It was midwinter by the time things really went to Hell, as Torahiko so elegantly put it. Tatsu and his brother were taking a circuitous walk of the grounds, talking business for once. Tora was of course bored out of his mind, but even he recognized that they were beholden to the Council, the bastards. Well, it didnāt matter much to him. All it meant was that he sometimes had to kill shit, or gather information, both of which he enjoyed anyway. Otherwise, they let him do pretty much whatever he wanted nowadays. His time was limited anyhowāhe didnāt see the point in spending the life he had left fighting a leash he didnāt even notice most days.
He zoned back into the conversation just as Tatsu finished speaking, and had turned to glance up at his taller brother from the corner of his eye. Tora shrugged. āWhatever.ā it was pretty decent as far as catch all replies went, but heād apparently picked the wrong one for the situation, because Tatsu sighed.
āDo you ever listen when I speak, or is it simply an exercise in futility to even make the attempt?ā Tora snorted slightly, shaking his head and disheveling his shaggy caramel hair even further.
āWasnāt you talking, Tatsu. It was Councilman Walsh, and you know that as well as I do.ā He crossed his arms over his chest, and watched his bother sigh again, this time a resigned one through his nose. It was funnyāmost people found his brother very inexpressive, like trying to read a blank wall, but Tora knew better. It was just that Tatsu said a lot with a little. Unlike him, who said a little with a lot, being very boisterous but rarely ever giving anything away for truth. They were opposites in just about every sense, but they knew each other better than anyone else ever had or would, probably. Tora at least knew for sure that nobody would ever know him as well as his brother didāthere just wouldnāt be enough time. But maybe, one day, after he was gone, someone might know Tatsu better.
The thought didnāt sit well with him, actually, but it, and whatever Tatsuhiko was about to say in response, was cut off when both brothers went still at the same time. Tora did because he smelled something wrong, and Tatsu because he was just that attuned to his brother that he could tell that something had disturbed Toraās superior nose. Within a few seconds, the Ghost could smell it just as well as the Huntsman, but neither knew what it was. It triggered something in them, though, like a long-suppressed combat instinct. Theyād been rather at ease the moment before, but now each was coiled and tense as a taut bowstring ready to snap, something under their skin live and waking, like crackling electricity and roaring flame in their ears.
āToraā¦?ā his brother started, and the man grinned broadly. Heād never felt this kind of adrenaline rush before, but he didn't need to question it. His instinct, visceral and feral and raw, was demanding a fight, and he wasnāt one to deny his instinct, not in any facet of his life.
āOh, Hell yes,ā he replied, and then the spring-loaded tension was released in both of them, and they were off with speed in excess of bullets for where they smelled the disturbance.
It was closer to campus than theyād expected, but that didnāt really bother Tora any. Each brother drew the blade at his waist, and they charged forward together for the nearest foe, a large, muscle-bound creature with strange green skin and yellowed tusks protruding from its lower jaw, curling up and around towards the sky. They might have been a foot long in total, and the creature was twice again the height of even Tora. It also wasnāt aloneāthere were at least five in the area, most of them very close by.
It was almost too good to be true. Tora continued his straight-on bull rush, even as Tatsu veered off to the side. While the brothers could fight in concert, there was currently nobody else here, and as such, Tatsu diverted to engage the nearest other foe, a red-skinned creature with black tusks that otherwise looked very much like this one. Toraās own enemy surprised him by being quite quick, turning what would have been a fatal stab to the chest into a merely damaging one to the left lung. He pulled his blade out immediately, unsurprised when the wound began to close up almost immediately. This was going to be fun.
Hikari sighed, rolling her eyes as Ryoku smirked. He had challenged Eien to a staring contest, one the elder Minamoto had no desire of participating in, however; he was currently deadlocked with his younger brother. Ryoku had resorted to making faces at Eien, trying to get him to blink, however; he only succeeded in making himself blink, Eien's face still passive. Ryoku sighed in defeat and leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms behind his head in the process. His brother really was no fun. Even as a child, Ryoku did everything he could to just get a peep out of Eien, but to of no avail.
