Oujouittou watches the residence for a moment. He knew the hunter was in there, speaking to the man with two forms. And he knew his own limits. While he had no doubt he could top his brother, he knew that involving the other man made it a much less sure thing. Neither of them were weaklings, after all. Hopefully the young man who was looking for the one with two forms would arrive soon. He could handle Enzeru, and that boy could handle the twinling. His brother would not escape, this time. He would suffer yet another death, and be reborn elsewhere. And then uncover the truth and be slain and be reborn, repeat ad nauseum.
He shifts slightly as a form approaches the gates to the mansion, then slips past and hails a guard. It was him, but what was he doing entering the building already? Oujouittou believes cursing to be beneath him, but he lets on slip as he leaps to the ground and over the walls of the building. It would be now, then, it seemed.
------------------
”So you’re trying to figure out how to get rid of him? Just him, or the body too?”
Enzeru’s blue-flecked black eyes take in the two men before him. It had taken him some time to get used to the idea that it was one person. Osore was, as ever, a hulking mountain of armor and danger. And beside him was….Osore. In the body of the former Mizukage, Hoshikata. Gold skin, gold eyes, white hair. Even that staff. No wonder he was getting such a sense of wrongness from the duo. Osore had somehow unlocked an art not meant for the mortal world, and it was sending off alerts like firecrackers in the night sky to those sensitive to such things.
As Osore nods and the Hoshikata form opens its mouth to speak, the door to the study is opened by a servant. “Sir, there is a man here to see you. He claims to have a message from your brother. He’s armed.” The Hoshikata form turns and nods to the servant. ”By all means, let him in. I think that we can handle one armed man if he gets out of control.” Even as he is speaking, Osore himself is explaining to Enzeru that the soul of his cousin was a weight he could not wait to be rid of, and if it meant losing the body so be it. It was, to say the least, disconcerting how adept the large man had become at multitasking between his bodies. Something would indeed need to be done for him.
The door opens wider and the messenger steps in. He had hair that was a dark brown, near black. And matching brown eyes. A red jacket that ended at his waist, leg armor of the same color, and all black under that. He was indeed armed, with two katana in sheathes at his right side. A lefty, then. Enzeru felt that important because as soon as he saw the man, his own eyes began to glow ever so softly. The blue flecks beginning to expand. While he couldn’t see that himself, he could feel something wrong, perverse, coming off this one.
---------------
Hoshikata was bored. Osore hadn’t spoken to him for some time now. He knew he could hear him, knew that his cousin was incapable of blocking him out. Railing at his mind had proven entertaining, but futile. Osore had spent his entire life in agony that could barely be comprehended by others, his mind was like a wall of solid steel several feet thick. He could be hurt, burnt, battered and dented; He could not be broken, however. As he watches, Hoshikata notes his own body turning to greet the new person entering. Pleasantries were being sent but the former Mizukage was suddenly screaming.
You fool! Look through my eyes! And get me away from him! He cannot be up to good!
Osore sighs and focuses more on the second set of eyes he has, taking note as he does of what his cousin’s ghost said. Indeed, this man was unique. His soul was missing, and in its place he could see two individual sparks that were shoved into his form and kept trapped there by some means. That, in itself, was not what caused Osore to take note of this one, however. It was the fact that for the first time in his life, he’d noted fear in his cousin. His main body turns also to the man, taking stock of the situation.
Hoshikata, meanwhile, continues to scream and rail at his mind, trying to find purchase to take control of his own body as usual. And Osore, as usual, is stuck putting some of his concentration into stopping just that from happening.
--------
A study. Three men. The black haired man with the navy blue uniform and white gloves was an unknown factor to him. The threat he posed was unknown. Before him was his target, Hoshikata. Or, rather, the body of Hoshikata if what he’d been told was correct. He looked every bit the vile creature that Maki needed him to be. And between those two was the largest person he’d ever laid eyes on. Over eight feet tall, fully armored and more massive than a barn door it appeared. This had to be Osore. And he was now asking what the message from Tenken was.
Maki reaches into his jacket pocket on the right side, and swiftly pulls his sword free in a draw cut at the Hoshikata form before him. He was hoping the surprise would give him all the edge he needed, and he was wrong as a jarring shockwave travels through his arm. Osore was before him, one armored hand gripping the sword and making it look like a knife before so large a figure. He could feel the stress, nearly hear the whine, as Osore grips harder on the steel blade to shatter it. And then a purple foot appears from Maki’s left, connecting with the helmeted head before him and sending the man reeling backwards. The foot is followed by a man. White hair, bluish-purple skin, and twin blades in his hands. As he lands, the other dances around the Isaki couple and rushes for the third man, who is shouting and making handsigns.
