"Bloodlust Stage 1!" Ikari says aloud, dark red aura quickly emitting from him as his appearance changes. He holds out his hand, calling for his dagger which quickly flies into it.
Yoshitsune glances at the boy. So this must be his "special" power... He confirms to himself.
He quickly turns his head back towards the ice which entraps the huge man. Another big crack forms in the ice as the pair continue to stare at it.
As soon as he gets out my bloodlust will be canceled, It shouldn't be a problem though. Ikari thinks to himself.
The boy looks at Star's unconscious body, it makes him even more determined to end the mindless bastard. Suddenly, a barrage of cracks forms into the ice which causes it to explode open.
The crunch of ice being stepped on is heard as the huge, corrupted man walks out of the ice prison. But, no one meets him, not even Star...
The man can see the presence of magic which lays in the same spot where Ikari and Yoshitsune were formerly at. The corrupted man walks to the leftover magic and examines it.
"Now!" A voice yells out. The man quickly looks up only to see Yoshitsune already in front of him. The captain swings his sword at the man, but he catches the blade. He doesn't have much time to act, a battle scream is heard coming from his opposite direction, he turns his head only to be met with Ikari's fist which slams into the man's face.
The punch is so devastating that the impact echos through the area with a loud "SMACK!". The huge assailant gets sent flying before he finally crashes off of the ground, even more dust fills the city after his momentum finally cools down.
Ikari looks at the aftermath of his punch as he pats the dust off of him. As he pats off the dust he realizes that the bloodlust aura has disappeared.
Just as expected... He says to himself, he quickly reverts his focus back up at the dust storm.
"You okay gramps?" Ikari asks, still staring at the storm of dust.
"Gramps?! I'm not even in my twenties yet!" Yoshitsune replies, offended by Ikari's words.
The boy doesn't pay attention to the captain, he continues to look forward. His eyes widen at the huge man, who bursts through the dust and flies towards Ikari, who narrowly dodges him by leaning backward and quickly rolling to the side.
Yoshitsune simply sidesteps the oncoming attacker and points his sword at him, already in battle stance.
Ikari doesn't waste any time, he quickly bursts towards the man and releases a flurry of attacks. Which does nothing to the man, who simply knocks Ikari out of his sight. Yoshitsune uses this to his advantage, he flies at the man with immense speed and stabs him in the side!
The corrupted monster doesn't even flinch, he slowly turns his head at the captain. Yoshitsune tries to pull out his blade, but it doesn't budge. He makes a noise of frustration before he lets go of it and gets into a martial arts stance.
"Damn you! You big bastard!" He yells as he hits the man with a right hook. The corrupted man's head doesn't flinch at the punch. He simply smiles at the captain and then replies by punching him right in the stomach!
Yoshitsune coughs up blood before he falls to his knees and holds his stomach in pain. He looks up at the assailant with a smile, blood streams down his mouth.
"Y-you pack quite a punch, but we won't go down that easy!"
Just as he lets out his words, a huge cut appears on the corrupted man's chest! Blood quickly oozes out of his wound.
Finally, the man shows a sign of distress as he holds his wound, in pain. He quickly looks in the opposite direction only to find Ikari, wiping off the man's blood, which flies off his dagger.
"Heh! Not bad kid..." Yoshitsune says as he pulls himself up, he wipes off the blood on his mouth and continues to grin at the corrupted man.
"Now let's finish this," He coldly says, he quickly adjusts his stance.
Ikari stays in his position and coldly stares at the corrupt. Silence hits the area, it takes a minute before Ikari finally makes the first move. The boy rapidly swings his dagger around, causing the man to either dodge or block.
We have to overwhelm him! Ikari plans to himself as he continues to attack.
"Now kid!" Yoshitsune yells. Ikari's eyes widen as he suddenly realizes Yoshitsune's plan, the boy spins out of the captain's way as he unleashes a punch onto the corrupted man's face. This time stunning him. Ikari continues the plan by grabbing Yoshitsune's sword and passing it to him, in which he catches it and points it at the man.
"Let's go!"
Yoshitsune runs towards the man and begins to release a combo of attacks with his sword. Ikari follows suit as he continues his attacks with his dagger from the other side of the man.
The pair continue to overwhelm the man with their attacks, the sound of their blades slashing across him echoes through Tranquil.
The man is forced onto his knees, completely stunned by the attacks.
"It's our chance!" Ikari yells, he looks at Yoshitsune who has the same grin on his face.
"Go for it."
Ikari and Yoshitsune both point their blades at the stunned man, the pair runs towards him and screams as they both slash their weapons across his chest! Both warriors sheathe their weapons as blood sprays out of the man's chest, ending him for good.
A moment of silence finally hits the area, the two warriors examine the still-warm corpse of the man. Ikari kneels to examine the white aura that slowly fades away from the corpse.
