Monsters of Moon Dance Village! [Closed]

[Hirosame]

Beside the blossoming Sakura trees, the monk watched the petals flutter around him. Hiro had been mesmerized by this place ever since he had stepped foot through the gate entrance to the village, and has wanted to stay here ever since. However, he knew that he wouldn't be able to just stay here without letting everybody else know. Saeko was already going to cause him enough trouble for being out and away for so long, which he imagined would probably cause her to come out and look for him sometime in the near future. This was acceptable, however, since she would probably love to visit this place, being the nerd that she is. She treats it like it's a secret, but it was pretty easy for Hiro to tell that she enjoyed this kind of thing greatly. That isn't the problem for now, though. No, something else is going on. Hiro was asked to take care of a few monsters nearby the village, while he stayed here for the time being. It might generate some good graces between himself and the townsfolk, so it was definitely more than worth it.

However, the monk wasn't here on his own. No, he was here with company: one of the same company he had come to this village with the day before. Hiro was going to do some work with the town with a cleric, named kittygrey, and they were to defeat some monsters that had begun appearing around the settlement about the same time the area was unlocked for adventurers to come here. He could only assume that this meant there was some connection between the village and the opening of the frontier, but that would be researched in due time. First, he needed to get some recognition with the people here, and enough notoriety with these people to be able to pry into their history. He was very intrigued by this place, the people, and the history. The Spirits that resided here as well were just a bonus to his curiosity. But, for now, he'd contain his questions, and ask them at the appropriate time. So, time to focus on beating up those monsters that have been spawning recently! That was today's mission!

But, first, he needed to wait for Kitty to arrive at the rendezvous point that they had set: Right where he was standing. Hopefully the girl hadn't been caught up in the random worshipings that Inori had gotten the day before. These people seemed to take pretty kindly to Fox-Tails, and worshiped Inori when she entered the village. Of course, that eventually subsided when they explained everything that was going on, and helped the village out with their problems, while returning the village elder's grandson. Hiro had no idea what happened to that elder, since he hadn't returned yet, but figured that it would turn up eventually. Still, Kitty was taking a little while to get there, so Hiro began to wonder if she over-slept or something. That might be the case. The party was up for a very long time yesterday and the day before, so being tired was probably the least of their worries for now. If she showed up later than expected, it was all fine. However, if Kitty didn't show up until sometime in the evening, they wouldn't be able to see the monsters quite so clearly, which would be a problem. They needed to do this quest during the day, or wait until tomorrow to start it up.

[585 Words]

((OOC: I got permission to make up monsters for this area. Awesome, right!?! I'll try and include Monster Bio's in a spoiler before each post that involves a new monster, okay? This is gonna be so much fun!))

[kittygrey]

Ame stretched out her arms long as she opened up her eyes to the scene of the sun shining, cherry blossom leaves falling gently outside of her window. She looked around the room as she got up out of the bed, surprised to see that she wasn't in her normal sleeping spot. Her mind finally clicked in as she rubbed both of her eyes with her fists and looked out the window once more. "Oh, right, I stayed in Moon Dance Village." She smiled as she left her room. She had been asked to stay to clear out some monsters who were showing up too close for comfort near just on the outskirts of the town. Herself and Hiro would spend the day, and possibly some of the night, clearing them out. She loved the village, and even more so the villagers. Before bed last night, some of the ladies had let her take a bath in their hot house. It was well needed after the events that had happened there. They were so grateful that afterwards, the treated her to a feast. She really couldn't have made better food herself, even though she was quite the chef. Opening her interface, she put on her armor and walked out of the door. As if they were waiting for her to wake, the young ladies from last night were standing there with wide smiles on their faces.

They led her downstairs to a breakfast table with all kinds of food. Her mouth dropped and she bowed to them, giving them all her thanks. She sat down and began munching on some rolls and stuffed one, along with two delicious meat buns into her inventory. She wasn't sure if Hiro had eaten, but she was sure he would need something to eat later on in the day. After that thought, she stood up quickly. She shook her head, bowing and thanking them once again before rushing out of the door. She had spent too much time already, and she knew Hiro would be waiting for her to get started. She ran as quickly as she could, her tail flowing in the wind. She wished she had woken up earlier so that she could have taken another walk through the village, it reminded her of her home, back in Kyoto, Japan. She had been awe struck by the village when she had first arrived, not expecting to see the landscape of the hidden valley. The moon danced perfectly around it, she remembered, and the glowing orb had caught everyone's sights then. The villagers had worshiped Inori, the sweet fox tail priestess she had had the pleasure of meeting, and they were grateful for them bringing back the elder's grandson, though they had seemed unsure about him not returning. Inori had said that he had had more business to take care off. She hoped that he would return to them soon, and safely. She smiled at the memory and finally came up to Hiro.