Maki rushes in at Osore, kicking him in the head and sending his form sprawling before advancing on Hoshikata, who has drawn his staff to him. And then the room changes. Crystalline walls explode from the ground, from the ceiling above, from all around. He could see his target, and the others, as if through a kaleidoscope. Dozens of images move along and through the walls. Some trick to buy someone time, but who? With a snarl, Maki forms his own seals, and soon darkness covers the maze. He then pulls his second weapon from his side, the sheathe coming from it. He uses it as a guide, finding the walls and the open hallways. And with this method, begins to find his target.
------------
As Outjouitta enters the fray, Enzeru wastes no time in calling forth the labyrinth. Even so, he barely makes it, the wall rising before him just stopping the other before one of those swords can skewer him. The darkness that falls after was not his own doing, but it could be helpful. Enzeru begins to make his way along the maze, his eyes picking up even the tiniest trace of light. Someone had a lantern on, which was making it much easier on him. As he rounds a corner, he spies Osore and his other body turning one themselves. The lantern was at the top of Hoshikata’s staff, which answered that. He steps into the deeper shadows and waits. He knew what was coming.
Sure enough, Oujouittou rounds that same corner, Osore chasing the swordsman. The angel spins and thrusts with one of his blades, the larger man moving with a speed that no one his size should have and evading it. As the sword buries itself into the crystal wall, Osore grips it with one hand and returns a favor from earlier, slamming an armored boot into the angel’s chest hard enough to send him flying back into the opposite wall. At that point, Enzeru forms signs, and with each sign a lance of fire or ice flies from the air before him to strike at Oujouittou.
With only one sword, he was hard pressed to deflect the myriad of blows. And Osore was now coming up from behind him. Without an utterance, the giant rams the blade he’d stolen through the other’s torso, sliding it in to the hilt until a foot and a half of the weapon was sticking out of Oujouittou’s chest. Then he gives a shout of surprise as the man he’d just wounded spins around and slices the helmet right off of his head, then with a backstroke he sends the giant to the ground. Unconscious and bleeding from the temple, but breathing still. Enzeru wades in, not letting up on his assault.
-------------------
Hoshkata could feel his grip tightening. Osore had learned long ago that the best method of fighting was to give his cousin slight control over the form to use all of the tricks it could. It was a gamble, for even a second of weakness could lead to control being lost. As Osore fought the purple swordsman, Hoshikata was himself attacking the other. He’d sprung from the shadows at him, and now they were dancing in the only dance which mattered. His staff blocked and parried, snapping out to in turn be smacked aside. Once or twice he felt it hit home, however. While the blows lacked true strength, they gave him confidence that even with his diminished control he could handle this.
Back and forth they move, trading blows and learning each other’s defenses. This person wasn’t bad with his pig sticker, but he lacked finesse, creativity. He was rushing in and wailing like a barbarian. Hoshikata swings out at him, and mid-swing everything changes. The sounds of combat become clearer, the air tastes of sweat, he feels free. He was free! Control, once more, was his own! He begins to laugh with glee. It had finally happened! Osore had lost control! Oh gloriousness!
He was still laughing when he felt something tugging at him. The swordsman had somehow not only evaded his blow, but gotten to his side where he lacked an offensive response. Hoshikata swore there was a wall there a moment ago. He steps back but the man rushes in, his right hand swinging out in a claw, similar to an uppercut. As if in slow motion, the seer watches it pass through him, watches as he is jerked rudely from his own body. And then all begins to go dark.
--------
Enzeru looks down at the pile of ash at his feet. It was not an easy thing, to kill this one. But unlike him, it would be the true death. He signs once more and the ashes themselves combust, leaving behind nothing. He makes another sign and the crystal maze vanishes, slowly dissolving away. The light begins to return, even, revealing Osore on the ground. The giant was coughing, but he was on his hands and knees now.
And then Osore screams, hands going to his head and body jerking as if in the grip of some malevolent force. Enzeru looks around, and spies something he never thought to see. The body of Hoshikata was standing, staring off stupidly. And before it was the man who began this assault. In his right hand was….something. And he was absorbing it. Before he can step forward, the spark vanishes and the body crumples to the ground. Enzeru begins to run over, but the swordsman himself is now running. He bursts through the window. Left with two options, Enzeru decides it better to check on his companion.
