_
"And… how many are there…?" the clerk raised a brow.
"Eleven; so, how much's the pay?" behind Fumeko were a pile of silcelots, bloodied and dead.
"Well, since the skinning process hasn't been done, I can run an average of seven gold per body. That would be seventy-seven in total…"
"Yay! More money!" Asobi cheered up to the counter as Hotaru collected the fees.
Leaving the pile of felines to the side, they departed the building much richer. However, Fumeko disappeared, going into the shadows and back to the clerk.
"Guah!" the clerk verbalized as she appeared out of nowhere.
Fumeko glared to him, "You're telling me a velatos is worth less than two of those things? Something smells fishy and it isn't the silcelots."
The clerk readjusted his glasses, "Well, we've had our complaints. Our delays on rebuilding and renovations already have us on edge."
The entire top part of the building was hidden from the bottom floor, but anyone could see from the back of the building, the rebuilt walls and windows.
"The price of a velatos kill was reduced because nothing was harvestable from its corpse, an influx of capable adventurers and at the time;
the velatos posed no threat other than disturbing the peace and some harm. It was considered to be no different than a wild animal.
So, Mr Mataya decided to reduce the reward. Now that it has shown more danger… We are already planning to increase the funds substantially. Don't worry, the reward of one armite will return soon enough."
Fumeko grumbled under her breath, "Fine," the girl in purple disappeared, letting the clerk sigh in relief.
"Delays huh? And ready to pay one armite? Something's still off," Fumeko returned to her party without notice.
-26th of July, 979.
The sound of the metal rang in her ears, recognizing each slice as it skimmed off of her blade; she could often tell in which way his sword was coming to strike next.
Within blinks of an eye- "Clang! TiNK! CLash! Ting! ShINg!" Jotou deflected the flurry of attacks from her master.
Jotou took a step back, heavily breathing, "Was that you at full speed?"
Master Tensuo pulled his blade back, "Speed, almost at my peak; though at my age, it gets hard to tell. I've yet to use full precision; you may be getting better, but you're still learning."
Jotou sighed, "…Speaking of speed, I think I'm much faster to swing left and right, then make a blow upwards; possibly curving the blade."
"We can try that, sure. Are you ready?" Master Tensuo took only a second's rest.
"As ready as I'll ever be," Jotou readied the blue-hilted sword. She rushed forward, opting to quicken her strikes based on the basic pattern she's practiced.
Clashing once more, Jotou deflected Master Tensuo's sword back, allowing her to find an opening, but her master deflected quickly.
Jotou's eyes darted to her feet, stepping one foot over and hopping as she saw her master's legs sweep below her. She escaped the attack from below, but failed to notice her blade pivoting out of her grasp.
With enough force, Master Tensuo twisted the metal and disarmed Jotou. His blade stopped at her neck… leaving a startled Jotou.
Master Tensuo broke a sweat, "Good. Again!"
-27th of July, 979.
"And… done!" Asobi applied blush onto Jotou's cheeks as Jotou peered into the mirror.
Jotou kept her hands to herself as she did it, now seeing her face with a little smile, "Thanks Asobi, it looks great. Actually, you must be a master at this by now; you working in a circus and all."
The elf beamed, "I didn't do much makeup, I always have my illusions," Asobi pointed to her face with a wand and then to her heel, switching her footwear on a whim.
"While I did have it, other people did makeup for me. So, I'm helping you from what they helped me with!"
Jotou stared at her own face; brown eyes, bangs that flowed and framed her face that ended in black and strands of golden hair behind her, "I really am pretty," she gave a chuckle.
"Yup! Now, hold still!" Asobi held a case of mascara.
"Oh, okay, okay!" Jotou feared the brush coming to her open eye.
"Keep your eyes open!"
"I can't believe this…" Hotaru shook her head in the hallway… Asobi and Jotou turned to her. "This is, this is treason. How could you two do your makeup without me? Hmph!" she looked the other way.
"You can, join us?" Jotou cocked a brow.
"Thought you'd never ask!" Hotaru hurried into the room with a smile, "I suppose I can lessen your sentences."
_
"How's this one?" Jotou modelled a front-laced dress of white, ending before her knees whilst Hotaru and Asobi clapped on the bed.
_
"Hm," Jotou had changed wardrobe for the seventh time, glancing in the mirror. "I think dresses suit me better, no?" Jotou wore a suit made of Asobi's top that gripped her shoulders and a pair of Anastasia's work trousers.
"Are you kidding? If we actually found a suit for you, you'd look stunning," Hotaru stated to which Asobi nodded aggressively.
The door knob turned as a girl with hair sticking to her face passed by, "What's everyone doing in Jotou's room?" Fumeko rubbed one eye.
"Oh, Meko; just in time. How do I look?" Jotou flaunted her scraped together suit.
Fumeko's eyes widened every second before her reddened face looked into the hallway. A wisp of shadow was left where she once stood.
-28th of July, 979.