"Really, E, you should learn to relax and loosen up," he spoke, his voice deadpan and neutral, mocking Eien's usual monotonous voice. Eien merely stared at Ryoku, taking a sip of his drink before turning his attention out the window. Something felt unsettling in his stomach, and he couldn't quite understand why. Ryoku rose a brow at the lack of response he received, and turned his attention towards Hikari, about to remark something to her when he noticed the look upon her face. Her brows were furrowed, her eyes narrowed, and he could see the chills crawling on her skin, the goosebumps forming before he turned back to Eien.
"Something is not right," were the only words Eien spoke before he stood, setting his cup down and walking calmly out of the door. Hikari was immediately up, following after Eien as Ryoku sighed. He couldn't smell anything, however; he would trust his brother's instincts. They were a lot sharper than his. It wasn't until the three of them hit the outside, that a foul stench entered their noses, and Ryoku and Hikari twisted their faces. Eien's remained neutral, his head snapped in the same direction the scents were coming from. He could smell Tatsuhiko and Torahiko in the nearby vicinity, probably also investigating, however; there was a scent of blood lingering in the air. They were currently engaged in battle with whatever was producing the foul odors.
Immediately, all three Minamoto's were off, applying their speed towards the nearest scent. The sight they were met with was rather...unexpected. There were two, rather large, and oddly shaped, creatures standing oddly towards the side. They had never seen such things before, and for a moment, all three stood, gauging their foes as the oni turned to face them. Hikari's face morphed into one of disgust as she noticed the large tusks protruding from their mouths. "What are they?" she questioned, a growl emanating from her throat. Eien side glanced his sister as Ryoku shrugged his shoulders.
"Whatever they are, they sure are ugly," Ryoku spoke, a grin forming on his lips. The larger of the two oni, growled towards the three, turning so that it was fully facing them. The other one, the one with the darker shade of skin, remained with its back towards them, seemingly occupied with something else. "Oh? Did I hurt your feelings?" he continued to mock the creature, earning a low growl from the oni. He smirked, allowing it to pull at his lips before it turned into a grin. It's been a while since he last had a good fight, and judging by the creatures size, he'd be in for one hell of a fight.
"Ryoku," Eien spoke, his voice, for once, dangerous and low. Ryoku rose a brow at his brother. "You do not know what these creatures are. Do not go picking a fight without determining exactly what your opponent is capable of," he spoke, standing still as he glanced at the oni with its back still facing towards them. Ryoku gave a careless shrug of his shoulders. Why should he be careful? Even if they did not know what the creatures were, there were three members of the Minamoto family present. They would be more than enough.
"Don't get cocky, Ryo," Hikari spoke, however; the moment she did, the oni attacked. Ryoku ran to intercept it, ducking as its claws swiped at him. Eien sighed, his eyes never leaving the other oni. Something seemed off about it, however; he did not move to help his brother or sister with their opponent. They could handle themselves. He noted a slight muscle movement in the oni, watching as it slowly stood and turned to face him. The two stared at each other, almost as if they were waging a silent war within. Without much more thought, Eien was immediately engaged with his silent oni.
There was one oni currently not engaged with any opponent, the creature seemingly staring off into space, however, it was brought back ot the battlefield by a sound. Specifically, laughter. Bright, bubbly, maniacal laughter, to be certain. No one ever really quite understood just why Naya enjoyed fighting so much, but if you knew her mother, it made a bit more sense.
The blue-haired Akarui female could be seen racing across the battlefield, sword in hand and a maniacal gleam in her eye, her little brother right with her. Trevor, on the other hand, kept his distance; he was not one for much close-range fighting, he could cover them -all of them- from a distance. Naya may not have been overly strong, but she was quick, and she dodged a swipe from the oni's large hand, and landed lightly on his shoulder, impaling his eye with her blade. She frowned then for a second; even pushing through his eye was difficult, the oni was incredibly resiliant. She had to let go of her blade and jump backwards, she would have been caught if she hadn't. Haru, on the other hand, was standing back a ways, attacking with his shadows.
For the most part, he was using them as distractions, using his eye to speed up the process of the creature's wounds his sister inflicted. The oni grasped at the stick in his eye; it was an incredible annoyance, and he wanted it out. Naya was grinning madly as she landed next to her brother, whose face was a bit more passive. "Cool it, Nana...you're going to get yourself killed." he cautioned, whereas his sister merely grinned.
