Hywel changed his mind, so Timothy and the others went in search of the rest of their company. "Shouldn't we try to avoid getting caught by those people if we're going to go find them?" Elliott thought that by attempting to alter Timothy's method of operation, "Elliott could be right. They know who you are, and while I understand we should locate them and that you'll find them no matter what. Perhaps I ought to go instead of you two since they hardly know me." Chiaki asserted.
Timothy listened to what she said and immediately agreed "Does it really matter? Any foreigners they see are captured by those people. They will make an effort to capture you even if they don't know who you are." Timothy explained, but Chiaki's carefulness started getting the better of him, "Well, can't we be at least a little more diverse?"
Chiaki was beyond Timothy's comprehension, but he was surprised by Elliott's fast reply, "Maybe she's correct. I overheard them speaking while I was getting dragged by that tribe. If my ears weren't playing tricks on me, they don't portray women as victims. Maybe she's safer than either of us."
Timothy stayed silent but received an idea, "A woman, you say?" Chiaki and Elliott exchanged eyes with each other, "Say that sooner... If those people want to be naysayers, I'll use that to our advantage." They looked at Timothy, grabbed his palms, and started forming white flames from his body.
He was practically wrapped in flames as they engulfed him and extended from his feet to his head. Together with his bottom, Timothy's thighs also grew a little bit thicker. His hips shrank in size. His white, spiky hair dropped and lengthened, reaching the middle of his back, then his chest swelled into round bosoms. His eyes shifted to a brilliant white color that resembled silver.
The white flames dispersed as his voice became softer yet shriller, "Boom! All ready to go! Tiffany's back on the loose!" she shouted, spinning around and putting her palm on her tucked-to-the-side hips.
Chiaki became unimpressed, sweat trickling down her brow, when Elliott screamed in the background, "Hell yeah! That's a much better look for you, Tim!" Tiffany glared at him, disappointed, "You're only saying that because I'm a woman, aren't you?" Elliott rapidly nodded his head like an intense flutter, "Yup! But I like what you did with your 'female body.' It improved."
Tiffany shrugged her shoulders and breathed in and out, "Since I have everything a woman has (well... other than gestation.) I think we're pretty safe to proceed without getting attacked as long as Elliott stays out of sight." But Elliott froze at the moment, "Wait... you mean *everything* a girl has? Like *EVERYTHING*?" Tiffany looked at him, befuddled.
"Don't get your hopes up... I'm not afraid to kick your ass if you try to check me out. It's enough that you know I have everything a girl has." Elliott grinned, putting his finger under his nose, and chuckled, "No, no, don't worry. I'm just curious." He rubbed his nose, making Tiffany suspicious. "Though, I need to know. Why'd you change your name from Tem to Tiffany?"
Tiffany folded her arms, sighed, and beamed, "I think Tiffany sounds more like Timothy. Plus, it's a nice name that doesn't sound completely different from my birth name." Elliott nodded, proud, "Timothy-Tiffany Miyazaki! Sounds horrible combined, but I'll take it!" in frustration, Tiffany screamed into his face, "Stop whining and lauding about my choices! We're wasting our time, so hurry up!"
-
Kou and Aurora remained imprisoned inside the cave with the men of diamond all around them. Kou countered by slamming his sole into the man's sturdy chest but got caught by the ankle. He attempted to break free of the man's hold but felt his body getting flung into the air. He shifted into a backflip and landed in front of Aurora.
"Fine... Let's move on to the next stage." Kou opened his hand and spread his arms as the mint energy slipped between his fingers and flared in a flash. The mint energy, zapping from his brilliant irises, continued as his hair spiked up, one hair tip taking the shape of a bolt.
Aurora shielded her eyes from the detrimental energy, cleared her blurry vision, and locked her eyes onto Kou. "16 years old and manages to hide all of that power?" She seemed impressed by Kou's change, her voice compelling him to look behind him, baffled. "You got this, Kou!" she cheered him on by raising her arm and hopping on her feet, surprising Kou enough to make him smile.
"If this isn't enough to penetrate that unbreakable body, then I don't know what else will." The zipping energy traversed through the cave's floor and demolished the terrain around Kou's feet. With a vanishing dash, he neared the man of diamond, hauling back his knee close to his chest and, with exceptional speed, prepared to push his sole into the man's face.
"Soul Flash!" he yelled and delivered the impact. It appeared effective, causing the man of diamond to pause from moving. With Kou's foot in his sturdy face, the mint energy zapped backward while the man's head started to crack. It gradually put dents into his hard-as-steel face and finally shattered into crystal pieces while the rest of his body sped into the cave wall behind, breaking as well.
Kou lowered his foot and landed on the floor, "It worked!" he stated, but he was nowhere near close to being done. There were still a bunch of diamond men around the cave, repeating the same word "bride" over and over again as their main purpose for attacking them.
Kou examined the entire room and counted his enemies, "11... That's more than I thought..." he said, rubbing his nostrils, "and who knows how many more are there to appear." He managed to destroy the second man of diamond with a punch to his head. The sheer number caused him to back away from the other ten foes.
He slapped his own face cheeks and took a deep breath, "Okay, okay... keep going. Remember the training." Kou claimed, preparing to keep fighting.
To be continued...