Its Azrail's aura... But this guy's abilities were different from the others... Ikari confirms to himself, Yoshitsune examines the curious boy.
He kind of looks familiar... WAIT!
Suddenly, the realization hits Yoshitsune who makes noise out of surprise which catches Ikari's attention.
"What is it?" Ikari asks.
Yoshitsune continues to examine the boy as Ikari stares at him.
He must be Eclipse's friend! But... I feel like I'm forgetting something else... He continues to think. Ikari narrows his eyes at the captain.
Wait... HE'S THE ONE ON THE BOUNTY!? Yoshitsune gasps in surprise, he can already hear the King scolding him for working with a wanted bounty.
He's just a teen... How could he already be that dangerous...Yoshitsune goes through many possibilities in his head while Ikari gets more and more frustrated.
"Are you okay?" He asks.
Yoshitsune snaps back into reality and quickly thinks of a reply.
"Uh! Yeah, I'm fine, You know? You and that girl look really tired maybe y'all should come with me to Vitalis..." Yoshitsune laughs nervously.
Ikari stands back up and sighs.
"It's about my bounty huh?"
Ikari walks into an alleyway, Yoshitsune sighs and walks after him.
"You don't need to hide it, you are the captain after all," Ikari says with no emotion in his voice. Ikari picks up the still-unconscious body of Star who is heavily protected by magic.
Yoshitsune takes a moment to think out his next reply.
"Listen, maybe I can work something out with the King. I mean you were just helping to save the town," Yoshitsune claims.
"I could care less about this town, I was only fighting to protect my friend," Ikari replies coldly.
"If you'd actually want to protect your friend, you would come with me," Yoshitsune replies.
Ikari turns his head quickly to give Yoshitsune a death stare, Yoshitsune meets his stare with the same intensity.
"Look at her! She looks drained, and you don't even wanna know how worried your other friends are!" Yoshitsune continues.
Ikari stays silent and looks at Star. Nothing but bruises and dirt lays on her unconscious body. Ikari continues to stay silent. The captain crosses his arms.
"Please just come with me, I promise I'll try everything in my power to make sure y'all won't be attacked or arrested."
The boy continues to stay silent for a moment before he makes a noise of annoyance and finally speaks up.
"Fine..." He sighs.
Yoshitsune nods at the boy and begins to walk out of the alleyway. Ikari looks at Star one last before putting her on his back and following suit.
When Yoshitsune finally gets out of the alleyway he stretches and takes in a deep breath, the stench of corpses, smoke, and odor hits his nose which causes him to cringe at the smell.
"Nothing like the smell of... Dead people..." Yoshitsune jokes.
Ikari simply looks at him with a straight face. Yoshitsune chuckles nervously and scratches his head.
"Not a fan of jokes huh?" He sighs to himself...
"Captain! Captain!" A voice yells.
The pair turns their head to a man in armor who's running at them.
"It's the men! They're retreating!"
Yoshitsune narrows his eyes at the guard.
"Are you sure?" He asks with a serious tone.
"Yes! It's just like they froze up and began to run away during battle!" The young guard replies.
Yoshitsune and Ikari both look at the corpse of the formerly corrupted man as if they were thinking about something.
"Captain?"
Yoshitsune looks back up at the guard with a smile.
"Good job! you'll stay here and stand guard until we send reinforcements."
The boy in armor nods and runs away towards the other men. Yoshitsune sighs and looks at Ikari.
"C'mon let's get going..."
The boy nods his head to reply. The pair walks to the exit, they can see multiple guards disposing of bodies and trying to clean what they can.
The captain puts his head down to ignore the unnecessary carnage and continues to lead Ikari towards the exit of the town.
Oh right! I forgot to do something... Yoshitsune reminds himself. He stops dead in his tracks which makes Ikari almost runs into him. The boy is about to say something, but before he can say something he's cut off by Yoshitsune's whistle.
Ikari gives him a concerned look.
"Are you sure that you're okay?"
The captain simply extends his arm out, Ikari continues to look at him with confusion until the sound of chirping is heard. To his surprise, a bird flies onto Yoshitsune's arm and begins to chirp happily.
The boy stares at him in disbelief.
"I have to be dreaming..."
Yoshitsune reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small journal. He hands the journal to Ikari.
"Here write something to your friends so they know where to meet us," Yoshitsune says as if this whole situation was normal.
Ikari continues to look at him as if he was crazy, but Yoshitsune ignores him and pets the bird.
"Hurry up, we don't have all day," Yoshitsune replies to Ikari's confusion.
Quickly, the boy writes a letter explaining where he and Yoshitsune are going. He rips out the paper from the journal and hands the letter to the captain, who simply folds it and gives it to the bird. The bird keeps the letter safe in its beak before he flies off of Yoshitsune's arm and back towards Tranquil, The captain smiles at the scene.