Torahiko, like his brother, was a being engineered by the best scientists in the world for exactly one purpose: to kill. Unlike Tatsu, he had never really minded this. But even for him, this was a surprising challenge. He was strong enough to deal substantial wounds to the creature, but its healing factor was simply insaneāheād sliced an arm clean off a few moments ago, and the stump was already sealing over, the limb showing signs of regrowing. In another thirty seconds or so, it would have a brand new arm. Toraās eyes narrowedāthis wasnāt anything he was used to hunting. It was far and away superior to a Hunter werewolf, and he was willing to bet even most vampires would have serious trouble doing any lasting damage to it.
Fortunately for Tora, he was neither of these things, and the prospect of a challenge only made him that much happier. He was aware of others arriving and dispersing, and in fact recognized all of the scents, but he was far too busy with what he was doing to much care. The only other person on the field he bothered to keep much track of was Tatsuhiko, and that was actually impossible, given his brotherās abilities. So Tora narrowed his world until all that was in it was him and the large creature he fought, his lips pulling back from his teeth in a feral smile that was as much a snarl as anything. The deep green of his eyes flashed gold for just a moment before the color settled and he leaped away from a hit, just missing becoming a part of a massive crater in the ground created by the impact of the thingās fist.
Darting in, Tora took advantage of the still-missing limb to slide in under the creatureās guard, laying a hand on its side and moving away as the psychometric readings bombarded him with information. He was used to sorting through information like this on the fly, and though it was too much focus to attack and sift at the same time, he could defend, and when next the massive fist came at him, he blocked it with one of his own hands, the pressure of the hit sinking his feet several inches into the ground. āOh good,ā he drawled lazily, sounding somehow like a large cat even now. āI was getting so bored. You just might entertain me for a whileā¦ā
A particular tidbit of information crossed his mind, and the smile almost fell off his face for a moment. The Council had sent these things? He saw their purpose and snorted. Well, he didnāt care. They hadnāt told him they were doing this, so as far as he was concerned, heād never discovered the plan and still got to kill it. Heād justā¦ not tell Tatsu until the fight was over and the oni, which was apparently what these things were called, was dead. He could still feel that curiously-charged adrenaline under his skin, different from the kind a normal fight gave him, like an instinct tugging at the back of his mind that had never been triggered before. It wasnāt like it really matteredāhe would have killed the creature either way. But the fact that some buried visceral response was urging him to do so was interesting, if not quite yet. Heād think about it later.
Darting in much faster than someone of his size had any right to move, he flayed several massive gashes in the creatureās chest, satisfied when they healed somewhat slower than the first ones heād dealt. It would appear that this would come down to a question of endurance.
And nobody beat Tora at endurance.
Tatsuhikoās battle looked much different from his brotherās. While Tora was well-known for being the aggressor in a fight, Tatsu was not currently displaying the same tendency. Actually, he wasnāt attacking at all, simply moving and flowing around the attacks leveled against him with unmatched speed and precision. These were the traits that had been trained into him for a hundred years, after all, and they were his primary strengths in such situations as these, perhaps. Without the benefit of psychometry to impart what he needed to know, Tatsu had to make a study of the creature, to memorize everything about it that he could, his considerable intellect and capacity for such recall working quickly to calculate what it was about to do, aided by his perfect precognition for a few seconds. He was effectively untouchable, but that was not the same as being the victor, not yet.
He seemed to flicker and disappear from view, and indeed, even his smell vanished from the field, as though heād never been there at all. The hit that had been aimed for him passed right through the spot where heād been standing, but Tatsu was already behind the creature, watching as it raised its head and sniffed at the air, trying to find where he had gone when its eyes and ears revealed nothing to it. His would not be a battle of enduranceārather, he would operate as he always had: strike first, strike fast, strike last. All he needed to do was find the right openingā¦
Reiko Akarui had actually been off-campus when the oni first appeared, and as such, it had taken considerably longer for the scent of them to make it to where she was in the town. Even when it did, it was quite faint, and she almost thought she must have imagined it. But it triggered something, a memory not her own, and she gasped sharply, dropping the books she was holding and doubling over, hugging herself around the abdomen as though struggling to keep her flesh together at the seams. And she felt like she had seams, now, and that she was about to burst at them. Her blood was on fire, burning at such a fever pitch it was almost painful to bear. And for someone with as high a tolerance as her, that was really saying something.
