Len Takahashi's Story

Len looked at enya as she tugged his ear "Can i?" she whispered. He knew exactly what she meant.
"what did i tell you about doing that?" He said in a soft tone so he didn't sound harsh.

" stay away from him, OK? he's trouble" Len said with a somewhat stern but mostly concerned look on his face.

Len turned to rin and the others " you ready?" he said peeking over his shoulder. No zero yet, but they had to move soon or they would be in trouble.

Dimitri saw her take Len's hand instead. He shrugged his shoulders as Enya tugged on Len's ear and whispered something inside. "Stay away from him, OK? He's trouble" was Len's reply. A look of puzzlement crossed his face. What did he mean by that? Was he talking about Zero or myself? Once again shrugging his shoulders, he glanced back. No Zero yet, but he would be there soon.

"You ready?" Len asked the rest of the group. He turned to Rin. She was up on her feet, so that was a relief. But, she had trouble standing and was biting her lip from the pain. He walked to Rin. "If you need to, Willow won't mind being ridden until we get to the next town. You need rest. I don't want to see you suffer like this." he persuaded, despite Willow's glare boring in the back of Dimitri's head...
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"You ready?" Len called back to the rest. Willow nodded. Dimitri walked back to Rin. "If you need to, Willow won't mind being ridden until we get to the next town. You need rest. I don't want to see you suffer like this." Dimitri told her. Willow glared at Dimitri. What am I, a taxi?

Then she took a look at Rin and even she was willing to give her a ride. Although Rin was trying not to show it, she was stll sore. She was biting her lip, trying to remain strong. "We can cover a lot of ground if you're on my back..." Willow offered turning into a horse and activating her Light Fists, or rather, Light Hooves. Now, she had an enormous amount of endurance. She could keep galloping for a while if she needed to...

Enya Thompson

"What did i tell you about doing that?" Len said softly and she pouted.

"B-but... It's really fun.... Don't act like you've never done it Onii-chan" She said with an innocent smile. Knox was already sprouting some angry words at Len which she decided to ignore.

"Stay away from him, OK? He's trouble" Len said with a somewhat stern but mostly concerned look on his face.

Enya sighed and looked down.

Rin Hayashi

"You ready?" Len asked and she nodded slightly and it immediately brought in a migraine and she fought to keep her gasp of pain hidden. She then noticed Dimitri walking towards her.

"If you need to, Willow won't mind being ridden until we get to the next town. You need rest. I don't want to see you suffer like this." Dimitri said and she blushed slightly.

"I-" She started before Willow cut in.

"We can cover a lot of ground if you're on my back..." Willow said and she nodded, convinced. It was true, she was injured and she'd weigh them all down. Truly, it made her feel guilty and even more weak but she decided to keep silent. Her feelings weren't important.

She quickly struggled to get up on willow but as soon as she got there, she hugged Willow's neck not too tight so that she'd strangle her, but enough so that she would stay up. She didn't have a saddle and she never ridden bare back before.

"B-but... It's really fun.... Don't act like you've never done it Onii-chan" She said with an innocent smile.

"Well, only do it when i absolutely have to. Its different. you cant just run around murdering people....no matter how fun it is." Len said in a serious tone. Not too serious of course, he never was overly serious with Enya.

" But it is kinda fun sometimes. Especially when you're bored huh?" He whispered to her with a smile.
Len watched at Rin struggles to get on Willow, who was not in horse form. He had to hold back a chuckle. Something about Rin trying to get on a horse was funny to him. He was still slightly suprised that she didnt throw his coat at him when he gave it to her. She must have been freezing.

Dimitri saw Rin nod in agreement and he sighed in relief. That was easier than he expected...

Rin struggled getting on horse-form Willow, but she managed. Then, she unexpectedly hugged him. Dimitri smiled warmly as she did so, even though she was only trying to stay on the horse. He really liked her.

"Just grab my mane, but not too tightly," Willow offered.

"Thanks, Willow,"

"Just remember that this is a one-time thing. Once she is fully rested, she uses those magnificent things called feet. And don't expect me to give you any piggy back rides either."

Dimitri only smiled in response. Why drag it out any longer? "Okay, it looks like we're ready," Dimitri called to Len.

