
“Hmm, who knows. . . “ Naoki pondered, holding his chin as he thought long and hard. Coming to a conclusion, he gave a distinct smirk, a telltale signal that he was going to go on one of his chuunibyou rants. “Hey, did you know? In Japan, we don’t have only one God but many under a hierarchy.” He began, folding his arms as he lent back on his chair. “And to each God was assigned a single aspect to watch over. Raijin; the God of Thunder and Lightning, Hachiman; the God of War and Agriculture, and so forth. Long ago, we had many more who faded into obscurity and now we’re left with only a select and trendy few.” Leaning forward to Kulora sitting up from her bed, he pointed a finder at her. “What do you suppose happened to the rest?” He asked rhetorically.
“Hmm. Likely faded away, or better yet, killed off because their state of obscurity didn’t do so much of a good job in gaining them followers. ” Kulora replied, playing along with Naoki’s schtick. “Either that or the one we currently call God managed to take them all as prisoner for some reason. It’s truly a mystery.” the girl crossed her arms, not realizing that she came up with her own absurd theory. Was she slowly metamorphosing into a chuunibyou same as Naoki? Or was she already one to begin with?
“Ah damn. Way to steal my thunder, you guys.” said a voice, it came from the window where Kulora’s weapon lied. As the two turned their heads they saw that it was once again Asahina wearing a mischievous smile like usual. Following the events from before, Kulora’s first instinct was to lunge at the girl. However her injuries had faded, the pain still lingered, she recoiled back in pain from moving so suddenly. Asahina smiled visibly at this.
“Bitch, I’ll kill you! I hope you know how much time it took me to make that outfit!” snarled Kulora, likely killing whatever silence there was in the hospital.
“Hey, hey, hey. Chill out, Waverly. Besides, you’ll want to hear this answer to your question.” Asahina replied. Kulora stifled herself just long enough to listen, still riled up at the very sight of the girl. “So, about your questions with the swords granting you special powers and Grass-hair chan’s theory on the Gods disappearing…” Asahina began. “These †˜weapons’ were made by God himself, granting you the ability to even stand a chance against him.”
“. . . I see.” Naoki murmured as he gazed at the wall beside him. He seemed a bit ticked about the nickname Asahina had given him, gripping hard on the hilt of his sword. “In that case, these aren’t the only ones out there, correct?”
“That’s correctomundo, sir!” replied Asahina. “Also! Those missing Gods you were talking about play a huge part in helping you fight-- literally.” Asahina pointed at Naoki’s Mastukaze and smiled. “You were right, Kulora. The one we call God managed to go on this massive campaign against the other gods and imprisoned them all, evidently sealing every last soul into those Thorns you’re holding.”
Kulora looked surprised at the revelation, eyes shot wide and all. “...And he did that all for the sake of this sick game?”
“Damn right, he did.” Asahina then materialized Kulora’s Thorn into the girl’s hands with a snap of her fingers. “With that said…” Asahina then snapped her hands once more, materializing a present box into Kulora’s lap. “That’s for you Kulora, a thank you gift for your outfit. Ufufu~” Ignoring the comment and every thought that would be incorporated with it, Kulora opened the box. To her surprise, Kulora pulled a pulled a black coat with a furred hood out of the box, it was a splitting image to Naoki’s coat to boot. Kulora looked contently at the rest of the outfit inside and sighed, realizing she would have to drop her gripe towards the demon.
“Thank you kindly.” Kulora bowed tersely to Asahina.
“Don’t mention it. Now, you two may wanna get a move on to the next floor; world’s deteriorating you know.” reminded Asahina.
Naoki had been staying mostly silent the whole time, inspecting Kulora’s new outfit with his eyes. “. . . Oy, Oni. Where are the kneesocks?” He questioned Asahina, the tone of his voice being a tad more serious than usual.
“K...Kneesocks?” replied Asahina with a tilt of her head to the side.
“Yeah,” Naoki affirmed, “For the most part, I approve of this outfit. But this lack of kneesocks, to me, is unacceptable!” He began to raise his voice, visually becoming more riled up and bothered.
“She doesn’t need kneesocks with shorts, mate. That would be plain tacky. W-What does it matter anyways?” asked Asahina still unable to see his point in the matter.
“What did you say?” Naoki questioned with a threatening gaze. At this point, he looked like he was ready to pull out his sword at any moment. “IT IS BECAUSE OF THE SHORTS THAT KNEESOCKS WORK IN THE FIRST PLACE!!!” He shouted, exuding vast amounts of pressure at Asahina. What about kneesocks could fuel such spirit?
“Listen carefully,” Naoki lectured, raising up his hand and subsequently three of his fingers. “There are three things that fuel a man’s soul.” He began, dropping down one finger, “One; Love.” He dropped another, “Two; Courage.” Standing up, he dropped his third finger, balling his hand into a fist before pumping it up into the air like an uppercut, “AND THREE; KNEESOCKS!!!”
The two stood aback by the man’s declaration but he wasn’t done yet. Throwing off Kulora’s blanket, he revealed her bare legs. “Observe this.” Naoki said as he brought over the short pants from Kulora’s new outfit, laying it over where it would normally be when worn. “These pants sit up nice and high on her person, revealing quite a bit of her thighs.” He commented, much to her embarrassment.
“Already, with the tight fitting and shiny surface of the material, it gives her one hundred percent sex appeal.” He smirked. “And NOW!” He threw the blanket back up, only covering her legs slightly past her knees to imitate the covering of kneesocks. “With the majority of her legs covered up, the allure of bare skin becomes multiplied!” He declared, pointing over the area of naked leg between the blanket and shorts. “And this phenomenon is known as; ABSOLUTE TERRITORY!!!” He shouted, with a spirit strong enough to call forth kanji as he did so.
“Indeed, no matter what walk of life you come from, all men can appreciate the Absolute Territory.” He continued, “It is the allure of minimal skin shown along tightly fitted and silky smooth material that drives the souls of all men.” The man was about to reach his climax, “I WANT TO SEE MORE SKIN! But it’s the moral restraint of not stripping down the girl where she stands that holds me back. Yes, that restraint is what makes it Absolute Territory. This burning desire which I cannot satisfy, only grows stronger for me to harness elsewhere”
He took heavy breaths as he recuperated from his rant, “Indeed, out of Love, Courage and Kneesocks. KNEESOCKS TRUMPS THEM ALL!!!” The room stayed silent for a while afterwards with the two girls still trying to piece together what just happened. Naoki only sighed and plopped back onto his seat. “Well there you have it, Oni. I cannot accept the way this outfit is at the moment without kneesocks.” He declared to Asahina, still demonstrating his adamant spirit on the matter.
Kulora lightly chopped the man in his forehead, shaking her head with a content smile. “I think it’s fine for now, Naoki. We’ll just have to make due until then” the girl said hushing Naoki’s ramblings. “Then again, knee socks do sound appealing at this point…” she thought, thinking back to his long-winded rant.
“Anywho, like I said, you two may want to leave soon. You spent way too much time in this single world.” noted Asahina. “Keep in mind that there are a vast amount of worlds to visit in order to make the throne.”
“Is that so.” Naoki commented, “Well then, we may as well get to it once you’re discharged, Kuu-chan.” he directed at Kulora. “Kuu-chan. . . ?” He thought to himself. Though it felt natural, it wasn’t until he said it that he realized that was the first time he called her that.
Kulora flinched at the name, †˜Kuu-chan’, smiling embarrassingly. That was merely the first time anyone would use an honorific for her name, let alone give her a nickname in the first place. “Y-Yeah. You may want to find something to do with yourself until then. I’ll be here, don’t worry.” she said putting a thumb up.
Naoki smirked and replied to her in kind before standing up from his seat and leaving the room. “Just make sure not to get too restless before I get back.” He joked, obviously referring to the demon still accompanying her. Asahina pouted from the comment, promptly sticking her tongue out at the man as he exited. Kulora waved to the man and strained a diplomatic smile before turning back to Asahina who was already gone from the room..Kulora sighed.
“What now?”
0
Kulora sat upward in her bed, a rising anxiousness welled up in her psyche as the silence overwhelmed her. Apparently she became accustomed to Naoki’s nonsensical tangents of Onis and Otaku culture. As a so called chosen hero to save a planet from crumpling over, Kulora truly did expect much more than a few monsters attacking a village. Even then, she felt as if she’s done some of this before, she could not recall where, though.This really wasn’t how Kulora would picture her week going either. A loudmouthed chuunibyou that possibly passed his tropes onto her, and a destitute god bent on correcting natural human error. Kulora turned an eye back to what Asahina called-- her Thorn, sitting next to her in bed.
“Other gods, huh?” said Kulora rather curious to what Asahina revealed to the group not to long ago. She studied the unusual craftsmanship of the blade closely; the white and gold hilt and the nearly incandescent blade itself. Strange, faded inscriptions were carved onto the edges, almost as if they were forcefully put there by someone. “You’re gonna need a name then. How about...Ka-Ryu?” she said aloud as if speaking to the sword itself, perhaps Naoki did influence her in some way. The name somehow just came to her, almost as she laid hands on it, it’s name spoke true to her. She smiled happily at her blade, knowing their adventure together had just begun. Fire Drake was it’s name--Ka Ryu.
With a slam of the door, Naoki entered, wearing a rather accomplished expression. “Yo, how’re you doing?”[/b][/color] He asked. Just looking at him, Kulora could see he’d picked up a few things. For one, he was sporting a pair of goggles over his head and a large, beige muffler around his neck. The goggles themselves were fairly standard, being two circular cups tied by a leather strap, very steam punk. The muffler on the other hand seemed large enough to fit three people what with him leaving the tail ends flowing down the length of his back.
Taking his seat by her bed, he seemed to make a subtle, not-so subtle effort to bring notice to these new features.
“The pain faded, and I’m sure I can walk again.” answered Kulora. She lied Ka Ryu to the side and took notice to Naoki’s new accessories. “Having fun?” This man truly was making an effort to be a chuunibyou, then again they were in a fantasy world and Kulora wasn’t any better with her costume changes, forced or not. She shot him a smile, followed by a prompt nod in admirement.