She didnāt know what it meant, but she knew sheād find out if she tracked that scent. And so she fled towards it, walking swiftly for just long enough to make it past all the humans in the area before breaking into a run. The burning in her bloodstream pushed her faster than sheād ever had reason to go, until she was nearly flying over the ground, the landscape blurring by around her. She pulled to an abrupt halt when she smelled her family members near odors similar to the first one, and hesitated.
That hesitation was enough, and the owner of the original smell was able to get a hit in on her. Faster than its kin, it was also more subtle, and its yellowed claws raked against her back, tearing easily through the fabric of the handmade dress she wore and leaving her flesh sliced to ribbons. A startled cry escaped her, and the smell of her blood hit the air in a sudden gush. The wounds started healing right awayāone of the benefits of having a factor as strong as hers. She whirled to face the creature, barehanded and bereft of anything even resembling a weapon, because she hadnāt been about to bring one into town.
There was a burning, hissing sound, and the creature, onyx-skinned and easily twenty feet tall, resolved into full view from the shadow-form it had occupied only a moment before. The places where her blood contacted its hands seemed to be afflicted as though by acid. Reiko didnāt understand it, but she filed away the piece of information for later use. For now, thoughā¦. She just needed to figure out how to stay alive. Kiko saw another swing incoming, and sprang back onto her hands, propelling herself out of the way with a flip. Her focus was intent, and none of her usual clumsiness remained to her. Her eyes narrowed, and she listened for the sound of its heartbeat, something she could just make out, loud against its ribcage but relatively muted compared to the other sounds of battle. That simple knowledge was all she needed, though, and she focused in on the blood she could feel rushing through its veins.
The creature was simply too large and strong to control fully, but she was able to slow it down considerably, and its movements became jerky as it had to fight her control at every step. Okay, soā¦ it probably couldnāt hurt her much for now, but her control wouldnāt last forever, and she still had no real way to damage it, apparently aside from bleeding all over it. Soā¦ what now?
He zoned back into the conversation just as Tatsu finished speaking, and had turned to glance up at his taller brother from the corner of his eye. Tora shrugged. āWhatever.ā it was pretty decent as far as catch all replies went, but heād apparently picked the wrong one for the situation, because Tatsu sighed.
āDo you ever listen when I speak, or is it simply an exercise in futility to even make the attempt?ā Tora snorted slightly, shaking his head and disheveling his shaggy caramel hair even further.
āWasnāt you talking, Tatsu. It was Councilman Walsh, and you know that as well as I do.ā He crossed his arms over his chest, and watched his bother sigh again, this time a resigned one through his nose. It was funnyāmost people found his brother very inexpressive, like trying to read a blank wall, but Tora knew better. It was just that Tatsu said a lot with a little. Unlike him, who said a little with a lot, being very boisterous but rarely ever giving anything away for truth. They were opposites in just about every sense, but they knew each other better than anyone else ever had or would, probably. Tora at least knew for sure that nobody would ever know him as well as his brother didāthere just wouldnāt be enough time. But maybe, one day, after he was gone, someone might know Tatsu better.
The thought didnāt sit well with him, actually, but it, and whatever Tatsuhiko was about to say in response, was cut off when both brothers went still at the same time. Tora did because he smelled something wrong, and Tatsu because he was just that attuned to his brother that he could tell that something had disturbed Toraās superior nose. Within a few seconds, the Ghost could smell it just as well as the Huntsman, but neither knew what it was. It triggered something in them, though, like a long-suppressed combat instinct. Theyād been rather at ease the moment before, but now each was coiled and tense as a taut bowstring ready to snap, something under their skin live and waking, like crackling electricity and roaring flame in their ears.