"Ah, I'm so sorry! I hope you weren't waiting long! I slept like a baby." She let out a small giggle and looked to him. "How about you?" She wasn't sure if Hiro had gotten the same treatment that she had, but she wasn't about to ask. Oh, hey, did the men give you a bath and feed you until you were stuffed like a turkey? No, she wouldn't ask, instead, she opened her inventory. "Wasn't sure if you had eaten, so I grabbed this from the villagers. I also grabbed us some supper as well, figured we would be out on the field for a while." She smiled gently towards him, he did look like he slept well. She remembered him being the one who was the most excited by the small village. So much so that he seemed as though this would be where he wanted to live. It was peaceful, and serene, and the smell was calm, and sweet. She loved cherry blossom for their beauty and they accentuated the air and look of the village. She thought maybe she would bring the person she liked here, he would appreciate the scene as much as she had, she was sure. She smiled calmly and then looked at Hiro. "Are you ready?" She looked around for monsters in the distance, not seeing any yet. She hoped that they wouldn't be too strong, but she was sure that she could handle it, being a level 17, and Hiro being level 55. Yup, they were going to have some fun!

*Words: 760*
*Tags: Hirosame*
*OOC: Yes, that is awesome! Maybe once I change my RP class from apprentice to animal tamer, I'll come back and pick me up one of them XD*

[Hirosame]

Hiro lost himself in thought once again, when it came to this village. He did this a lot, since he had gotten here. But, having lost himself in thought, he had forgotten to eat anything before he left the inn that he was staying in. He was offered to stay with some of the locals, but instead offered to stay in one of the inns, and pay as he needed to. It was the least that he could do, really, since these people were kind enough to let a few strangers stay in the village with them. Besides, it was a hundred gold. Nothing really too big for the likes of the Monk. It was actually pretty easy to pay, thanks to his current bank account. However, he did sort of wish that he took the locals up on their offer, since the bed he slept on was no more than a mat on the floor. While this was traditional in the sense of the oriental customs that he had heard and learned so much about, it still felt weird for the monk to be experiencing this for the first time. His back felt achy, but he learned to get over it halfway through the night. Now, on to more important matters.

Eventually, Kitty showed up. Hiro took a moment to look over at the girl, and noticed that she was carrying something. Something that looks kind of like food. When Kitty asked about how Hiro had slept that night, he only nodded a little bit, and thought about how much his back ached by morning. "Yeah, I slept okay, I guess." He really didn't feel that it was necessary to let her know about his sleeping adventures, or lack thereof. Although, it wasn't really anything he needed to hide in the end. He was glad, however, that Kitty had gotten a decent nights sleep. Hell, he was glad at least one of them did. In any case, it was time for them to get moving. But, not before Hiro had a chance to ask Kitty if she can spare some of the food. "Hey, Kitty. Would you mind if I stole some of that food right now? I didn't have anything to eat yet, and kind of hungry." He felt kind of bad he was asking somebody else for their food, but she did offer. So, as bad as he felt, food was food. And he hadn't had anything to eat yet, so it was probably about time he ate something.

Hiro took a rice ball that one of the villagers gave to Kitty, and start to chow down on it immediately. Hopefully, she didn't mind at all. It seemed like she had done enough to eat already, since she had a large basket that the villagers gave her, and figured one piece of food wasn't that big of a deal. He finished it off pretty quickly, so as to not waste too much time. He looked back at his comrade, and returned the smile that she had presented him. Kitty seemed to be just as excited about this place as he was himself. Maybe she had a connection to the orient as well? Well, it wasn't really his place to ask about that kind of thing. At least, not yet. If it came up in conversation, then perhaps, but for now, it was monster killing that they had to do. But, the types of monsters were some that Hiro had never heard of before. Maybe they were new to the area? Or maybe they were here, just not easily found by the adventurers. Whatever the case, it would certainly be something that the two of them would probably enjoy. Kitty probably wouldn't have to worry about healing Hiro, due to his natural defenses and health, but it was good that she was there just in case.