Naoki grinned at this as he pulled his new goggles over his eyes, “Ain’t it cool?”[/b][/color] He asked, looking around the room testing out the lenses. “Now I really look like a traveller from far far away.”[/b][/color] Kulora almost chuckled at the man’s display, he was like a child playing with a brand new toy.
“Oh right,”[/b][/color] Naoki paused upon remembering something and lifted up his goggles. “You’re getting discharged soon aren’t you?”[/b][/color] He asked while he reached for something inside his coat, it was a small rectangular parcel all wrapped up. “Here you go, it’s a present.”[/b][/color] He declared with his usual down-to-earth expression.
"Hmm? What's this?” questioned Kulora, she tilted her head sideways as she eagerly ripped open the parcel, inspecting what it might hold inside. The only response she got from Naoki was a smug chuckle as she took off the lid. To her surprise, or as she expected, she pulled a pair of black knee socks exactly how Naoki would describe. Kulora merely chuckled and playfully chopped Naoki in the forehead. “Oh, you.” she got from her bed and walked into the bathroom, carrying her newly acquired outfit with her.
Minutes later, Kulora came out in her new attire. She wore a red, sleeveless tunic which hung off her shoulders, black skin tight shorts which went so well with the knee socks Naoki bought her, she also wore a black leather coat which had fur around the hood same as Naoki and her red hair was tied back into a ponytail. “Well? H-How do I look?” asked Kulora nervously.
Naoki took his time inspecting her outfit, humming in observation as his eyes looked up and down her person. Closing his eyes, he thought for a moment before a smirk ran from the corner of his mouth. Raising a fist up to the air, he brought it down with much enthusiasm and gave a thumbs up as well as a wink and a large grin. “As I thought, the kneesocks really complete the look.”[/b][/color] He remarked.
Kulora sighed, relieved Naoki would take a liking to her outfit. A nurse suddenly came in calling for Kulora. “Ah! Miss Waverly, it’s about time for you to be discharged.” said the nurse exiting back out. Kulora nodded and followed suit, beckoning Naoki to do so as well.
“Other gods, huh?” said Kulora rather curious to what Asahina revealed to the group not to long ago. She studied the unusual craftsmanship of the blade closely; the white and gold hilt and the nearly incandescent blade itself. Strange, faded inscriptions were carved onto the edges, almost as if they were forcefully put there by someone. “You’re gonna need a name then. How about...Ka-Ryu?” she said aloud as if speaking to the sword itself, perhaps Naoki did influence her in some way. The name somehow just came to her, almost as she laid hands on it, it’s name spoke true to her. She smiled happily at her blade, knowing their adventure together had just begun. Fire Drake was it’s name--Ka Ryu.
With a slam of the door, Naoki entered, wearing a rather accomplished expression. “Yo, how’re you doing?”[/b][/color] He asked. Just looking at him, Kulora could see he’d picked up a few things. For one, he was sporting a pair of goggles over his head and a large, beige muffler around his neck. The goggles themselves were fairly standard, being two circular cups tied by a leather strap, very steam punk. The muffler on the other hand seemed large enough to fit three people what with him leaving the tail ends flowing down the length of his back.
Taking his seat by her bed, he seemed to make a subtle, not-so subtle effort to bring notice to these new features.
“The pain faded, and I’m sure I can walk again.” answered Kulora. She lied Ka Ryu to the side and took notice to Naoki’s new accessories. “Having fun?” This man truly was making an effort to be a chuunibyou, then again they were in a fantasy world and Kulora wasn’t any better with her costume changes, forced or not. She shot him a smile, followed by a prompt nod in admirement.
Naoki grinned at this as he pulled his new goggles over his eyes, “Ain’t it cool?”[/b][/color] He asked, looking around the room testing out the lenses. “Now I really look like a traveller from far far away.”[/b][/color] Kulora almost chuckled at the man’s display, he was like a child playing with a brand new toy.
“Oh right,”[/b][/color] Naoki paused upon remembering something and lifted up his goggles. “You’re getting discharged soon aren’t you?”[/b][/color] He asked while he reached for something inside his coat, it was a small rectangular parcel all wrapped up. “Here you go, it’s a present.”[/b][/color] He declared with his usual down-to-earth expression.
"Hmm? What's this?” questioned Kulora, she tilted her head sideways as she eagerly ripped open the parcel, inspecting what it might hold inside. The only response she got from Naoki was a smug chuckle as she took off the lid. To her surprise, or as she expected, she pulled a pair of black knee socks exactly how Naoki would describe. Kulora merely chuckled and playfully chopped Naoki in the forehead. “Oh, you.” she got from her bed and walked into the bathroom, carrying her newly acquired outfit with her.
Minutes later, Kulora came out in her new attire. She wore a red, sleeveless tunic which hung off her shoulders, black skin tight shorts which went so well with the knee socks Naoki bought her, she also wore a black leather coat which had fur around the hood same as Naoki and her red hair was tied back into a ponytail. “Well? H-How do I look?” asked Kulora nervously.
Naoki took his time inspecting her outfit, humming in observation as his eyes looked up and down her person. Closing his eyes, he thought for a moment before a smirk ran from the corner of his mouth. Raising a fist up to the air, he brought it down with much enthusiasm and gave a thumbs up as well as a wink and a large grin. “As I thought, the kneesocks really complete the look.”[/b][/color] He remarked.
Kulora sighed, relieved Naoki would take a liking to her outfit. A nurse suddenly came in calling for Kulora. “Ah! Miss Waverly, it’s about time for you to be discharged.” said the nurse exiting back out. Kulora nodded and followed suit, beckoning Naoki to do so as well.
0
After getting discharged from the hospital, Kulora and Naoki ventured forth through the rest of that part of the world in search of something to get them to the next floor of the tower, they searched eagerly through a forest not far from the town, though evidently, they had no luck in their charge. They searched through bushes, small nooks and crannies with no hope of finding their escape. “No luck…” said Kulora on the verge of giving up. “Where’s Asahina when you need her?” the girl sat down onto the nearest rock she could find, exhausted.
“Hmm, this is a problem. . .” Naoki commented as he held his chin, “We don’t even know what we’re looking for.” He added, cursing the demon girl under his breath. Leaning against a tree, he took this time to try and figure out what to do.
“Ow!” yelled a voice audibly, it came from under Kulora. As Kulora jumped from the startled yelp, up came Asahina rubbing the back of her head, pouting. Seeing this, Kulora blushed a little knowing that she must have sat on Asahina’s head in thought that it was a rock. “Jeez, I can’t get a moment’s peace with you two around…” huffed Asahina looking at the duo groggily. Lucky for them, Asahina overheard their conversation. “Aha, so you two are looking for the world gate, eh?” she asked. The two looked on puzzled as she said this.
“Is that what it’s called, a world gate?” Naoki asked, he was somewhat surprised. The name seemed so cliche, he almost expected it to look like a giant floating door of stone. “I suppose you would know where this gate is located, wouldn’t you.” He asked her, already knowing what kind of answer she’d give.
“Actually…” Asahina began, her voice trailed off as if she was content enough to affirm Naoki’s assumption. “Old man told me to give you guys the first one as a freebie, the rest you’ll have to find on your own.” Asahina answered, with a snap of her fingers a large, silver marble door appeared in the middle of the grass where the trio stood. “Okay, the thing is, in order to find these gates you will have to either beat that *cough*secret-thing-the-boss-is-working-on, or do something meaningful for the people for each of these worlds or some shit, I dunno. Old man called it saving their souls.” the girl said, gesturing her fingers to mimic air quotes.
Kulora thought hard for a moment, there had to be some sort of catch for this sort of thing, there always was. “So, you mean to tell us that if we manage to prove that at least one person is worthwhile in each world, God will change his mind on killing us off?” asked Kulora.
“Possibly.” replied Asahina, though not completely concise with her answer.
“Heh, that bastard really wants to make us heroes work for what we’re worth, ey?” Naoki scoffed. “I get it.” He muttered as he gazed at the grand gate, “Called it, didn’t I.” He remarked with a smirk on his face. “I am the Brave Blademaster Daimyo!” He proclaimed, turning back to Asahina, “Be it striking down a demon or saving the souls of my subjects, I shall not fail.”He declared with every bit of confidence he had.
“Yeah,” Kulora spoke up, she wrapped an arm around Naoki upon impulse and shot Asahina a confident smirk. “Fine, we’ll take on his challenge. I can guarantee you, we won’t falter against anything he’ll throw at us! He never considered that he’s dealing with two master swordsmen!” the girl said out of nowhere. “Damn, there it is again.” she thought, Kulora had been having occasional chuunibyou slip ups since meeting Naoki, it’s gotten worse by the minute.
“Ufufufu, fine then. It’s gonna get worse from here on out. Good luck~!” Asahina waved to the two as they entered the door, a blinding white light submerging them as they enter. Behind them the door closed, then minimized itself into nothing, vanishing completely.
“Hmm, this is a problem. . .” Naoki commented as he held his chin, “We don’t even know what we’re looking for.” He added, cursing the demon girl under his breath. Leaning against a tree, he took this time to try and figure out what to do.
“Ow!” yelled a voice audibly, it came from under Kulora. As Kulora jumped from the startled yelp, up came Asahina rubbing the back of her head, pouting. Seeing this, Kulora blushed a little knowing that she must have sat on Asahina’s head in thought that it was a rock. “Jeez, I can’t get a moment’s peace with you two around…” huffed Asahina looking at the duo groggily. Lucky for them, Asahina overheard their conversation. “Aha, so you two are looking for the world gate, eh?” she asked. The two looked on puzzled as she said this.
“Is that what it’s called, a world gate?” Naoki asked, he was somewhat surprised. The name seemed so cliche, he almost expected it to look like a giant floating door of stone. “I suppose you would know where this gate is located, wouldn’t you.” He asked her, already knowing what kind of answer she’d give.
“Actually…” Asahina began, her voice trailed off as if she was content enough to affirm Naoki’s assumption. “Old man told me to give you guys the first one as a freebie, the rest you’ll have to find on your own.” Asahina answered, with a snap of her fingers a large, silver marble door appeared in the middle of the grass where the trio stood. “Okay, the thing is, in order to find these gates you will have to either beat that *cough*secret-thing-the-boss-is-working-on, or do something meaningful for the people for each of these worlds or some shit, I dunno. Old man called it saving their souls.” the girl said, gesturing her fingers to mimic air quotes.