āToraā¦?ā his brother started, and the man grinned broadly. Heād never felt this kind of adrenaline rush before, but he didn't need to question it. His instinct, visceral and feral and raw, was demanding a fight, and he wasnāt one to deny his instinct, not in any facet of his life.
āOh, Hell yes,ā he replied, and then the spring-loaded tension was released in both of them, and they were off with speed in excess of bullets for where they smelled the disturbance.
It was closer to campus than theyād expected, but that didnāt really bother Tora any. Each brother drew the blade at his waist, and they charged forward together for the nearest foe, a large, muscle-bound creature with strange green skin and yellowed tusks protruding from its lower jaw, curling up and around towards the sky. They might have been a foot long in total, and the creature was twice again the height of even Tora. It also wasnāt aloneāthere were at least five in the area, most of them very close by.
It was almost too good to be true. Tora continued his straight-on bull rush, even as Tatsu veered off to the side. While the brothers could fight in concert, there was currently nobody else here, and as such, Tatsu diverted to engage the nearest other foe, a red-skinned creature with black tusks that otherwise looked very much like this one. Toraās own enemy surprised him by being quite quick, turning what would have been a fatal stab to the chest into a merely damaging one to the left lung. He pulled his blade out immediately, unsurprised when the wound began to close up almost immediately. This was going to be fun.
Hikari sighed, rolling her eyes as Ryoku smirked. He had challenged Eien to a staring contest, one the elder Minamoto had no desire of participating in, however; he was currently deadlocked with his younger brother. Ryoku had resorted to making faces at Eien, trying to get him to blink, however; he only succeeded in making himself blink, Eien's face still passive. Ryoku sighed in defeat and leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms behind his head in the process. His brother really was no fun. Even as a child, Ryoku did everything he could to just get a peep out of Eien, but to of no avail.
"Really, E, you should learn to relax and loosen up," he spoke, his voice deadpan and neutral, mocking Eien's usual monotonous voice. Eien merely stared at Ryoku, taking a sip of his drink before turning his attention out the window. Something felt unsettling in his stomach, and he couldn't quite understand why. Ryoku rose a brow at the lack of response he received, and turned his attention towards Hikari, about to remark something to her when he noticed the look upon her face. Her brows were furrowed, her eyes narrowed, and he could see the chills crawling on her skin, the goosebumps forming before he turned back to Eien.
"Something is not right," were the only words Eien spoke before he stood, setting his cup down and walking calmly out of the door. Hikari was immediately up, following after Eien as Ryoku sighed. He couldn't smell anything, however; he would trust his brother's instincts. They were a lot sharper than his. It wasn't until the three of them hit the outside, that a foul stench entered their noses, and Ryoku and Hikari twisted their faces. Eien's remained neutral, his head snapped in the same direction the scents were coming from. He could smell Tatsuhiko and Torahiko in the nearby vicinity, probably also investigating, however; there was a scent of blood lingering in the air. They were currently engaged in battle with whatever was producing the foul odors.
Immediately, all three Minamoto's were off, applying their speed towards the nearest scent. The sight they were met with was rather...unexpected. There were two, rather large, and oddly shaped, creatures standing oddly towards the side. They had never seen such things before, and for a moment, all three stood, gauging their foes as the oni turned to face them. Hikari's face morphed into one of disgust as she noticed the large tusks protruding from their mouths. "What are they?" she questioned, a growl emanating from her throat. Eien side glanced his sister as Ryoku shrugged his shoulders.
"Whatever they are, they sure are ugly," Ryoku spoke, a grin forming on his lips. The larger of the two oni, growled towards the three, turning so that it was fully facing them. The other one, the one with the darker shade of skin, remained with its back towards them, seemingly occupied with something else. "Oh? Did I hurt your feelings?" he continued to mock the creature, earning a low growl from the oni. He smirked, allowing it to pull at his lips before it turned into a grin. It's been a while since he last had a good fight, and judging by the creatures size, he'd be in for one hell of a fight.
"Ryoku," Eien spoke, his voice, for once, dangerous and low. Ryoku rose a brow at his brother. "You do not know what these creatures are. Do not go picking a fight without determining exactly what your opponent is capable of," he spoke, standing still as he glanced at the oni with its back still facing towards them. Ryoku gave a careless shrug of his shoulders. Why should he be careful? Even if they did not know what the creatures were, there were three members of the Minamoto family present. They would be more than enough.