That having been mentioned, it seemed that Kitty was all set to go. Hiro nodded to his compatriot, and spoke. "Yeah, let's get moving." He'd explain the monsters on the way, but they'd be at least 5 minutes out into the forestry. Until then, it might serve them some good to inform Kitty of the monster they're most likely to see first. Hiro began to walk forward, and started. "Okay, so it looks like the first, and most common, monster we'll be finding is known as a 'Kappa.' It looks like some kind of frog-demon with a small pool of water atop its head. I'm sure you've heard of it at least. It seems that the monster surrounding this area are Oriental in origin, so perhaps we'll see some mythological demons around here." He was a little charged up about seeing things like that. Maybe more than he intended to be. Either way, though, they'll probably see the Kappa sooner than anything else. He had heard about more of the monsters nearby, but they weren't quite as common. They were instructed to kill at least 2 of everything in the surrounding area, mostly to scope it out for future use, or just to help out the village. Things were about to get interesting.

[861 Words]

((OOC: We'll show up at a riverbed in the forest, so if you wanted to describe that this round, you can go ahead. I've also added in a preliminary description for the Kappa we'll be fighting, so if you wanted to fight some when we get there, then by all means.))

Young Kappa
Level 10-15
Type: Reptile, Subhuman
Rank: Normal
Nature: Curious
Found in: Sarum Frontier, Moon Dance Forest
Weakness/Resistances: Weak [Lightning], Resist [Water]
Skills:
- Splash Cannon: The Kappa shoots its pool of water atop its head in a Water-attributed attack.
Description: A Creature of oriental mythology that strives near water sources and rivers. It has a small pool of water on top of its head, which it can use to attack. Usually found nearby the River within Moon Dance Forest, they scare the children of the village away from the water, protecting their home.

[kittygrey]

Ame tilted her head at Hiro as she said that he guessed he slept okay. She wondered what his nationality was in the real world, perhaps he wasn't accustomed to the hard beds of Moon Dance Village as she was. After being adopt she had gotten moved to Kyoto with her family and they were the type of people to have old fashioned things, like chests and paintings from the edo period, though she was pretty sure the beds they slept on were much newer, in age anyways, possibly not style though. They were quite old in style and were quite hard. At first, her back had been in so much pain, but after a few days, or weeks, she couldn't remember which anymore, her back hadn't hurt anymore. She had grown up going to Kabuki theater, though she did find it odd that every morning, all five of them, her mother and father, little sister and older brother had commuted to Japan on a daily basis, minus weekends for the kids because there was no school. It was rather tiring at first, but she was happy that they did, that way, she lived a country life and a city life, neither that she had had before her adoption. Anyways, back to the current story. "Of course! Go ahead." She smiled to him, holding out the basket and smiling as he ate one of the rice balls.

Normally, she would have made them something of her own cooking, but she was in a different part of town and didn't have the means that she would normally have. She was fine with the villagers food though, it was quite delicious and she had been very appreciative. As he finished up, he told her that they had better get moving and she nodded in agreement. She looked over at him as he began to describe the first new monster that they would encounter and she nodded in knowing about kappa's. They were a major monster in most games coming from Japan, or of oriental nature, so she was very aware of them, being one of those people that loved anime RPG games and such other things. She found herself rather excited to be in an area that made her feel at home and being able to fight monsters with a similar origin to hers. She was anticipating some very awesome creatures, hopefully more that she recognized. She wondered if there would be a dragon, or something of that nature, but she knew she was getting ahead of herself. Start with what was there, and don't hope for too much, was what she thought tp herself, because even if there was something big like that, she couldn't possibly hope to defeat it at her level now, but she would come back. She wondered if she could tame one of them while she was here, bring it back to show Lavinia and Balore, her, well, soon to be, guild mates. She smiled widely as they continued walking, her tail softly gliding back and forth behind her. Her ears twitched then, and they crossed a clearing. Upon the sight, Ame felt her eyes widened and she felt herself standing still for the moment.