Kulora thought hard for a moment, there had to be some sort of catch for this sort of thing, there always was. “So, you mean to tell us that if we manage to prove that at least one person is worthwhile in each world, God will change his mind on killing us off?” asked Kulora.
“Possibly.” replied Asahina, though not completely concise with her answer.
“Heh, that bastard really wants to make us heroes work for what we’re worth, ey?” Naoki scoffed. “I get it.” He muttered as he gazed at the grand gate, “Called it, didn’t I.” He remarked with a smirk on his face. “I am the Brave Blademaster Daimyo!” He proclaimed, turning back to Asahina, “Be it striking down a demon or saving the souls of my subjects, I shall not fail.”He declared with every bit of confidence he had.
“Yeah,” Kulora spoke up, she wrapped an arm around Naoki upon impulse and shot Asahina a confident smirk. “Fine, we’ll take on his challenge. I can guarantee you, we won’t falter against anything he’ll throw at us! He never considered that he’s dealing with two master swordsmen!” the girl said out of nowhere. “Damn, there it is again.” she thought, Kulora had been having occasional chuunibyou slip ups since meeting Naoki, it’s gotten worse by the minute.
“Ufufufu, fine then. It’s gonna get worse from here on out. Good luck~!” Asahina waved to the two as they entered the door, a blinding white light submerging them as they enter. Behind them the door closed, then minimized itself into nothing, vanishing completely.
0
A bright luminescent light appeared in the middle of nowhere, suddenly spitting out two strangely dressed travelers. They both fell onto the ground and let out pained groans as they fell. Scrounging to their feet, the duo noticed the ground was much more...green compared to the last world they visited, and the sky was devoid of the bad omen from before. They would have thought that they returned to their world and everything had returned to normal, that is, until the deafening sound of battle drums and yelling from men like an ear ringing crescendo from afar. The ruckus began to approach the two more and more until it sounded like the commotion was right in front of them just over a hill. "What is that sound...is that...a battle?" asked Kulora in her rising arousal, she would have to see it in order to believe it. She had half a mind to rush in and start swinging her sword at the first person she sees, but that's what was separated her from Naoki; she had much more restraint.
After reading Berserk, she would want to reenact one of the chapters, but painstakingly held herself back. Instead, she went ahead of Naoki to the hill. She fell on all fours, peeking over the hill to the quandary from afar.
Naoki was busy tending to his costume, dusting off any foreign particles he had collected during his visit to the ground and adjusting goggles. ”Well, what do you see?” He asked as he inspected the undersides of his sleeves and other parts of his outfit that were normally out of sight.
The girl grew exhilarated, an excited smile lept over Kulora’s face as she gazed over the horizon, two armies stood on opposite ends, adjacent to each other, two countries of different flags awaiting the order to tear into each other. Kulora really wasn’t thinking to jump into this battle was she? She hopped up to her feet and looked back at Naoki with a cat like grin. ”...Something fun. she said before stiffly falling backward off the hill, promptly landing on her feet with a light tap onto the ground. ”C’mon!” she beckoned Naoki to follow from the bottom of the hill.
”Hmm, fun is it?” He remarked as he briskly walked up to the crest of hill, stopping to observe what her commotion was all about. Almost as if by coincidence, a cool wind flew against Naoki who stood unabated, gazing down the field with his arms folded. The conditions were almost perfect, with the sun behind his back and the wind throwing up the tails of his muffler, he seemed almost like some sort of prophetic king looking down upon his subjects.
After taking his time to observe, the warrior’s stoic expression quickly turned into a disappointed scowl. ”The heck. They haven’t even started yet and you’re already wanting to jump into the fray.” He reprimanded, not entirely impressed with Kulora’s battle etiquette. He sighed, while he understood her excitement for battle there were things that needed to be done first. After emptying out his lungs, he took in a deep breath.
”LISTEN!!!” He cried out with a bellowing and dominate voice. Seeing that he had caught their attention, he smirked and raised out his arm in a hailing gesture. ”The Brave Blademaster Daimyo requests audience with both parties!” Kulora had even stopped herself as well and looked back to the man.
Despite either of the two’s intentions, something foul was about, what neither of the two realized was the rank stench of decaying skin, dried blood, and likely the remnants of what used to be someone’s limbs lingered throughout the atmosphere. The duo each winced as they noticed this-- something was amiss, the army on one of the contending sides was...off for some reason. ”Lay waste to this Demon Army!” Kulora would have thought she heard, that is, until she heard the other men shout after the man, riled up.
”What?” said Kulora as she got a good look at the armies; these demons took to builds of ordinary men but their outward appearances were just as grotesque as the smell. The opposite army however, were mere humans who wore equipment that was just about as comparable to sheet metal and rusted and dulled blades.
Naoki was taken aback by the sudden outbreak, though his surprise quickly changed to frustration. ”OY, DON’T YOU GO IGNORING ME!” He called out, drawing his sword, ”YOU IMPOLITE BASTARDS!!!” he charged headfirst down the hill towards the fray.
With his momentum, Naoki lunged forward, taking a random foot soldier's head with him. Much to his surprise, he was shocked at the monstrous features of the beheaded person. ”. . . Oni. . . ?” He said to himself, taking his attention to the two armies, his eyes widened upon the realization and he grit his teeth hard almost to hold back his excitement. ”ONI!!!” He cried out, bringing his sword to the ready again, adrenaline pouring through as his mind became focused on cutting down every last one of the demonic bastards in his sight.
”Damn, he’s as excited as I am…” thought Kulora looking on at the carnage. Before she knew it a demonic soldier sidewinded her without warning. Realizing at the last minute, she helplessly fell to the ground, hitting her head against it and falling unconscious almost instantly.
”Damnit.” Naoki called out, as he witnessed Kulora drop to the ground. He was in a pickle himself, pretty much surrounded on all sides by his foes. ”If I’m going down, I’m taking as many with me.” He thought to himself as he dived straight into the crowd, delivering a good swing through several bodies before being piled on and thrown to the ground. ”Damn, get off me you Onis!” He managed to let out before taking a blow to the head and blacking out.
Moments passed, Kulora awoke half lidded and groggy to the vague sight of the bodies of men being dragged about and burned in a large collected fire. The battle was over, speedily too. Nearly every human that stood at attention in a large bunch long before, were all cut down in their pride. The demonic soldiers tossed whoever wasn’t dead or injured into chains and had them all in caged carriages, likely to be taken as prisoners. A demon knelt over to both Kulora and Naoki’s bodies and inspected them closely.
”Hmm? Still alive, are we?” huffed the demon. His appearance was even more disgusting up close. Another soldier joined his position and knelt over as well, eying the two with squinted pupils.
”Who are these two?” asked the other soldier. From the look of his almost luminescent armor, he looked to be something of a commander. ”They don’t look very malnourished to be one of these runts here, in fact their clothes don’t look of this world...strange.”
”Not sure, sire. But they look able-bodied enough to work in the mines. Shall I bring them in?” the commander did nothing but nod before turning to walk away. The soldier called in others to assist with the two limp bodies into the carriage to a place unknown to others.
After reading Berserk, she would want to reenact one of the chapters, but painstakingly held herself back. Instead, she went ahead of Naoki to the hill. She fell on all fours, peeking over the hill to the quandary from afar.
Naoki was busy tending to his costume, dusting off any foreign particles he had collected during his visit to the ground and adjusting goggles. ”Well, what do you see?” He asked as he inspected the undersides of his sleeves and other parts of his outfit that were normally out of sight.
The girl grew exhilarated, an excited smile lept over Kulora’s face as she gazed over the horizon, two armies stood on opposite ends, adjacent to each other, two countries of different flags awaiting the order to tear into each other. Kulora really wasn’t thinking to jump into this battle was she? She hopped up to her feet and looked back at Naoki with a cat like grin. ”...Something fun. she said before stiffly falling backward off the hill, promptly landing on her feet with a light tap onto the ground. ”C’mon!” she beckoned Naoki to follow from the bottom of the hill.
”Hmm, fun is it?” He remarked as he briskly walked up to the crest of hill, stopping to observe what her commotion was all about. Almost as if by coincidence, a cool wind flew against Naoki who stood unabated, gazing down the field with his arms folded. The conditions were almost perfect, with the sun behind his back and the wind throwing up the tails of his muffler, he seemed almost like some sort of prophetic king looking down upon his subjects.
After taking his time to observe, the warrior’s stoic expression quickly turned into a disappointed scowl. ”The heck. They haven’t even started yet and you’re already wanting to jump into the fray.” He reprimanded, not entirely impressed with Kulora’s battle etiquette. He sighed, while he understood her excitement for battle there were things that needed to be done first. After emptying out his lungs, he took in a deep breath.
”LISTEN!!!” He cried out with a bellowing and dominate voice. Seeing that he had caught their attention, he smirked and raised out his arm in a hailing gesture. ”The Brave Blademaster Daimyo requests audience with both parties!” Kulora had even stopped herself as well and looked back to the man.
Despite either of the two’s intentions, something foul was about, what neither of the two realized was the rank stench of decaying skin, dried blood, and likely the remnants of what used to be someone’s limbs lingered throughout the atmosphere. The duo each winced as they noticed this-- something was amiss, the army on one of the contending sides was...off for some reason. ”Lay waste to this Demon Army!” Kulora would have thought she heard, that is, until she heard the other men shout after the man, riled up.
”What?” said Kulora as she got a good look at the armies; these demons took to builds of ordinary men but their outward appearances were just as grotesque as the smell. The opposite army however, were mere humans who wore equipment that was just about as comparable to sheet metal and rusted and dulled blades.
Naoki was taken aback by the sudden outbreak, though his surprise quickly changed to frustration. ”OY, DON’T YOU GO IGNORING ME!” He called out, drawing his sword, ”YOU IMPOLITE BASTARDS!!!” he charged headfirst down the hill towards the fray.
With his momentum, Naoki lunged forward, taking a random foot soldier's head with him. Much to his surprise, he was shocked at the monstrous features of the beheaded person. ”. . . Oni. . . ?” He said to himself, taking his attention to the two armies, his eyes widened upon the realization and he grit his teeth hard almost to hold back his excitement. ”ONI!!!” He cried out, bringing his sword to the ready again, adrenaline pouring through as his mind became focused on cutting down every last one of the demonic bastards in his sight.