The man got whatever it was he wanted.
(Topic entered/left, Half the Time card so 30 minutes)
He shifts slightly as a form approaches the gates to the mansion, then slips past and hails a guard. It was him, but what was he doing entering the building already? Oujouittou believes cursing to be beneath him, but he lets on slip as he leaps to the ground and over the walls of the building. It would be now, then, it seemed.
------------------
”So you’re trying to figure out how to get rid of him? Just him, or the body too?”
Enzeru’s blue-flecked black eyes take in the two men before him. It had taken him some time to get used to the idea that it was one person. Osore was, as ever, a hulking mountain of armor and danger. And beside him was….Osore. In the body of the former Mizukage, Hoshikata. Gold skin, gold eyes, white hair. Even that staff. No wonder he was getting such a sense of wrongness from the duo. Osore had somehow unlocked an art not meant for the mortal world, and it was sending off alerts like firecrackers in the night sky to those sensitive to such things.
As Osore nods and the Hoshikata form opens its mouth to speak, the door to the study is opened by a servant. “Sir, there is a man here to see you. He claims to have a message from your brother. He’s armed.” The Hoshikata form turns and nods to the servant. ”By all means, let him in. I think that we can handle one armed man if he gets out of control.” Even as he is speaking, Osore himself is explaining to Enzeru that the soul of his cousin was a weight he could not wait to be rid of, and if it meant losing the body so be it. It was, to say the least, disconcerting how adept the large man had become at multitasking between his bodies. Something would indeed need to be done for him.
The door opens wider and the messenger steps in. He had hair that was a dark brown, near black. And matching brown eyes. A red jacket that ended at his waist, leg armor of the same color, and all black under that. He was indeed armed, with two katana in sheathes at his right side. A lefty, then. Enzeru felt that important because as soon as he saw the man, his own eyes began to glow ever so softly. The blue flecks beginning to expand. While he couldn’t see that himself, he could feel something wrong, perverse, coming off this one.
---------------
Hoshikata was bored. Osore hadn’t spoken to him for some time now. He knew he could hear him, knew that his cousin was incapable of blocking him out. Railing at his mind had proven entertaining, but futile. Osore had spent his entire life in agony that could barely be comprehended by others, his mind was like a wall of solid steel several feet thick. He could be hurt, burnt, battered and dented; He could not be broken, however. As he watches, Hoshikata notes his own body turning to greet the new person entering. Pleasantries were being sent but the former Mizukage was suddenly screaming.
You fool! Look through my eyes! And get me away from him! He cannot be up to good!
Osore sighs and focuses more on the second set of eyes he has, taking note as he does of what his cousin’s ghost said. Indeed, this man was unique. His soul was missing, and in its place he could see two individual sparks that were shoved into his form and kept trapped there by some means. That, in itself, was not what caused Osore to take note of this one, however. It was the fact that for the first time in his life, he’d noted fear in his cousin. His main body turns also to the man, taking stock of the situation.
Hoshikata, meanwhile, continues to scream and rail at his mind, trying to find purchase to take control of his own body as usual. And Osore, as usual, is stuck putting some of his concentration into stopping just that from happening.
--------
A study. Three men. The black haired man with the navy blue uniform and white gloves was an unknown factor to him. The threat he posed was unknown. Before him was his target, Hoshikata. Or, rather, the body of Hoshikata if what he’d been told was correct. He looked every bit the vile creature that Maki needed him to be. And between those two was the largest person he’d ever laid eyes on. Over eight feet tall, fully armored and more massive than a barn door it appeared. This had to be Osore. And he was now asking what the message from Tenken was.
Maki reaches into his jacket pocket on the right side, and swiftly pulls his sword free in a draw cut at the Hoshikata form before him. He was hoping the surprise would give him all the edge he needed, and he was wrong as a jarring shockwave travels through his arm. Osore was before him, one armored hand gripping the sword and making it look like a knife before so large a figure. He could feel the stress, nearly hear the whine, as Osore grips harder on the steel blade to shatter it. And then a purple foot appears from Maki’s left, connecting with the helmeted head before him and sending the man reeling backwards. The foot is followed by a man. White hair, bluish-purple skin, and twin blades in his hands. As he lands, the other dances around the Isaki couple and rushes for the third man, who is shouting and making handsigns.