As she gazed out onto it, a soft flowing river bed came into view just beyond the trees. She watched it with a glowing face as she smiled and ran forward. Probably not such a good idea considering she still wasn't sure how strong the uncommon monsters were, or even that of the kappa's, but she just couldn't help it. Naturally, she was a water baby, and she had yet to see a flowing river in London. She came out into the clearing, looking around. There were still many trees, making up a forest on either side of the river, but the sun made the water glisten. She walked closer to it, wanting to touch the water, feel it flow through her fingers. She was just about to bend down and put her hand in the water when her ears twitched, and she heard a sound to her left. She looked over, standing up straight, and standing still. There, stood one of the kappa's. It was seemingly looking at her, no, it was more of a glare. It began hopping over to her, getting ready to fight. She tilted her head, not realizing the creature's were so hostile, but she supposed they became more hostile than anything with the villager's trying to come, it was, after all, their home. She sighed and grabbed her staff off of her back. "I guess it can't be helped little buddy." She didn't even think to call out to Hiro, she was sure that he would see what was going on anyways, so she stood tall and gripped her staff tight.

She watched the creature approach, it wasn't moving at a fast pace, but it wasn't slow either, so she would have to make her attacks quick. She wanted to avoid being hit as much as possible, but if she had gotten into trouble, Hiro was a much higher level, and she knew that if she called, he would come. She looked at the creature's information once it came up to her. Luckily, it was a level 10 kappa, one she felt she could handle. She nodded her head and with a quick circular motion of her staff, she called out, "Reactive Heal!" This skill would allow her to heal automatically, upon being hit. Once that was cast, and she felt a little safer, she used her next ability, an attack of sorts. "Miracle Mine!" A bright light shown on the ground about 5 meters away from the kappa and it was heading directly towards it. Then, right after she would hit her staff on the ground and call out, "Martyr Spear!" A large glowing spear would appear above her head and before the kappa would hit the mine, it would be hit by the large spear. It's health went down a fair bit, and even more so when he hit the mine. Now, his health was about half and she raced towards him, wanting a head to head battle from here on out.

*Words: 1038*
*Tags: Hirosame*
*Notes: Hope that's okay, if there's something you'd like me to change, please let me know :)*

[Hirosame]

Hiro let Kitty take the lead for a few minutes, just relaxing and enjoying the walk for now. Kitty seemed to be having fun just being here. Maybe she was, after all, used to this kind of environment. Maybe she was from Japan, or somewhere close to that, too. Hiro couldn't exactly put his finger on it, but it looked like she was used to things as they were back in the village. Hiro just loved being there, since it made him think about being in a place that he should have been part of, until his parents left him behind. But, that was enough of that for now. He just wanted to keep things moving for now, since they would likely be fighting something as soon as they got to the river. He was actually somewhat mesmerized by the tails trailing behind Kitty at the moment. He wasn't staring at her rear end, but more like the tails were different. He actually never had a chance to see a Fox-Tail's tails before, at least, not as close up as this. He shook the thought from his mind, because if Kitty turned around and saw him staring at him her tails, she'd likely get the wrong idea.

They finally got to the riverbed, and Kitty seemed to want to run right over to it. He decided to stay back himself, just in case she needed some extra time to enjoy the water. She was like a little kid in this regard, but it looked like Kitty was actually about the same age as Saeko. Well, he couldn't really tell by way of actually knowing, but it was just something that he himself could kind of feel. Having been around Saeko for a long enough time, he had gotten to know her age and how she acted normally. Saeko was 21, but refused to tell Hiro when her birthday was. She probably didn't want Hiro to know when it was and give her something out of the blue, under the guise of her birthday. She'd more than likely be compelled to get him something in return, completely out of season, since she didn't know when his own birthday was. This information was hidden, on Hiro's part, until Saeko disclosed the date of her own birth. A double edged sword it may be, but it was still the surefire way to get to know when Saeko's birthday would be. But, this is all completely irrelevant for Hiro and Kitty's current endeavor.