”Damn, he’s as excited as I am…” thought Kulora looking on at the carnage. Before she knew it a demonic soldier sidewinded her without warning. Realizing at the last minute, she helplessly fell to the ground, hitting her head against it and falling unconscious almost instantly.
”Damnit.” Naoki called out, as he witnessed Kulora drop to the ground. He was in a pickle himself, pretty much surrounded on all sides by his foes. ”If I’m going down, I’m taking as many with me.” He thought to himself as he dived straight into the crowd, delivering a good swing through several bodies before being piled on and thrown to the ground. ”Damn, get off me you Onis!” He managed to let out before taking a blow to the head and blacking out.
Moments passed, Kulora awoke half lidded and groggy to the vague sight of the bodies of men being dragged about and burned in a large collected fire. The battle was over, speedily too. Nearly every human that stood at attention in a large bunch long before, were all cut down in their pride. The demonic soldiers tossed whoever wasn’t dead or injured into chains and had them all in caged carriages, likely to be taken as prisoners. A demon knelt over to both Kulora and Naoki’s bodies and inspected them closely.
”Hmm? Still alive, are we?” huffed the demon. His appearance was even more disgusting up close. Another soldier joined his position and knelt over as well, eying the two with squinted pupils.
”Who are these two?” asked the other soldier. From the look of his almost luminescent armor, he looked to be something of a commander. ”They don’t look very malnourished to be one of these runts here, in fact their clothes don’t look of this world...strange.”
”Not sure, sire. But they look able-bodied enough to work in the mines. Shall I bring them in?” the commander did nothing but nod before turning to walk away. The soldier called in others to assist with the two limp bodies into the carriage to a place unknown to others.
0
Naoki awoke in a nondescript cave, darkness as far as the could see. He jolted upward only to hear startled yells from the other side of the cave. It did not take him long to realize that he was in a jail cell, with a multitude of men, women and children, along with the passed out Kulora who rolled around spouting her usual reposed ramblings.
He scowled at his current situation and slumped back against the wall. [color=#06600]”Captured. . . damnit.” He cursed, it was the most dishonorable thing imaginable to him but behind that grim expression laid a subtle smirk. ”I can’t wait to tear these cursed Oni apart.” He thought to himself, feeling a burning drive well up inside.
He looked over to his fellow prisoners, ”Anyone can tell me what has happened?” He asked, wanting a better idea of his situation.
Naoki expected a concise answer, however he got naught but a silent room full of abnormally skinny, and ragged people. One of the men decided to speak up, scared out of his mind however. "Captured," he said. "These...things, seek a swift campaign against us humans...well, what's left of us anyway. They told us that damnable Old God appointed Hell a chance at redemption if they were to carry out his will. the man shuddered at the very mention of the Old God. The things he was capable of would make anyone cower, really.
A twitch flashed across Naoki’s already angered scowl at the name. ”The bastard is responsible for this as well.” He muttered under his breath. ”You all haven’t given up fighting, have you?” He asked them. Surely things were not bad enough that man’s primal instinct to live was shattered, Naoki had hoped.
The man along with the rest of the group had faces of dismissal, clear indications that Naoki’s wish was for naught. ”. . . I see.” He responded, lowering his head in disappointment. ”. . . for what reason do you live then?” He murmured under his breath, just enough to catch their attention. Raising his head, he glared at them with fierce eyes, ”Is a life of captivity enough for you?” He accused them with a scornful look.
”You don’t understand...The Old God is too powerful,” said an elderly man, he had to be assisted by a few men. He stared at Naoki with a perturbed, quivering gaze. ”If he wanted to, he could wipe us all out in an instant...no-- instead he slowly snuffs us all out...enslaves us until we’re ran ragged. There’s no hope left.”
”Bullshit,” said Kulora as she rose from her repose, startling everyone save for Naoki in the room. She groggily rubbed her eyes, recovering from her obscene dream and delivered a distasteful frown, showing visibly that she did not approve of the man’s words. Usually she would be timid around a large pack like this; one would wonder what triggers this attitude of her’s.. ”If this God is so powerful, why are you all still here, living and breathing? Feh! The Old God is all talk from what I’ve seen so far. Naoki is right; life isn’t worth living if we are all corralled like cattle, having to lie in wait wondering if you might be taken away to execution, or when you may keel over from lack of nourishment. He may have crippled us humans, but all wounds are made to heal in due time.”
”That is exactly right.” Naoki affirmed, nodding to her. ”Humanity wasn’t left to his own devices for centuries just for some old bastard in the sky to decide it isn’t so in an instant.” He declared, clenching a fist in anger, ”Even if it’s a small chance, I’d rather fight for the sake of freedom than sit here and wait for my next chores.”
"Hohoho, I remember when I was around your age; so naive and brave and ambitious. Thinking I could rebel against my betters," answered the old man. "I spouted the same rubbish too. Heh, we'd be lucky if you two would be our saviors." he laughed sardonically, delivering a melancholic smile afterwards.
”Tch, and I’ve known old folk like yourself.” Naoki joked sardonically, ”Meek, unwilling and apprehensive.” He shook his head, ”Yeah, we very well may be your saviours,” He declared as he stood up from his spot. ”Because I’ll be damned if I ever become so cowardly like you.”
Kulora put a hand on Naoki’s shoulder and shook her head saying their attempts were for nill.. ”It’s no use, these people are completely broken, look at †˜em. At some point I do imagine them living happy and prosperous lives like we were before The Old God decided to show himself. Now they end up like...this.” she said, looking on at the withered people before her with distaste.
”I say we make an example-- to show that The Old God is merely a coward hiding behind a cloud...and I think I found our test subject.” Kulora smirked wryly as she eyed a familiar looking demon walking past their cell. Yes, Kulora recognized him clearly as she was half groggy back at the battlefield. His not-so-clean boots crunched against the stray rocks of the cave prison violently as he eyed the cowering prisoners with disgust.
”Tch, savages.” he spat before meeting the collective gold and green gazes of the two newest prisoners before him. ”Evening sir, frauline. It is a pleasure to meet you both. Allow me to introduce myself: I am Abraham Sorenstein, but you may call me…sir. Especially you, frauline.” the demon said, visibly winking at Kulora. ”To cut to the chase, I assume you know why you are having a complimentary stay in my wonderful mind, yes? The Old God is offering a king’s bounty of rewards, not money, not assorted women ribbed to our personal liking, nor is it a massive feast-- nein, it is something all the sweeter; redemption. he said. A crooked smile came across Abraham’s face as he made a pose. His arms reached opposite directions, almost as if he was embracing some immense power and he looked to the sky, likely looking forward to this development taking place in some later date.
”Redemption? Like, what, is he gonna let you all come back to heaven or something?” questioned Kulora with the intention to mock.
”Precisely!” Abraham exclaimed, completely riled up to the point where he may pop right there. ”He promised us redemption into Heaven if we participate in his little...outing, and lucky for us, we found the keys to our luxury!”
Naoki merely scoffed at the demon’s little exposition. ”What, you’re only interested in getting back into that old bastard’s graces for the sake of extravagance? Please.” He mocked as he turned away in a manner of disgust.
"...I'd mind my tongue if I were you, boy. Demons do not take kindly to back talk.” warned Abraham scowling at Naoki.
”And humans do not take too kindly to threats, especially idle ones.” Said a voice from behind Kulora and Naoki, he seemed to be in the shadiest part of the cell that no one saw him. Footsteps crunched forward towards the side of the cell, becoming much more vocal as the man approached the two. His face remained shrouded in the shadow of the cave until the flame from his cigarette illuminated his face dimly. He was sharply dressed compared to the two, apart from his straggly dark green hair, he wore a white dress shirt with a purple tie and a black blazer with one of the sleeves rolled up topping it off. The only thing standing out from his outfit was his red scarf that hung below his back. ”I reckon you should rethink what you say to these two, I can sense they have more than enough power to rip you apart…mate.
”Hmph. Enjoy your delusions while you can, once you begin working in the mines you’ll soon become like one of these...things here. I have more important things to attend to than talking to you abominations anyway. Ciao~.” said Abraham walking away from the group.
”Tch, what a tool. You two alright? Guy has been causing trouble for them since I got here. said the young man to the two, jamming his hands into the pockets of his pants.
”Heh, those who stick up their nose long enough will get struck down eventually.” Naoki remarked, dusting off his coat in good riddance of the demon.
”Heh, good to see a couple of humans with some grit in this world,” the man said, pulling a hand out to Naoki, gesturing him to shake. ”Thomas Reiss is the name.”
”I am the Brave Blademaster Daimyo,” Naoki responded, giving him a strong, firm grip ”Naoki Takahara.
”Good to meet’cha, Naoki--” choked Thomas as he grazed eyes with the red-haired woman timidly standing behind Naoki, suddenly cowering at the sight of a new face. And it was going so well for her, too. ”Who’s-- ahem-- who’s your friend?”
”Hmm?” Naoki hummed, taking note of the man’s change in demeanor. He took a step to the side, ”Why don’t you ask yourself?” He offered, giving an encouraging shove towards her.
Thomas attempted to purge the ill consumed smoke from his lung before extending a hand to Kulora. ”Ahem, hey there. Don’t be shy, I don’t bite. Your name is? he greeted, however that made the girl impulsively back away slightly.
”I-I’m Kulora Waverly.” she only said edging an eye to Naoki who was likely scowling scoldingly at the girl. ”Sorry…” she sheeply responded, a stifled laugh coming from behind Thomas.
As Thomas got rid of the rest of the smoke, he sighed but smiled at Kulora’s timidness nevertheless. He always found girls like this to be his type, he would never admit this openly though; they would be one of his guilty pleasures, Kulora didn’t have to know that though. ”So let me guess, you two just so happened to be teleported from the safety of your homes to a vast wasteland of fucked up proportions, then this horned girl with long black hair, wearing an orange kimono tells you God decided to screw everyone over because people are corrupt, so you have to go on a quest to take his throne or die a painful death as the world slowly destroys itself from the inside out?” assumed Thomas, taking another drag of the cigarette.