"What the hell was that?" Ikari asks, still visibly confused.
"Are you an animal whisperer or something?"
Yoshitsune laughs at the boy's confusion.
"No! It's just something they teach the knights of Vitalis, it's so we can always keep in touch with each other," He says when he finally stops laughing.
Ikari creeks his head, still trapped in confusion.
Yoshitsune laughs again and pats Ikari on the back.
"Don't worry about it! I'll explain more about Vitalis on the way there," He says with a smile.
Ikari sighs and puts his head down.
Here we go again... He thinks to himself.
"Alright let's go! No time to waste!" Yoshitsune exclaims as he begins to burst through the trail.
"H-hey! I have to carry someone you know!" Ikari yells as quickly catches up to the captain.
The two warriors continue to burst towards Vitalis, Ikari wonders how he'll be treated once he gets there. He is a criminal after all...
-----------------------------------------------
The waiting was killing Eclipse, he sits nervously on the wagon with Hina. They haven't moved at all since their run-in with Yoshitsune. It doesn't help that they haven't even gotten a word from either Star, Ikari, or Yoshitsune.
I've tried everything to get his mind off of it... Hina sighs to herself. She looks at the highly anxious Eclipse and sighs to herself.
I guess I'll have to be direct...
"So what do you think?" Hina asks, she adjusts herself so her whole body is facing Eclipse.
"H-huh?" Eclipse whimpers as he quickly looks at Hina.
She only responds to him with a warm smile, Eclipse takes a moment to process her question.
"O-Oh... I think everything will be okay..." He quietly replies
"You don't have to lie, tell me what's on your mind..." Hina replies with a frown.
Eclipse looks at her with a face of shock, he looks down and slightly smiles.
"Heh... Thank you." He says. Hina nods, but Eclipse keeps his head down.
"I wish I could help..." He says sadly...
"I feel so weak... I can't even protect my friends or the city I swore to defend..."
Hina listens to him intently, the young boy looks up at her.
"I'm such a failure..." He says as tears begin to form in his eyes.
The black-haired girl gives Eclipse a warm, reassuring, smile as she thinks about her next words carefully.
"Your no such thing as a 'failure', I saw how hard you were fighting just so you can defend the place you love... In my eyes, that makes you anything but a failure!"
Before Eclipse can respond, Hina quickly cuts him off.
"And don't get me started on the weak topic! The weak, wouldn't even try to help! But you were ready to die for it. You are more than strong Eclipse," Hina exclaims with nothing but confidence.
The boy's tears finally stop forming as he looks at her with a shocked expression. Seconds pass as he finally wipes his face with his arm and smiles at her.
"Big Sis!" He yells as he jumps into Hina and hugs her tightly!
"Big Sis?!" Hina responds in confusion as Eclipse continues to hold on to her and laugh happily.
"I-I can barely breath!" Hina mutters weakly. Eclipse's eyes widen and he quickly lets go of her.
Hina catches her breath as the boy chuckles in embarrassment.
"Hee hee... Sorry..."
An awkward silence hits the area as Eclipse scratches his head, still embarrassed.
The boy is about to speak up once again but before he can, he is interrupted by the sound of chirping.
"A bird?" Hina questions herself, she looks around only to answer her question. A bird flies around in circles above the carriage.
"Is he holding... Paper?" Eclipse asks.
Hina holds and points out her arm at the bird, it chirps happily as it lands on her. It opens its beak, offering the paper to the Hina. A confused look appears on her face as if she doesn't know what to do.
"Well? Are you gonna take it?" Eclipse asks once again.
"Oh? Y-yeah..."
Hina slowly takes the paper out of the bird's beak, once again it chirps happily before it flies off in the opposite direction. The black-haired girl opens up the paper and narrows her eyes at the words.
"Going to Vitalis, meet us there"
- Ikari
Why was I expecting anything better? She thinks with an unimpressed face. Eclipse sits there with curiosity in his eyes, dying to know what the letter was about.
"It's from Ikari!" Hina says, looking up from the letter.
Eclipse's face quickly turns into a look of happiness as he snatches the paper out of Hina's hands!
"H-Hey!"
Eclipse quickly reads Ikari's letter with a huge grin on his face.
Yoshitsune did it! Eclipse says to himself, finding an even bigger respect for the Captain.
"C'mon let's go!" Eclipse yells impatiently.
Hina smiles back at the boy's readiness.
"Okay then! Hold on to something!" She warns as she grabs the reigns. She smacks them down which causes the horses to gallop through the trail, and towards Vitalis.
As the wind flys through Eclipse's hair, all he can think about is getting to Vitalis, Ready to see his only friends again. Ready to get stronger, and most importantly. Ready to start his own goal...