Enya Thompson

"Well, only do it when i absolutely have to. Its different. You cant just run around murdering people....No matter how fun it is." Len said in a semi serious tone which Enya pouted to. She did not like it when Len told her not to kill. She always tried to listen, but it always was hard.

"But it is kinda fun sometimes. Especially when you're bored huh?" He whispered to her with a smile. Enya immedietly smiled back as he said this. It was very true and she was happy he understood.

"Very much so!" She said happily.

Rin Hayashi

"Just grab my mane, but not too tightly," Willow offered.

Rin nodded in response and held onto her mane.

"Just remember that this is a one-time thing. Once she is fully rested, she uses those magnificent things called feet. And don't expect me to give you any piggy back rides either."

"Understood." Rin said and Dimitri turned back to Len.

"Okay, it looks like we're ready," He said and she nodded in response.

Len smiled back at Enya then looked at the rest of the group. They seemed ready, though he wasn't sure.

"Okay, it looks like we're ready," Dimitri called to Len.
Len nodded and started off for the nearest town, carrying Enya with him. The only reason he picked her up was because he could run a lot faster. Well he could run faster than a lot of people. Plus it was a lot easier on Enya if he carried her too. She wouldn't lose any energy this way. He wasn't going to run full speed of course. He didn't want to get ahead of the group and end up losing Rin in the process.

]Dimitri decided to jog behind the group. He was the expert in unseen movement, and he would know if someone was lurking in the shadows, spying on them. In other words, Zero couldn't and wouldn't sneak up on them successfully. Another good reason to do so would be to cover up their tracks. A horse weighed about three times more than the tracks Dimitri left behind while carrying Rin. So, he'd cover up the ground expertly behind the pack, remove any footprints and try to make it as natural as possible. They needed to find a trail soon. Plenty of people walked on trails. In other words, Zero would have much more difficulty tracking them and there would be no need for Dimitri to cover up his tracks.

But just in case Zero still managed to catch up to the group, he had drawn his bow and nocked an arrow. If Zero's ugly face appeared, he could draw back and fire accurately in half a second, then fill the second second nocking another arrow. And even then, you still had Willow, Len, and possibly Enya, if she was pretty good at defending herself. But something told Dimitri that she could defend herself very effectively. There was something off about Enya, something creepy. There was a dark side to everyone, Dimitri knew all too well. And he would have a vision of Enya, eyes filled with delight, as she cut Zero in half, whenever his mind switched to that topic.

"Where are we heading?" He called out to Len, the apparent leader, then glanced behind to make sure no Zero was in hot pursuit.
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As soon as Len nodded and began to run, Willow trotted right behind them. It was a pretty easy pace to maintain for two reasons. 1) Len wasn't running very fast and 2) Willow had her Light Fists on, giving her twice the endurance as before. Despite Rin's weight, she wasn't having any trouble at all and actually made the ride a little less bouncy for Rin so as to not rattle her bones.

"Where are we heading?" He called out to Len,

"to whatever town we get to first" Len called back. Len thought Dimitri would have picked up on that. Len ran slightly faster. Running slower wasn't easy for him to do. He was used to running at the top speed, not at the ordinary speed of a running human. Well at least dodging trees and bushes was easier at this speed. Len looked down at enya.
"you alright being carried like this? or do i need to put you on my back?" He said. it wouldn't matter which way he carried her, well at least it didn't matter to him. But if she would be more comfortable being carried piggy-back style, it was better to do it that way.

Enya Thompson


"You alright being carried like this? Or do i need to put you on my back?" Len asked to which she smiled.

"Back please! It's much more fun that way." She said with a giggle. She then looked over her shoulder for whenever this number guy decided to show up.

Rin Hayashi

Rin expected riding a horse would be more bumpy and uncomfortable but was in for quite the surprise when Willow started off. Happy to not be jostled in her seat, she relaxed a tiny bit more and allowed herself a bit of relaxation in hopes of her powers coming back quicker.

"Back please! It's much more fun that way." She said with a giggle.

OK" Len said as he stopped. He then swung her around to his back and let her get situated. Then started to Run again.

" you know, your a lot easier to carry this way. i should have tried this first" Len said with a slight chuckle. Since the nearest town was close to two miles away he still had a lot of running to do. He checked for any sign of zero. No sign of him yet. He looked over at Rin who seemed to be relaxing a little, which was a relief. He wouldnt have to worry about her the rest of the way.