”Yes, that’s exactly right.” Naoki responded, clearing his throat as he came up from behind.
”How did you know that?” asked Kulora.
Suddenly a dim light appeared over Thomas’ hand, a moment after, a silver steel stave appeared into his palm, on the very top were two dragons coinciding with each other, almost as if they were primed to devour each other whole, they’re necks twirled along the stave until they’re heads met. Yes, from what Thomas assumed, he was among the ones chosen to inherit the throne.. ”...Just a hunch.” he expressed sardonically.
”Heh, so you’re a chosen hero like us.” Naoki remarked, observing the man’s Thorn. ”That would explain a lot, you didn’t fit in with this spineless bunch.” He added, looking back at the downtrodden crowd behind them.
”Yep,” Thomas nodded, he wasn’t too happy about it though, having to save a dying world all being put into the hands of three youngsters didn’t seem like the most ideal thing for him. ”Speaking of, since there’s now three of us, devising a plan to escape should be easier, what would you two have in mind?” he asked, assuming they would have thought of something already.
”Ehhh…” Kulora came by, raising her hand. ”Actually, I have one brewing but it isn’t exactly solid…”
”Do ya now? Well let’s hear it.” implored Thomas, happy to hear that his group of heroes were way ahead of him. Naoki stayed silent, pondering to himself. Only plans he could come up with involved killing every demon he saw.
”Actually...my only idea was that we take that Abraham guy hostage...other than that, I got nothing.” Thomas clapped a hand to his forehead from the lack of structure. That was a good idea, but it was merely bare bones to an actual plan. He bat an eye to the demons standing guard outside of the cell and remembered from his roleplaying days what demons craved for-- and judging by Kulora’s figure, she fit the description perfectly. He nudged Naoki and whispered into his ear from what he gathered while Kulora stood confused.
He scowled at his current situation and slumped back against the wall. [color=#06600]”Captured. . . damnit.” He cursed, it was the most dishonorable thing imaginable to him but behind that grim expression laid a subtle smirk. ”I can’t wait to tear these cursed Oni apart.” He thought to himself, feeling a burning drive well up inside.
He looked over to his fellow prisoners, ”Anyone can tell me what has happened?” He asked, wanting a better idea of his situation.
Naoki expected a concise answer, however he got naught but a silent room full of abnormally skinny, and ragged people. One of the men decided to speak up, scared out of his mind however. "Captured," he said. "These...things, seek a swift campaign against us humans...well, what's left of us anyway. They told us that damnable Old God appointed Hell a chance at redemption if they were to carry out his will. the man shuddered at the very mention of the Old God. The things he was capable of would make anyone cower, really.
A twitch flashed across Naoki’s already angered scowl at the name. ”The bastard is responsible for this as well.” He muttered under his breath. ”You all haven’t given up fighting, have you?” He asked them. Surely things were not bad enough that man’s primal instinct to live was shattered, Naoki had hoped.
The man along with the rest of the group had faces of dismissal, clear indications that Naoki’s wish was for naught. ”. . . I see.” He responded, lowering his head in disappointment. ”. . . for what reason do you live then?” He murmured under his breath, just enough to catch their attention. Raising his head, he glared at them with fierce eyes, ”Is a life of captivity enough for you?” He accused them with a scornful look.
”You don’t understand...The Old God is too powerful,” said an elderly man, he had to be assisted by a few men. He stared at Naoki with a perturbed, quivering gaze. ”If he wanted to, he could wipe us all out in an instant...no-- instead he slowly snuffs us all out...enslaves us until we’re ran ragged. There’s no hope left.”
”Bullshit,” said Kulora as she rose from her repose, startling everyone save for Naoki in the room. She groggily rubbed her eyes, recovering from her obscene dream and delivered a distasteful frown, showing visibly that she did not approve of the man’s words. Usually she would be timid around a large pack like this; one would wonder what triggers this attitude of her’s.. ”If this God is so powerful, why are you all still here, living and breathing? Feh! The Old God is all talk from what I’ve seen so far. Naoki is right; life isn’t worth living if we are all corralled like cattle, having to lie in wait wondering if you might be taken away to execution, or when you may keel over from lack of nourishment. He may have crippled us humans, but all wounds are made to heal in due time.”
”That is exactly right.” Naoki affirmed, nodding to her. ”Humanity wasn’t left to his own devices for centuries just for some old bastard in the sky to decide it isn’t so in an instant.” He declared, clenching a fist in anger, ”Even if it’s a small chance, I’d rather fight for the sake of freedom than sit here and wait for my next chores.”
"Hohoho, I remember when I was around your age; so naive and brave and ambitious. Thinking I could rebel against my betters," answered the old man. "I spouted the same rubbish too. Heh, we'd be lucky if you two would be our saviors." he laughed sardonically, delivering a melancholic smile afterwards.
”Tch, and I’ve known old folk like yourself.” Naoki joked sardonically, ”Meek, unwilling and apprehensive.” He shook his head, ”Yeah, we very well may be your saviours,” He declared as he stood up from his spot. ”Because I’ll be damned if I ever become so cowardly like you.”
Kulora put a hand on Naoki’s shoulder and shook her head saying their attempts were for nill.. ”It’s no use, these people are completely broken, look at †˜em. At some point I do imagine them living happy and prosperous lives like we were before The Old God decided to show himself. Now they end up like...this.” she said, looking on at the withered people before her with distaste.
”I say we make an example-- to show that The Old God is merely a coward hiding behind a cloud...and I think I found our test subject.” Kulora smirked wryly as she eyed a familiar looking demon walking past their cell. Yes, Kulora recognized him clearly as she was half groggy back at the battlefield. His not-so-clean boots crunched against the stray rocks of the cave prison violently as he eyed the cowering prisoners with disgust.
”Tch, savages.” he spat before meeting the collective gold and green gazes of the two newest prisoners before him. ”Evening sir, frauline. It is a pleasure to meet you both. Allow me to introduce myself: I am Abraham Sorenstein, but you may call me…sir. Especially you, frauline.” the demon said, visibly winking at Kulora. ”To cut to the chase, I assume you know why you are having a complimentary stay in my wonderful mind, yes? The Old God is offering a king’s bounty of rewards, not money, not assorted women ribbed to our personal liking, nor is it a massive feast-- nein, it is something all the sweeter; redemption. he said. A crooked smile came across Abraham’s face as he made a pose. His arms reached opposite directions, almost as if he was embracing some immense power and he looked to the sky, likely looking forward to this development taking place in some later date.
”Redemption? Like, what, is he gonna let you all come back to heaven or something?” questioned Kulora with the intention to mock.
”Precisely!” Abraham exclaimed, completely riled up to the point where he may pop right there. ”He promised us redemption into Heaven if we participate in his little...outing, and lucky for us, we found the keys to our luxury!”
Naoki merely scoffed at the demon’s little exposition. ”What, you’re only interested in getting back into that old bastard’s graces for the sake of extravagance? Please.” He mocked as he turned away in a manner of disgust.
"...I'd mind my tongue if I were you, boy. Demons do not take kindly to back talk.” warned Abraham scowling at Naoki.
”And humans do not take too kindly to threats, especially idle ones.” Said a voice from behind Kulora and Naoki, he seemed to be in the shadiest part of the cell that no one saw him. Footsteps crunched forward towards the side of the cell, becoming much more vocal as the man approached the two. His face remained shrouded in the shadow of the cave until the flame from his cigarette illuminated his face dimly. He was sharply dressed compared to the two, apart from his straggly dark green hair, he wore a white dress shirt with a purple tie and a black blazer with one of the sleeves rolled up topping it off. The only thing standing out from his outfit was his red scarf that hung below his back. ”I reckon you should rethink what you say to these two, I can sense they have more than enough power to rip you apart…mate.
”Hmph. Enjoy your delusions while you can, once you begin working in the mines you’ll soon become like one of these...things here. I have more important things to attend to than talking to you abominations anyway. Ciao~.” said Abraham walking away from the group.
”Tch, what a tool. You two alright? Guy has been causing trouble for them since I got here. said the young man to the two, jamming his hands into the pockets of his pants.
”Heh, those who stick up their nose long enough will get struck down eventually.” Naoki remarked, dusting off his coat in good riddance of the demon.
”Heh, good to see a couple of humans with some grit in this world,” the man said, pulling a hand out to Naoki, gesturing him to shake. ”Thomas Reiss is the name.”
”I am the Brave Blademaster Daimyo,” Naoki responded, giving him a strong, firm grip ”Naoki Takahara.
”Good to meet’cha, Naoki--” choked Thomas as he grazed eyes with the red-haired woman timidly standing behind Naoki, suddenly cowering at the sight of a new face. And it was going so well for her, too. ”Who’s-- ahem-- who’s your friend?”
”Hmm?” Naoki hummed, taking note of the man’s change in demeanor. He took a step to the side, ”Why don’t you ask yourself?” He offered, giving an encouraging shove towards her.
Thomas attempted to purge the ill consumed smoke from his lung before extending a hand to Kulora. ”Ahem, hey there. Don’t be shy, I don’t bite. Your name is? he greeted, however that made the girl impulsively back away slightly.
”I-I’m Kulora Waverly.” she only said edging an eye to Naoki who was likely scowling scoldingly at the girl. ”Sorry…” she sheeply responded, a stifled laugh coming from behind Thomas.
As Thomas got rid of the rest of the smoke, he sighed but smiled at Kulora’s timidness nevertheless. He always found girls like this to be his type, he would never admit this openly though; they would be one of his guilty pleasures, Kulora didn’t have to know that though. ”So let me guess, you two just so happened to be teleported from the safety of your homes to a vast wasteland of fucked up proportions, then this horned girl with long black hair, wearing an orange kimono tells you God decided to screw everyone over because people are corrupt, so you have to go on a quest to take his throne or die a painful death as the world slowly destroys itself from the inside out?” assumed Thomas, taking another drag of the cigarette.
”Yes, that’s exactly right.” Naoki responded, clearing his throat as he came up from behind.
”How did you know that?” asked Kulora.
Suddenly a dim light appeared over Thomas’ hand, a moment after, a silver steel stave appeared into his palm, on the very top were two dragons coinciding with each other, almost as if they were primed to devour each other whole, they’re necks twirled along the stave until they’re heads met. Yes, from what Thomas assumed, he was among the ones chosen to inherit the throne.. ”...Just a hunch.” he expressed sardonically.