Maki rushes in at Osore, kicking him in the head and sending his form sprawling before advancing on Hoshikata, who has drawn his staff to him. And then the room changes. Crystalline walls explode from the ground, from the ceiling above, from all around. He could see his target, and the others, as if through a kaleidoscope. Dozens of images move along and through the walls. Some trick to buy someone time, but who? With a snarl, Maki forms his own seals, and soon darkness covers the maze. He then pulls his second weapon from his side, the sheathe coming from it. He uses it as a guide, finding the walls and the open hallways. And with this method, begins to find his target.
------------
As Outjouitta enters the fray, Enzeru wastes no time in calling forth the labyrinth. Even so, he barely makes it, the wall rising before him just stopping the other before one of those swords can skewer him. The darkness that falls after was not his own doing, but it could be helpful. Enzeru begins to make his way along the maze, his eyes picking up even the tiniest trace of light. Someone had a lantern on, which was making it much easier on him. As he rounds a corner, he spies Osore and his other body turning one themselves. The lantern was at the top of Hoshikata’s staff, which answered that. He steps into the deeper shadows and waits. He knew what was coming.
Sure enough, Oujouittou rounds that same corner, Osore chasing the swordsman. The angel spins and thrusts with one of his blades, the larger man moving with a speed that no one his size should have and evading it. As the sword buries itself into the crystal wall, Osore grips it with one hand and returns a favor from earlier, slamming an armored boot into the angel’s chest hard enough to send him flying back into the opposite wall. At that point, Enzeru forms signs, and with each sign a lance of fire or ice flies from the air before him to strike at Oujouittou.
With only one sword, he was hard pressed to deflect the myriad of blows. And Osore was now coming up from behind him. Without an utterance, the giant rams the blade he’d stolen through the other’s torso, sliding it in to the hilt until a foot and a half of the weapon was sticking out of Oujouittou’s chest. Then he gives a shout of surprise as the man he’d just wounded spins around and slices the helmet right off of his head, then with a backstroke he sends the giant to the ground. Unconscious and bleeding from the temple, but breathing still. Enzeru wades in, not letting up on his assault.
-------------------
Hoshkata could feel his grip tightening. Osore had learned long ago that the best method of fighting was to give his cousin slight control over the form to use all of the tricks it could. It was a gamble, for even a second of weakness could lead to control being lost. As Osore fought the purple swordsman, Hoshikata was himself attacking the other. He’d sprung from the shadows at him, and now they were dancing in the only dance which mattered. His staff blocked and parried, snapping out to in turn be smacked aside. Once or twice he felt it hit home, however. While the blows lacked true strength, they gave him confidence that even with his diminished control he could handle this.
Back and forth they move, trading blows and learning each other’s defenses. This person wasn’t bad with his pig sticker, but he lacked finesse, creativity. He was rushing in and wailing like a barbarian. Hoshikata swings out at him, and mid-swing everything changes. The sounds of combat become clearer, the air tastes of sweat, he feels free. He was free! Control, once more, was his own! He begins to laugh with glee. It had finally happened! Osore had lost control! Oh gloriousness!
He was still laughing when he felt something tugging at him. The swordsman had somehow not only evaded his blow, but gotten to his side where he lacked an offensive response. Hoshikata swore there was a wall there a moment ago. He steps back but the man rushes in, his right hand swinging out in a claw, similar to an uppercut. As if in slow motion, the seer watches it pass through him, watches as he is jerked rudely from his own body. And then all begins to go dark.
--------
Enzeru looks down at the pile of ash at his feet. It was not an easy thing, to kill this one. But unlike him, it would be the true death. He signs once more and the ashes themselves combust, leaving behind nothing. He makes another sign and the crystal maze vanishes, slowly dissolving away. The light begins to return, even, revealing Osore on the ground. The giant was coughing, but he was on his hands and knees now.
And then Osore screams, hands going to his head and body jerking as if in the grip of some malevolent force. Enzeru looks around, and spies something he never thought to see. The body of Hoshikata was standing, staring off stupidly. And before it was the man who began this assault. In his right hand was….something. And he was absorbing it. Before he can step forward, the spark vanishes and the body crumples to the ground. Enzeru begins to run over, but the swordsman himself is now running. He bursts through the window. Left with two options, Enzeru decides it better to check on his companion.
The man got whatever it was he wanted.
(Topic entered/left, Half the Time card so 30 minutes)