She huffed out mist at noon. Master Tensuo pulled back his blade, "You've become more calculating. I will have to make sure to keep every attack of mine different so you don't memorize."
"Master? I have another tactic in mind. Something more in your style and Okod's. Call it a twist on past teachings that I can use on my own."
The master stretched, "Are you ready then?"
Jotou paused for a second, "Actually… Would you mind if I practice a few times before we spar?"
Master Tensuo let out an amused breath, "Of course not," his cheeks wrinkled to his smirk.
-30th of July, 979.
"Take it slow Jotou!" Hotaru yelled over.
Jotou planted her feet in the grass, sword in her hand. Fumeko and Asobi watched from atop the roof to the back of the house. The test dummy stood.
'Let it flow… I guess I don't control you either affinity; you remind me of me. So, let's do this right; together.' Jotou steadied her mind, arm out as her brown eyes opened.
"Thundering, Strike!" she felt the mana flow through her, like it exited her mind and nerves, channelling through her right arm as it tingled.
Flicking her wrist, arm and body in one movement… "Spzz… BLAst!!" Lightning shot out in a flash, lighting up the area, followed by a bellowing thunder… that did not wreak havoc.
The others gazed at her. Jotou examined the dummy, having perfectly cut through the middle. Nothing else was affected, nothing else burned; even the thunder sounded controlled.
Her blade crumbled into dust, but, "I, don't feel, pain… I don't feel fatigued… I-I'm fine! GUYS! I'M FINE!!!" Jotou yelled over, sparkles in her eyes.
-3rd of August, 979.
She made contact with his blade, determination in her eyes. She swivelled the blade down and to the left, knocking his blade up and tried to kick out his feet.
The master jumped back, coming back down to swipe to her- "CLANG!" Jotou held her sword with both hands, deflecting his blow and letting the blade to fall into the grasp her left hand.
She quickly twisted it below and sliced up, but missed; in the process she threw it to her right hand. Promptly catching it to—"Ting!"—deflect the incoming sword.
She spun around- "Cling!" Met with another deflection, she struck up immediately, making Master Tensuo recoil back… but not enough; as a single hair from his beard was sliced shorter.
With one kick upwards from him, Jotou's blade was deflected back towards her. Jotou stopped it, but barely deflected Master Tensuo's incoming—"CLINK!"—blow, leaving them at a standstill.
"Again!" Jotou yelled.
-6th of August, 979.
"Is that the Thundering Blade?"
"No way!?"
"She's even more beautiful in person!"
"She's come to save us!"
Some of the crowd's exclamations made it past the screaming velatos, tail whipping onto the ground of the Bargain District. Some sort of reptile covered in shadow the size of a small house.
Ruby red eyes and four claws clouded in darkness. It yelled down to Jotou as she went to confront the creature in broad daylight, attracting a fleeing crowd to follow her instead.
"Everyone, get back!" Hotaru shouted at the top of her lungs, shooing them away. "Aegis-Aura!" she casted as an aura of light blue wrapped around the four of them.
"Blinding light!" Asobi aimed for the eyes, as the creature staggered back in a hiss to the bright white.
Fumeko who had shunned her eyes, blinked around—to its side, to its back—it's tail that was nearly breaking through several shops.
Fumeko blinked to Jotou, "Nothing, no weakness. Now, I'm gonna go test a theory," Fumeko blinked away.
"Great," Jotou unsheathed a blade; still used, but at least polished. The creature shook its head, trying to remove the blinding effect.
The crowd were stepping forward and back, being told off by Hotaru. "Get out of the way, you freak!" some teenage girl shouted.
Hotaru shook her head, "Will you all, please, listen!" not in a scowl, she yelled.
A wall of white butterflies circled around their fight, corralling the crowd of curious citizens back, "Now, now, I get that the show is spectacular and I do not disagree!
But stand back and watch as the Thundering Blade takes down this monstrosity!" the illusion at least made them stagger back enough, light came off of them to discomfort the people's eyes.
"Thundering, Strike!" Jotou swung her blade, going for its leg while it was blinded. "Slash! Blast!!" Lightning fizzled, slicing the leg off to make it fall over. Her blade cracked, but had not crumbled yet.
The thunder echoed, the audience gasped at the sound. Jotou ran back to Hotaru, "Rejuvenate!" she casted onto her before Jotou spun around and ran back.
Its head thumped onto the floor, loosing balance. 'I've had enough of you.' "Thundering Strike!" Jotou yelled and with a flurry of lightning going for its head…
"BLASSSTTTT!!! Fizzle... zip!" The thunder blasted. As if the slice clean through its head was not enough, the sound had blasted all the gore to the way she swung.
Several windows could be heard shattering and Jotou felt fatigued, but she still stood; no pain in her body but her panted breath. The audience cheered and clapped alongside hoots and whistles.
Fumeko blinked behind the buildings, behind the crowd, checking every nearby corner… "Is it actually nothing that controls a velatos? Unlikely… Looks like whoever it is got away in time," she glared into the night.