”Heh, so you’re a chosen hero like us.” Naoki remarked, observing the man’s Thorn. ”That would explain a lot, you didn’t fit in with this spineless bunch.” He added, looking back at the downtrodden crowd behind them.
”Yep,” Thomas nodded, he wasn’t too happy about it though, having to save a dying world all being put into the hands of three youngsters didn’t seem like the most ideal thing for him. ”Speaking of, since there’s now three of us, devising a plan to escape should be easier, what would you two have in mind?” he asked, assuming they would have thought of something already.
”Ehhh…” Kulora came by, raising her hand. ”Actually, I have one brewing but it isn’t exactly solid…”
”Do ya now? Well let’s hear it.” implored Thomas, happy to hear that his group of heroes were way ahead of him. Naoki stayed silent, pondering to himself. Only plans he could come up with involved killing every demon he saw.
”Actually...my only idea was that we take that Abraham guy hostage...other than that, I got nothing.” Thomas clapped a hand to his forehead from the lack of structure. That was a good idea, but it was merely bare bones to an actual plan. He bat an eye to the demons standing guard outside of the cell and remembered from his roleplaying days what demons craved for-- and judging by Kulora’s figure, she fit the description perfectly. He nudged Naoki and whispered into his ear from what he gathered while Kulora stood confused.
0
”But why me?” whispered Kulora to the group.
”Because every other woman here are skin and bones. Look at you; you’re gorgeous, I’d wanna molest you myself.” said Thomas confidently, but grew flustered realizing that Kulora didn’t like what he had said. ”--If I were a demon, that is.”
”Indeed, he has point.” Naoki affirmed, ”If this were a galge, you’d definitely be heroine material.” He sighed, ”IF this were a galge. . . “
”Jeez, I always have to do the embarrassing shit, do I? If this were a story, the author would be a real asshole…” Kulora complained before approaching the metal bars of the cell. She puffed out her chest and arched her back, sensually adding to the seemingly lewd effect of the character. She looked back to the two men who were watching, eagerly wondering if this would work. They gestured her encouragingly not to stop; she sighed at this and leaned onto the bars to gain the demons’ attention. ”H-Hey there, have you two been...really stressed lately? Being guards and all.” huffed Kulora, her voice even changed into that of a comely woman, it was almost as if she was a different person completely.
One of the guards grunted angrily, possibly urging Kulora to go back inside and quiet down. Seeing this, the girl knew that she had to put out more. She removed her coat and dropped it onto the floor, the girl pressed her breasts against the cold metal bars and began to rub them, making obscene moaning sounds, where she would only make when asleep. One of the guards couldn’t help but toss an eye to the deplorable girl and fidget slightly. ”...Well she IS just offering herself to us on a silver platter…” he nudged the other guard and unlocked the cell, both filing into the room and grabbing Kulora, forcefully having fun with the girl, fondling and damn near ready to reveal her breasts.
”Ahn! Hey-- any m-moment would be great!” yelled Kulora to her peering companions. Naoki, having waited for this moment, sprung up and with a powerful lunge, brought his fist to bear.
”Hissatsu: SHIPPU-KEN!!” He called out as his knuckles of steel impacted a demon’s cheek, producing a bone shattering crack. Naoki almost wished there was a slo-mo cam to record it as he watched the figure fly into the bars.
As Kulora was dropped to the ground, flames engulfed her foot, with that she delivered a downward axe kick to the other demon’s skull, sending him limp into the ground. ”Tch, Rot, you bastard!” she said as a few more well placed kicks were connected to the already dead demon’s ribs. Thomas put a hand on the girl’s shoulder and nodded.
An enthusiastic Naoki pumped his right bicep in an attempt to look cool. ”Just to note,” He uttered before turning back to the two with a stern and serious expression. ”That attack was just an ordinary punch!” He declared earnestly.
”Yeesh, remind me not to piss you two off.” said Thomas looking on at the carnage. He was stifled by an angry and flustered Kulora as she delivered a swift chop to his forehead. It was nothing compared to the cushy, playful ones she gives to Naoki, this was enough to leave a mark across his face. Thomas fell to the ground reeling from the sizzling mark across his head.
”Too late. Good plan, asshole.” snarled Kulora, looking down at the pained man, still angered from his plan. She walked ahead of the group and conjured Ka Ryu, craving blood.
Naoki stood in his pose, stone cold expressionless for a while before finally clickling his tongue. ”Tch,” He looked down at Thomas on the floor with a disatisfied expression, ”And I had you figured for the straightman.” He commented before similarly summoning Matsukaze and following right up besides Kulora.
”Because every other woman here are skin and bones. Look at you; you’re gorgeous, I’d wanna molest you myself.” said Thomas confidently, but grew flustered realizing that Kulora didn’t like what he had said. ”--If I were a demon, that is.”
”Indeed, he has point.” Naoki affirmed, ”If this were a galge, you’d definitely be heroine material.” He sighed, ”IF this were a galge. . . “
”Jeez, I always have to do the embarrassing shit, do I? If this were a story, the author would be a real asshole…” Kulora complained before approaching the metal bars of the cell. She puffed out her chest and arched her back, sensually adding to the seemingly lewd effect of the character. She looked back to the two men who were watching, eagerly wondering if this would work. They gestured her encouragingly not to stop; she sighed at this and leaned onto the bars to gain the demons’ attention. ”H-Hey there, have you two been...really stressed lately? Being guards and all.” huffed Kulora, her voice even changed into that of a comely woman, it was almost as if she was a different person completely.
One of the guards grunted angrily, possibly urging Kulora to go back inside and quiet down. Seeing this, the girl knew that she had to put out more. She removed her coat and dropped it onto the floor, the girl pressed her breasts against the cold metal bars and began to rub them, making obscene moaning sounds, where she would only make when asleep. One of the guards couldn’t help but toss an eye to the deplorable girl and fidget slightly. ”...Well she IS just offering herself to us on a silver platter…” he nudged the other guard and unlocked the cell, both filing into the room and grabbing Kulora, forcefully having fun with the girl, fondling and damn near ready to reveal her breasts.
”Ahn! Hey-- any m-moment would be great!” yelled Kulora to her peering companions. Naoki, having waited for this moment, sprung up and with a powerful lunge, brought his fist to bear.
”Hissatsu: SHIPPU-KEN!!” He called out as his knuckles of steel impacted a demon’s cheek, producing a bone shattering crack. Naoki almost wished there was a slo-mo cam to record it as he watched the figure fly into the bars.
As Kulora was dropped to the ground, flames engulfed her foot, with that she delivered a downward axe kick to the other demon’s skull, sending him limp into the ground. ”Tch, Rot, you bastard!” she said as a few more well placed kicks were connected to the already dead demon’s ribs. Thomas put a hand on the girl’s shoulder and nodded.
An enthusiastic Naoki pumped his right bicep in an attempt to look cool. ”Just to note,” He uttered before turning back to the two with a stern and serious expression. ”That attack was just an ordinary punch!” He declared earnestly.
”Yeesh, remind me not to piss you two off.” said Thomas looking on at the carnage. He was stifled by an angry and flustered Kulora as she delivered a swift chop to his forehead. It was nothing compared to the cushy, playful ones she gives to Naoki, this was enough to leave a mark across his face. Thomas fell to the ground reeling from the sizzling mark across his head.
”Too late. Good plan, asshole.” snarled Kulora, looking down at the pained man, still angered from his plan. She walked ahead of the group and conjured Ka Ryu, craving blood.
Naoki stood in his pose, stone cold expressionless for a while before finally clickling his tongue. ”Tch,” He looked down at Thomas on the floor with a disatisfied expression, ”And I had you figured for the straightman.” He commented before similarly summoning Matsukaze and following right up besides Kulora.
0
The three ran through the halls, only Kulora and Naoki taking the lives of stray demons with them, not even giving them chances of sounding the alarms-- or seeing them for that matter.. ”Oi, any idea where we’re headed, funnyman?” Asked Kulora mockingly to Thomas. Apparently she was still pretty heated from before, she would think Thomas had a thing for seeing women getting violated by demons at this point. She didn’t even turn her head to him to speak.
”Err, yeah. Going off from your idea, Abraham would be monitoring over the prisoners in the mining area. said Thomas running behind the two. ”If we take him hostage like you said, we SHOULD be able to get out unscathed.
”As long as I can still kill the other ones.” Naoki responded, a mad smile on his face as they rushed through the halls leaving a trail of blood and bodies.
”After that, my sword is just about ready to taste the blood of every demon here. You’d better hope I don’t kill Abraham himself before we leave.” replied Kulora suddenly quickening her pace ahead of the group.
”That was…! Not my intention...to...she’s gone. Damn it, Reiss. As Kulora departed from the ground naught could be heard were the sounds of crackling flames and screams of demons being dismembered down the hallway.
After a filling a few more floors with naught but death, the trio finally reached the ground floor-- the mining area. They all paused at a balcony and looked on at prisoners being whipped constantly by screaming demons urging them to keep working. It was hot, the volcanic hot flames engulfing the cave rocks violently, heat beating down upon the men, women, and children. Some of the guards would go so far as to violate the women when they get bored--truly a deplorable sight indeed.
”Shit…” Thomas gasped. ”This is what The Old God envisioned for us…?” he remarked darkly, looking on at the scene before him.
”Tch, standard fare for brutish monsters like demons.” Naoki responded in a composed manner before turning back to Thomas, his expression truly frightening as he raised the blade of his Thorn near his cheek, ”I can’t wait to kill them all.” He declared, his words seething with the outrage and hatred of witnessing such sight.
”Let’s not jump the gun… I will be the one burn them all. replied Kulora wearing a crazed look upon her face. She swatted the excess blood from her sword, creating a painted trail across the floor and wall. She hopped over the railing and landed on her feet lightly, the flap of her coat flowed upward as she landed. Thomas stomped on his cigarette and followed suit, landing next to the girl.
Naoki smirked as he watched the two go ahead. ”Heh, we’ll see who takes out the most.” He remarked before following suit, producing a gentle wind around him as he touched ground. ”Now let’s get this over and done with.” He declared with crossed arms.