Setsugie noticed as soon as he shook her hand his Dog Magic spell vanished, this alarmed Setsugie 'She cancelled my spell?' he thought as he felt a monstrous force squeeze his hand, his suspicions where right they are going to counter attack. Suddenly two bandages shot out of the Shikaku leaders kimono one had placed on the hands that he was shaking with bonding his hand with hers and another one for his free arm but before it reached him he quickly placed his hand on the sheath of Belldandy right behind the guard. Then he saw her going to drive her knee into his stomach knowing he couldn't dodge Setsugie bent his torso outwards so he can reduce the damage, as he saw lance going for a sweep to his legs; the only thing Setsugie did is raise one foot after the other so he wouldn't get hit and not loose his foothold since the Shikaku leader had enormous strength. Setsugie noted his magic powers didn't respond probably the Shikaku leaders doing, "We'll be going old school no magic then." Setsugie said. Setsugie was no stranger to close quarters combat and having been training his body to its limit without the use of magic could compensate also. Setsugie then flicked the thumb he had on the guard and shot it towards the leaders throat.

Zero tracked them he could see very small silhouettes in the distance he assumed it was them, they had stopped but then began to move once again, "What a pain." Zero mumbles as he begins jumping on the trees using the branches as small catapults to slightly boost his speed. Though it wouldn't help to much but at least he had a slight visual of them even if they're at least a mile away. Zero readied himself taking out 1 Baishin daggers between each finger of his right hand(4 total) and 1 empty skies on his left. Zero was going to be heavily out numbered but considering the Destroyer was unconscious and the head commander of the guardians of light and her human companion weren't that much of a threat the only problem might be God's Hand Zero analyzed within his mind. "This will be fun I hope." Zero said and evilly chuckled dashing through the tree's.

He heard something...

Dimitri glanced behind them once more, looking in all directions, lef, right, and even up, for Zero to appear. He knew he wasn't far off now. He had to be close. The way Willow was constanbtly glancing back as well was also a good clue that Zero knew where they were and was pretty close. He scanned the canopy of the forest above.

And then he saw it! A single flash of moment. Within a blink of an eye, it was gone. Normally, people would focus on that one spot, expecting for something else to happen in the same area. But Dimitri knew to see through his peripherial vision and try to keep track of all of those slight movements. Soon, it wasn't hard to pinpoint where Zero was and where Zero was going.

A very soft, yet barely audible chuckle was heard and Dimitri had enough. Point thirty seconds passed by and in that time, Dimitri had drew back his already nocked arrow, aimed where Zero was, and fired. There would be little time to dodge for Zero, but he knew Zero was probably armed to the brim and would probably block the speeding arrow rather than try to dodge it. "Move! He's here!" he called up to them as he nocked another arrow and fired agan with pinpoint accuracy towards Zero again and began to run, nocking another arrow in the process.
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The closer Zero got, the more unnerved Willow got...

She found herself glancing back more often, searching for the unforgettable signs of Zero's face anywhere in the trees or on the ground. She saw nothing, but Zero was probably trained in unseen movement. She was able to focus on her senses and pinpoint where Zero was, even though she wouldn't be able to do anything about it. Oooohhh...he was close. She shivered, partly from anticipation and partly from this cold.

And yet, despite Zero seeming to be an expert tracker and follower, it appeared that Dimitri had a LOT more experience in that field as he drew back and fired, right where Zero was. "Move it! He's here!" Dimitri called out. "Hang on tight, Rin." Willow cried as she shot forward, like a bullet from a gun. She galloped to Rin and began to trot, but only for a moment. "I'm going to take Rin to the nearest city. It's probably what Zero wants anyway. I can get there a lot faster, but please stall as much time as you can. If you can kill him, great." Not waiting for a response from Len, she galloped once more, leaving Len behind in the dust. In a few moments, Willow was gone from the area with Rin, heading towards the nearest town.
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As Lance got up off the ground, he noticed that Setsugie had merely hopped over Lance's legs, making it look extremely easy. This enraged him. He'd suffered enough failures today. This wasn't going to continue.