"Don't get cocky, Ryo," Hikari spoke, however; the moment she did, the oni attacked. Ryoku ran to intercept it, ducking as its claws swiped at him. Eien sighed, his eyes never leaving the other oni. Something seemed off about it, however; he did not move to help his brother or sister with their opponent. They could handle themselves. He noted a slight muscle movement in the oni, watching as it slowly stood and turned to face him. The two stared at each other, almost as if they were waging a silent war within. Without much more thought, Eien was immediately engaged with his silent oni.
There was one oni currently not engaged with any opponent, the creature seemingly staring off into space, however, it was brought back ot the battlefield by a sound. Specifically, laughter. Bright, bubbly, maniacal laughter, to be certain. No one ever really quite understood just why Naya enjoyed fighting so much, but if you knew her mother, it made a bit more sense.
The blue-haired Akarui female could be seen racing across the battlefield, sword in hand and a maniacal gleam in her eye, her little brother right with her. Trevor, on the other hand, kept his distance; he was not one for much close-range fighting, he could cover them -all of them- from a distance. Naya may not have been overly strong, but she was quick, and she dodged a swipe from the oni's large hand, and landed lightly on his shoulder, impaling his eye with her blade. She frowned then for a second; even pushing through his eye was difficult, the oni was incredibly resiliant. She had to let go of her blade and jump backwards, she would have been caught if she hadn't. Haru, on the other hand, was standing back a ways, attacking with his shadows.
For the most part, he was using them as distractions, using his eye to speed up the process of the creature's wounds his sister inflicted. The oni grasped at the stick in his eye; it was an incredible annoyance, and he wanted it out. Naya was grinning madly as she landed next to her brother, whose face was a bit more passive. "Cool it, Nana...you're going to get yourself killed." he cautioned, whereas his sister merely grinned.
Torahiko, like his brother, was a being engineered by the best scientists in the world for exactly one purpose: to kill. Unlike Tatsu, he had never really minded this. But even for him, this was a surprising challenge. He was strong enough to deal substantial wounds to the creature, but its healing factor was simply insaneāheād sliced an arm clean off a few moments ago, and the stump was already sealing over, the limb showing signs of regrowing. In another thirty seconds or so, it would have a brand new arm. Toraās eyes narrowedāthis wasnāt anything he was used to hunting. It was far and away superior to a Hunter werewolf, and he was willing to bet even most vampires would have serious trouble doing any lasting damage to it.
Fortunately for Tora, he was neither of these things, and the prospect of a challenge only made him that much happier. He was aware of others arriving and dispersing, and in fact recognized all of the scents, but he was far too busy with what he was doing to much care. The only other person on the field he bothered to keep much track of was Tatsuhiko, and that was actually impossible, given his brotherās abilities. So Tora narrowed his world until all that was in it was him and the large creature he fought, his lips pulling back from his teeth in a feral smile that was as much a snarl as anything. The deep green of his eyes flashed gold for just a moment before the color settled and he leaped away from a hit, just missing becoming a part of a massive crater in the ground created by the impact of the thingās fist.
Darting in, Tora took advantage of the still-missing limb to slide in under the creatureās guard, laying a hand on its side and moving away as the psychometric readings bombarded him with information. He was used to sorting through information like this on the fly, and though it was too much focus to attack and sift at the same time, he could defend, and when next the massive fist came at him, he blocked it with one of his own hands, the pressure of the hit sinking his feet several inches into the ground. āOh good,ā he drawled lazily, sounding somehow like a large cat even now. āI was getting so bored. You just might entertain me for a whileā¦ā
A particular tidbit of information crossed his mind, and the smile almost fell off his face for a moment. The Council had sent these things? He saw their purpose and snorted. Well, he didnāt care. They hadnāt told him they were doing this, so as far as he was concerned, heād never discovered the plan and still got to kill it. Heād justā¦ not tell Tatsu until the fight was over and the oni, which was apparently what these things were called, was dead. He could still feel that curiously-charged adrenaline under his skin, different from the kind a normal fight gave him, like an instinct tugging at the back of his mind that had never been triggered before. It wasnāt like it really matteredāhe would have killed the creature either way. But the fact that some buried visceral response was urging him to do so was interesting, if not quite yet. Heād think about it later.