From atop a podium, Abraham looked on at the three cut through each of his soldiers like a hot knife through butter, he stood taken aback by their display in power. ”T...This is bullshitza, are they planning to escape…?” the man’s face lit up in anger, veins popped along his neck as he grit his teeth roughly. ”No one escapes...it’s impossible!” he pushed a button on a large control panel, opening a large gate--out of it stomped a large cyclops eyeing the three angrily, smacking it’s lips for something to snack on. It swung it’s arm towards the other demons, swiping them out of the way. Kulora slashed a few Judgement Cuts the ogre’s way in an attempt to cripple him but each of the flames evaporated against it’s tough skin.
Witnessing Kulora’s attack fail, Naoki focused a great wind onto his blade. ”REPPU-ZAN!!” He shouted as the cutting gale left his blade. Though a fine spectacle, it was for naught as the towering beast only slowed his advance slightly as the wind passed him. A twitch ran Naoki’s face as he brought himself to the ready.
Thomas stepped forward, he dropped his cigarette onto the ground and stomped on it. ”Looks like this shell is much too hard to crack,” he straightened his glasses to his face and summoned his Thorn-- Kopaka. ”Mind if I cut in? he said to the two as his stave emanated with energy, suddenly a circular rune formed under the Cyclops's feet, suddenly shooting out a pillar of flame which rose over his body, singing its flesh to cinder. The Cyclops, or rather, what was left of it collapsed to the ground in a burnt mess. Thomas smirked back at his group from the results, making sure to prove that he was of some use.
Naoki gave a whistle in acknowledgement before looking up to where the head demon stood. The man was absolutely shocked and horrified, just how Naoki wanted it. With a smirk, he continued his advance, cutting down whatever small fry came in his way. Kulora jumped ahead of the man, jumping onto the balcony where Abraham stood. She held her blade to the man’s throat and wore a crazed expression across her face. The man was backed into a wall and pissed himself realizing there was no more space to distance, he slid down the wall and cowered in fear as the three gathered. ”Please, have you any mercy? I...I didn’t mean any of that blasphemic bullshit from earlier, the Old God just bribed me into saying that stuff, you must believe me!” He pleaded.
”Tch. You sound nothing more than a rabid dog about to be put down.” Remarked Thomas with a less than approving gaze. He would expect much more of a challenge as much shit this man had been talking in the past. ”It’s your call, Wave. After all, you had to endure that and it wasn’t like me to do that to a woman; with that, I’m sorry. What do you wanna do with him?” Kulora wouldn’t want anything more than to gut this pig of a demon alive, but getting out of that prison was first priority. She grabbed the man by his collar and brought him close.
”Hey Oni, I would recommend that you tell me the first exit out of this hell hole before I get pissed. Ordered Kulora. Before Abraham could say anything, the girl delivered a swift bash from the butt of her sword to his jaw. ”And for the record, don’t call me fraulein.”
”Noted. coughed the now winded Abraham. He pointed towards a switch on a control panel that likely opened every door in the prison-- especially the cells of the prisoners. Kulora smirked and gestured Naoki to do the honors, she had something planned for each of the prisoners when the come out into the yard..
”Do it, Daimyo.” she ordered. Naoki only smirked in mutual agreement before approaching the petrified demon, striding over with his sword over his back like an executioner hefting his axe.
”Now don’t worry, you damn Oni.” Naoki reassured sarcastically. ”At least your story will be one we shall use to teach the children.” The demon let out one last plea for his life before Naoki made a swift slash, disconnecting his head from his body. ”Those who stick up their nose long enough will always be struck down.”
The head plopped onto the floor, leaving a splash of blood before rolling over besides Naoki’s feet. Grabbing it by the hairs, he rested his blade on his shoulder and brought it face to face with a smirk. ”Cheh, ugliest one I’ve seen so far.” He remarked with a scoff before turning to Kulora, ”So what do you want to do with the rest?”
”Bastard doesn’t deserve a proper burial, so we burn him. Later though, I got an announcement to make..."
As each of the men and women of the mine filed into the large open space of the yard, it could have been mistaken for a crowd at a large concert or something along the lines. A large ear ringing confused chatter was heard between each and every last one of them and seemingly held no hope of ceasing until a loud clacking sound of boot and metal colliding stifled them suddenly. A blinding light switched on towards the crowd, and the culprit for all this-- was Kulora. The fairly upset girl posed atop the metal balcony with her sword propped to the ground with both her hands planted onto the sheathed blade.
Her legs stood spread while her hair flowed with the breeze valiantly. ”Do you see here!? questioned the riled up girl rhetorically, her voice bellowed through the prison that the echo rung everyone's ears. ”The Old God is nothing to fear! He is merely a coward hiding behind a cloud of lies and expects you all to bend to his will. It sickens me to even watch humanity tremble to the name of this man! I do not expect you all to cower at the sight of demons-- we, who booted them from the Mount Hiei! Listen well to my words you pigs in sheeps clothing!" she continued. Her tangent slowly turned into something Naoki would say funnily enough, in fact she could see him smirking and nodding off in affirmation to the side of her. ”I am the Kantou Vagabond, Guitar Case Drifter-- the Great Blademaster Kotobuki. If you think I will sit by and watch us tremble like mere ants, you're dead wrong. WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK I AM!? she finally climaxed her speech, it was almost as if her entire body would freeze frame and turn into some kind of Japanese artwork as she said this.
The prisoners looked on in silence after the girl's speech, though suddenly someone from within the crowd cried out in triumph, and others joined shortly after. Within a moment the entire cave was filled with joy as the thousands of men, women and children let out screams of victory. Perhaps this particular display was all the proof they needed rather than simple words of encouragement. Thomas put and hand on Kulora’s shoulder and nodded jubilantly.
"You did good. Here I am thinking you're this overly timid blob of a girl, but I was wrong apparently." he tussled her hair and delivered a swift thumbs up. Kulora blushed a little, completely dismissing what had happened before, she had vented enough today. Hell, after all that, Thomas would think the girl was off her rocker, but accepted it either way.
While the two were having their sweet moment, Naoki seemed to have been continuing to cheer on the crowd with a display of Abraham’s head, raising it high for them all to see while shouting rather brutal proclamations against any other demon who would go after them. He was just caught in his own little world.
”Err, yeah. Going off from your idea, Abraham would be monitoring over the prisoners in the mining area. said Thomas running behind the two. ”If we take him hostage like you said, we SHOULD be able to get out unscathed.
”As long as I can still kill the other ones.” Naoki responded, a mad smile on his face as they rushed through the halls leaving a trail of blood and bodies.
”After that, my sword is just about ready to taste the blood of every demon here. You’d better hope I don’t kill Abraham himself before we leave.” replied Kulora suddenly quickening her pace ahead of the group.
”That was…! Not my intention...to...she’s gone. Damn it, Reiss. As Kulora departed from the ground naught could be heard were the sounds of crackling flames and screams of demons being dismembered down the hallway.
After a filling a few more floors with naught but death, the trio finally reached the ground floor-- the mining area. They all paused at a balcony and looked on at prisoners being whipped constantly by screaming demons urging them to keep working. It was hot, the volcanic hot flames engulfing the cave rocks violently, heat beating down upon the men, women, and children. Some of the guards would go so far as to violate the women when they get bored--truly a deplorable sight indeed.
”Shit…” Thomas gasped. ”This is what The Old God envisioned for us…?” he remarked darkly, looking on at the scene before him.
”Tch, standard fare for brutish monsters like demons.” Naoki responded in a composed manner before turning back to Thomas, his expression truly frightening as he raised the blade of his Thorn near his cheek, ”I can’t wait to kill them all.” He declared, his words seething with the outrage and hatred of witnessing such sight.
”Let’s not jump the gun… I will be the one burn them all. replied Kulora wearing a crazed look upon her face. She swatted the excess blood from her sword, creating a painted trail across the floor and wall. She hopped over the railing and landed on her feet lightly, the flap of her coat flowed upward as she landed. Thomas stomped on his cigarette and followed suit, landing next to the girl.
Naoki smirked as he watched the two go ahead. ”Heh, we’ll see who takes out the most.” He remarked before following suit, producing a gentle wind around him as he touched ground. ”Now let’s get this over and done with.” He declared with crossed arms.
From atop a podium, Abraham looked on at the three cut through each of his soldiers like a hot knife through butter, he stood taken aback by their display in power. ”T...This is bullshitza, are they planning to escape…?” the man’s face lit up in anger, veins popped along his neck as he grit his teeth roughly. ”No one escapes...it’s impossible!” he pushed a button on a large control panel, opening a large gate--out of it stomped a large cyclops eyeing the three angrily, smacking it’s lips for something to snack on. It swung it’s arm towards the other demons, swiping them out of the way. Kulora slashed a few Judgement Cuts the ogre’s way in an attempt to cripple him but each of the flames evaporated against it’s tough skin.
Witnessing Kulora’s attack fail, Naoki focused a great wind onto his blade. ”REPPU-ZAN!!” He shouted as the cutting gale left his blade. Though a fine spectacle, it was for naught as the towering beast only slowed his advance slightly as the wind passed him. A twitch ran Naoki’s face as he brought himself to the ready.
Thomas stepped forward, he dropped his cigarette onto the ground and stomped on it. ”Looks like this shell is much too hard to crack,” he straightened his glasses to his face and summoned his Thorn-- Kopaka. ”Mind if I cut in? he said to the two as his stave emanated with energy, suddenly a circular rune formed under the Cyclops's feet, suddenly shooting out a pillar of flame which rose over his body, singing its flesh to cinder. The Cyclops, or rather, what was left of it collapsed to the ground in a burnt mess. Thomas smirked back at his group from the results, making sure to prove that he was of some use.
Naoki gave a whistle in acknowledgement before looking up to where the head demon stood. The man was absolutely shocked and horrified, just how Naoki wanted it. With a smirk, he continued his advance, cutting down whatever small fry came in his way. Kulora jumped ahead of the man, jumping onto the balcony where Abraham stood. She held her blade to the man’s throat and wore a crazed expression across her face. The man was backed into a wall and pissed himself realizing there was no more space to distance, he slid down the wall and cowered in fear as the three gathered. ”Please, have you any mercy? I...I didn’t mean any of that blasphemic bullshit from earlier, the Old God just bribed me into saying that stuff, you must believe me!” He pleaded.