As he drew his one sword, he charged it with earth mana and stuck the tip barely into the ground. Now, he rose a column of earth around Setsugie's ankles, encoating them with hard rock. But he kept rising the rock until it surpassed Setsugie's hips. Now there was no way Setsugie was going to move his legs at all. And with Kaiyo's grip still on him and his other arm pinned, he was basically helpless. Smiling at his work, he turned to Kaiyo. "Is this enough to contain him, madam?" he asked,"Or shall I coat him further?" he smirked as he drew his sword out of the ground.

Dimitri watched as Willow bolted off, taking Rin with her. He sighed in somewhat of a relief. Zero would get Rin after they dealt with us. It was the fact that Dimitri was probably first on Setsugie's hit list since he was in the back was what still unsettled him. He turned to look at Zero. He seemed to be behind a little bit. He smiled. They were going faster than him. Chances were, they would make it into the next town unless Zero pulled something unexpected and unforseeing any mishaps that might happen along the way.

Dimitri would turn back and fire arrows every once in a while, not necesarily meant to kill, but to slow down Zero and/or distract him. He checked his arrows as well. He had plenty to burn through until they reached the next town and he had plenty more after that. All that was left to do was make it to the town before Zero caught up and hide amongst the crowds and inns.
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Willow kept galloping forward, hoping that it would lead somewhere. She didn't know of Len's original path. He might have wanted us to turn left or right at some point. Now, she was regretting taking off before waiting for a reply. But now she couldn't turn back. She had to get Rin and herself hidden amongst the crowds in the next city.

She leaped over a fallen tree and bolted for a foyage of bushes. Jumping over the bushes as well, she slid on the dirt below her as she continued to slide to a stop. They were on a dirt road! Finally... she thought as she looked at a wooden sigh, reading "Kamakura 1 mile". They were halfway there! Smiling with determination, she galloped forward, following the path down to where the city was, thanking her lucky stars for not changing direction. They passed a couple selling melons. They stared back in awe as what they saw was a girl, seemingly in pain, galloping at top speed to the town. They muttered something inaudible to each other. This made Willow decide to slow down a bit. They were probably far ahead from the others anyway. That, and the fact that she was a little tired, even with her Light Fists, er, Hooves on, it only tripled her stamina while in horse form, not made it unwavering. So she slowed down to a normal person's jogging pace, trying hard once more to keep the ride as smooth as possible. After galloping for a mile, her butt must be feeling quite the pain, escpecially since she was bareback.
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"Enough,"

Lance nodded, even though he thought that he needed another layer of stone, just to be sure. This was Setsugie we were talking about after all. He could probably smash through odsidian with his bare hands and laugh while he did so. But for now...

He sheathed his swords, keeping his hands on the hilts, in case Setsugie tried something funny. "I'm afraid I can't do that Miss." Setsugie replied to her question. Lance saw the sword in Setsugie's other han, then looked back to the connected arm. Why didn't he just chop her arm off and be done with it? Probably because he was too passive and didn't want to hurt anyone, he decided, keeping a trained eye. He was probably waiting for Lance to do something, since he was the only guy here, but he was done fighting. He was going to play this assertively, attacking only to defend himself. Kaiyo would probably have this.

Rin Hayashi

Rin's eyes lazily opened as she heard Willow say something. She didn't understand it that well though. Everything seemed hazy to her. Kuro did a number to her mind and the pain from his "fun" and being jostled by a bumpy ride and the soreness of riding bareback was all adding up on her.

After looking over the situation, she rolled off of willow and layed there. she couldn't move anymore

Enya Thompson

Enya's eyes narrowed as a knife hit a tree right by Onii-chan. How dare he!? She immediately pulled Len's ear and leaned close to it.
"I got him." She whispered with a giggle before she jumped off and took out her axe and acted as if she was trying to hide it.

"Zero-chan~!" She said cutely as she waited for him to close in.

Enya Thompson

Enya saw Zero-chan hide behind a tree and so she run forward to the right of the tree and swung her axe for Zero-Chan's head. While this was happening, she let her shadow arms surround her, guarding her and making her look even more scary all the while. She let out a childish laugh as she continued her merciless barrage against the one who dared to attack her Onii-Chan. Little did she know, it was just a knife that Dimitri deflected away from himself. It was probably for the best that she didn't know though.

A crazy look made it's way into Enya's eyes as she could sense someone's blood. weather it was her opponents or hers, she didn't care. All she wanted to do was spill some more.