Darting in much faster than someone of his size had any right to move, he flayed several massive gashes in the creatureās chest, satisfied when they healed somewhat slower than the first ones heād dealt. It would appear that this would come down to a question of endurance.
And nobody beat Tora at endurance.
Tatsuhikoās battle looked much different from his brotherās. While Tora was well-known for being the aggressor in a fight, Tatsu was not currently displaying the same tendency. Actually, he wasnāt attacking at all, simply moving and flowing around the attacks leveled against him with unmatched speed and precision. These were the traits that had been trained into him for a hundred years, after all, and they were his primary strengths in such situations as these, perhaps. Without the benefit of psychometry to impart what he needed to know, Tatsu had to make a study of the creature, to memorize everything about it that he could, his considerable intellect and capacity for such recall working quickly to calculate what it was about to do, aided by his perfect precognition for a few seconds. He was effectively untouchable, but that was not the same as being the victor, not yet.
He seemed to flicker and disappear from view, and indeed, even his smell vanished from the field, as though heād never been there at all. The hit that had been aimed for him passed right through the spot where heād been standing, but Tatsu was already behind the creature, watching as it raised its head and sniffed at the air, trying to find where he had gone when its eyes and ears revealed nothing to it. His would not be a battle of enduranceārather, he would operate as he always had: strike first, strike fast, strike last. All he needed to do was find the right openingā¦
Reiko Akarui had actually been off-campus when the oni first appeared, and as such, it had taken considerably longer for the scent of them to make it to where she was in the town. Even when it did, it was quite faint, and she almost thought she must have imagined it. But it triggered something, a memory not her own, and she gasped sharply, dropping the books she was holding and doubling over, hugging herself around the abdomen as though struggling to keep her flesh together at the seams. And she felt like she had seams, now, and that she was about to burst at them. Her blood was on fire, burning at such a fever pitch it was almost painful to bear. And for someone with as high a tolerance as her, that was really saying something.
She didnāt know what it meant, but she knew sheād find out if she tracked that scent. And so she fled towards it, walking swiftly for just long enough to make it past all the humans in the area before breaking into a run. The burning in her bloodstream pushed her faster than sheād ever had reason to go, until she was nearly flying over the ground, the landscape blurring by around her. She pulled to an abrupt halt when she smelled her family members near odors similar to the first one, and hesitated.
That hesitation was enough, and the owner of the original smell was able to get a hit in on her. Faster than its kin, it was also more subtle, and its yellowed claws raked against her back, tearing easily through the fabric of the handmade dress she wore and leaving her flesh sliced to ribbons. A startled cry escaped her, and the smell of her blood hit the air in a sudden gush. The wounds started healing right awayāone of the benefits of having a factor as strong as hers. She whirled to face the creature, barehanded and bereft of anything even resembling a weapon, because she hadnāt been about to bring one into town.
There was a burning, hissing sound, and the creature, onyx-skinned and easily twenty feet tall, resolved into full view from the shadow-form it had occupied only a moment before. The places where her blood contacted its hands seemed to be afflicted as though by acid. Reiko didnāt understand it, but she filed away the piece of information for later use. For now, thoughā¦. She just needed to figure out how to stay alive. Kiko saw another swing incoming, and sprang back onto her hands, propelling herself out of the way with a flip. Her focus was intent, and none of her usual clumsiness remained to her. Her eyes narrowed, and she listened for the sound of its heartbeat, something she could just make out, loud against its ribcage but relatively muted compared to the other sounds of battle. That simple knowledge was all she needed, though, and she focused in on the blood she could feel rushing through its veins.
The creature was simply too large and strong to control fully, but she was able to slow it down considerably, and its movements became jerky as it had to fight her control at every step. Okay, soā¦ it probably couldnāt hurt her much for now, but her control wouldnāt last forever, and she still had no real way to damage it, apparently aside from bleeding all over it. Soā¦ what now?