”Tch. You sound nothing more than a rabid dog about to be put down.” Remarked Thomas with a less than approving gaze. He would expect much more of a challenge as much shit this man had been talking in the past. ”It’s your call, Wave. After all, you had to endure that and it wasn’t like me to do that to a woman; with that, I’m sorry. What do you wanna do with him?” Kulora wouldn’t want anything more than to gut this pig of a demon alive, but getting out of that prison was first priority. She grabbed the man by his collar and brought him close.
”Hey Oni, I would recommend that you tell me the first exit out of this hell hole before I get pissed. Ordered Kulora. Before Abraham could say anything, the girl delivered a swift bash from the butt of her sword to his jaw. ”And for the record, don’t call me fraulein.”
”Noted. coughed the now winded Abraham. He pointed towards a switch on a control panel that likely opened every door in the prison-- especially the cells of the prisoners. Kulora smirked and gestured Naoki to do the honors, she had something planned for each of the prisoners when the come out into the yard..
”Do it, Daimyo.” she ordered. Naoki only smirked in mutual agreement before approaching the petrified demon, striding over with his sword over his back like an executioner hefting his axe.
”Now don’t worry, you damn Oni.” Naoki reassured sarcastically. ”At least your story will be one we shall use to teach the children.” The demon let out one last plea for his life before Naoki made a swift slash, disconnecting his head from his body. ”Those who stick up their nose long enough will always be struck down.”
The head plopped onto the floor, leaving a splash of blood before rolling over besides Naoki’s feet. Grabbing it by the hairs, he rested his blade on his shoulder and brought it face to face with a smirk. ”Cheh, ugliest one I’ve seen so far.” He remarked with a scoff before turning to Kulora, ”So what do you want to do with the rest?”
”Bastard doesn’t deserve a proper burial, so we burn him. Later though, I got an announcement to make..."
As each of the men and women of the mine filed into the large open space of the yard, it could have been mistaken for a crowd at a large concert or something along the lines. A large ear ringing confused chatter was heard between each and every last one of them and seemingly held no hope of ceasing until a loud clacking sound of boot and metal colliding stifled them suddenly. A blinding light switched on towards the crowd, and the culprit for all this-- was Kulora. The fairly upset girl posed atop the metal balcony with her sword propped to the ground with both her hands planted onto the sheathed blade.
Her legs stood spread while her hair flowed with the breeze valiantly. ”Do you see here!? questioned the riled up girl rhetorically, her voice bellowed through the prison that the echo rung everyone's ears. ”The Old God is nothing to fear! He is merely a coward hiding behind a cloud of lies and expects you all to bend to his will. It sickens me to even watch humanity tremble to the name of this man! I do not expect you all to cower at the sight of demons-- we, who booted them from the Mount Hiei! Listen well to my words you pigs in sheeps clothing!" she continued. Her tangent slowly turned into something Naoki would say funnily enough, in fact she could see him smirking and nodding off in affirmation to the side of her. ”I am the Kantou Vagabond, Guitar Case Drifter-- the Great Blademaster Kotobuki. If you think I will sit by and watch us tremble like mere ants, you're dead wrong. WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK I AM!? she finally climaxed her speech, it was almost as if her entire body would freeze frame and turn into some kind of Japanese artwork as she said this.
The prisoners looked on in silence after the girl's speech, though suddenly someone from within the crowd cried out in triumph, and others joined shortly after. Within a moment the entire cave was filled with joy as the thousands of men, women and children let out screams of victory. Perhaps this particular display was all the proof they needed rather than simple words of encouragement. Thomas put and hand on Kulora’s shoulder and nodded jubilantly.
"You did good. Here I am thinking you're this overly timid blob of a girl, but I was wrong apparently." he tussled her hair and delivered a swift thumbs up. Kulora blushed a little, completely dismissing what had happened before, she had vented enough today. Hell, after all that, Thomas would think the girl was off her rocker, but accepted it either way.
While the two were having their sweet moment, Naoki seemed to have been continuing to cheer on the crowd with a display of Abraham’s head, raising it high for them all to see while shouting rather brutal proclamations against any other demon who would go after them. He was just caught in his own little world.
0
As the final dregs of people exited through a large, metal door of the prison into the large open field outside, fresh air filled their lungs, causing them to fly into an overjoyed frenzy. Families reunited with each other and all departed to their homes. All seemed well until one would lay eyes onto the prison which towered oppressively over the land-- knowing Kulora she wasn't going to let that building go scot-free. The trio stood atop a hill distant from the prison and looked on at the site in wonder what the girl had in store.
"Sooo....what are you gonna do with a ten storey building, Ms. Waverly? " asked Thomas possibly not possessing any faith.
Kulora merely smiled and summoned Ka Ryu once more. Swiftly, she planted the blade into the ground; seemingly nothing happened until say, a shockwave of heat spread through the ground in a long torrent, setting fire to anything it came across. It finally collided with the building, and with a loud but satisfying explosion, the prison went up in flames. ”Thomas, who the hell do you think I am?" smiled the girl arrogantly. She and Naoki turned away, leaving the site, Naoki giving off some grand exposition as they did. Thomas however, stood there, debating with himself whether he should follow suit. After all, he did make Kulora go along with his crude plan, and despite his rather chill and laid back demeanor, Thomas felt he did not belong. He wore a melancholic smile and lit another cigarette as the two left.
He felt a sudden impact, like something knocked the air out him before being pushed forward. As he gained footing, he turned around to see Naoki with a beaming grin on his face. ”What’re you standing there, trying to look cool for?” He asked in a joking gesture. Kulora stood behind him smiling visibly.
Thomas looked up to Naoki with an expression that would color him surprised, so surprised that he nearly dropped his cigarette from being so absentminded. He looked as if he wanted to protest Naoki’s gesture but shook his head regardless, merely accepting the two. "Heh, nothin’. Just taking in the sight is all. his previously petrified feet finally moved to his group’s-- no, his friend’s direction. "So I was right...they are familiar to me.”
As the three walked the crest of the hill together, Naoki gave Thomas a light punch to the shoulder. ”You just wanted us to come back and get you, didn’t ya.” He teased. Thomas could only chuckle at that notion, as it was too embarrassing for him to admit that was possibly true.
"Okay, m-maybe a little." admitted Thomas. He was responded with a hearty chuckle and another slightly stronger punch to the shoulder. While it didn’t hurt, it pushed him against Kulora and the two made contact. "Oh! Uhh-- I...s-sorry, Waves." Thomas said, losing his composure completely. He and Kulora stared into each other’s eyes in silence mutually for a minute until they snapped back from their trance.
”Y-Yeah, it's fine." accepted Kulora blushing at the nickname "Waves". It was unorthodox for a nickname, but it clicked somehow. Something went off in Kulora’s head like the hammer smacking against a gun to fire a bullet. She had forgotten about the World Gate appearing. ”Oh right, we did help those people. It's a wonder why it didn't appear yet... she said aloud, suddenly backing into a large pearlescent door behind her.
Naoki chuckled, ”Heh, almost right on cue.” He remarked as the gate opened before them. Walking ahead of the two, he entered the gate resolute and in anticipation for what was ahead of them.
"Ladies first,” gestured Thomas, allowing Kulora to walk in before him. She smirked a little before entering, Thomas followed with an accomplished expression. With that the door shut behind them, shrinking down to size until it was nothing.
"Sooo....what are you gonna do with a ten storey building, Ms. Waverly? " asked Thomas possibly not possessing any faith.
Kulora merely smiled and summoned Ka Ryu once more. Swiftly, she planted the blade into the ground; seemingly nothing happened until say, a shockwave of heat spread through the ground in a long torrent, setting fire to anything it came across. It finally collided with the building, and with a loud but satisfying explosion, the prison went up in flames. ”Thomas, who the hell do you think I am?" smiled the girl arrogantly. She and Naoki turned away, leaving the site, Naoki giving off some grand exposition as they did. Thomas however, stood there, debating with himself whether he should follow suit. After all, he did make Kulora go along with his crude plan, and despite his rather chill and laid back demeanor, Thomas felt he did not belong. He wore a melancholic smile and lit another cigarette as the two left.
He felt a sudden impact, like something knocked the air out him before being pushed forward. As he gained footing, he turned around to see Naoki with a beaming grin on his face. ”What’re you standing there, trying to look cool for?” He asked in a joking gesture. Kulora stood behind him smiling visibly.
Thomas looked up to Naoki with an expression that would color him surprised, so surprised that he nearly dropped his cigarette from being so absentminded. He looked as if he wanted to protest Naoki’s gesture but shook his head regardless, merely accepting the two. "Heh, nothin’. Just taking in the sight is all. his previously petrified feet finally moved to his group’s-- no, his friend’s direction. "So I was right...they are familiar to me.”
As the three walked the crest of the hill together, Naoki gave Thomas a light punch to the shoulder. ”You just wanted us to come back and get you, didn’t ya.” He teased. Thomas could only chuckle at that notion, as it was too embarrassing for him to admit that was possibly true.
"Okay, m-maybe a little." admitted Thomas. He was responded with a hearty chuckle and another slightly stronger punch to the shoulder. While it didn’t hurt, it pushed him against Kulora and the two made contact. "Oh! Uhh-- I...s-sorry, Waves." Thomas said, losing his composure completely. He and Kulora stared into each other’s eyes in silence mutually for a minute until they snapped back from their trance.
”Y-Yeah, it's fine." accepted Kulora blushing at the nickname "Waves". It was unorthodox for a nickname, but it clicked somehow. Something went off in Kulora’s head like the hammer smacking against a gun to fire a bullet. She had forgotten about the World Gate appearing. ”Oh right, we did help those people. It's a wonder why it didn't appear yet... she said aloud, suddenly backing into a large pearlescent door behind her.
Naoki chuckled, ”Heh, almost right on cue.” He remarked as the gate opened before them. Walking ahead of the two, he entered the gate resolute and in anticipation for what was ahead of them.
"Ladies first,” gestured Thomas, allowing Kulora to walk in before him. She smirked a little before entering, Thomas followed with an accomplished expression. With that the door shut behind them, shrinking down to size until it was nothing.