For now, Hiro just enjoyed the beauty of the water as the sun shined down upon it through the trees. He found himself a good place to sit down, on a rock nearby, and just kept looking up. He wanted to go up into the sky at some point, just flying and being free. Sure, Apocrypha was nice and all, but sometimes, he felt just a bit obligated to be there, rather than being there for his own sake. It felt like he was there to help others, and not really for others to help him. Granted, that's what a guild leader does, but it felt... Different. He decided not to let it bother him for much longer at this point, and turned back to Kitty. Whoops. It looked like she was fighting something now. Yeah, it was definitely a Kappa that usually hung around this area. But, it was a rather weak one, so he figured that Kitty could hold her own in a fight against those little things, despite there being only one there. It was their job to kill a few of those guys anyways, so why not share the load? It was at about this time that he noticed a few Kappa encircling himself, to which he merely stood up.

Hiro looked at the four that were around him now, and smirked. Two of them were level 10's, while the other two were level 12. This would be a cinch, not requiring much effort on the Monk's part. Hiro fixed his shirt's cuffs, folding them back just a little, and struck his battle pose. The Kappa all attacked at once, performing a streamline attack pattern with one another. This was probably going to be nothing. Hiro leaped up into the air a good ways, before landing a few feet behind where the Kappa had all converged. He charged forward with his right fist, impacting into the back of the skull of the first Kappa, causing it to explode into data immediately. The one directly to its left felt the power of Hiro's rapidly-charged roundhouse kick, and the one behind that one was blasted away by he ensuing left leg. Hiro rolled his back onto the ground as he fell, and swept the last Kappa off its feet using both legs. Hiro vaulted himself up using his hands, and came crashing down onto the final Kappa with his feet. He crouched and rolled forward, standing back up as the Kappa burst into data. Placing his hands in his pockets, he looked over to see how Kitty was doing.

[850 Words]

((OOC: Heard from Silly that you're feeling kinda sick. Don't worry about posting for a bit, Kitty. Get well soon!))

[kittygrey]

As Ame raced towards the kappa, she let her gaze wander slightly as she turned her head in Hiro's direction, well, he seemed to be doing fine. The monk was taking down one kappa after the next. She turned her gaze back to her own battle. Well, at least he didn't have to fight the one she was. She was happy she hadn't been the one bombarded with the little guys, they were tougher than they appeared, and with her being a cleric and having lesser damage doing capabilities than pretty much any other class, she thought she was doing pretty good. She came up to the Kappa and charged her staff up, hitting it clean on the head. She side stepped, and rolled away from it's water spray attack, coming up behind it and hitting it again. She held her hand out and called out "Miracle Mine!" A soft glowing makeshift mine of magic appeared again in her hand and she threw it down behind the Kappa, who seemed to be stunned that his own attack had missed the quick fox tail girl.

She charged her staff up again and hit the kappa hard on the head and it finally realized where she had gone and turned around to face her. She let out a small grin at the sight. It seemed the kappa's were a little slow on the mental radar, which she could use to her advantage. She backed away from the Kappa, hoping to lead it onto the mine. She called it softly and made waving motions to it, telling it to come nearer. Eventually, once it wasn't just standing ther with it's head tilted, it took it's one step closer and, BOOM! Stepped right on the mine. Of course, it still wasn't dead yet, but her Martyr Spear was ready for it's second go and she knew once it hit, the Kappa would be dead. She gripped her staff, slammed it on the ground and called out "Martyr Spear!" Once again, the glowing white spear came up above her head, she directed it towards the Kappa, and it struck, the Kappa dissipating into thin air in sparkles. It dropped it's loot and she ran over it, picking it up. She looked back to Hiro, his battle seemed to also be coming to an end.

Since Hiro had his hands full, she decided to call out to him. "Hey, wants some help?" If he said that he did, she would jump to help him in a heart beat, but he seemed to have it under control, so if he didn't need any help, she would go up to the river. She bent down over the clear water and stuck her hand in. It was cool as it ran through her finger tips. She loved the sight and feel of water, whether it ran smoothly, or rapidly. She loved the way it would constantly flow, with some exceptions of course. She found her mind flowing softly, like the water, always the same thoughts, running through. Life in Elder Tale, and the people she surrounded herself with. She smiled warmly with her thoughts and would wait for Hiro to finish, that was, if she wasn't also fighting the Kappa's.

*Words: 541*
*Tags: Hirosame*
*Notes: Ew, sorry for the short post >.> That's what happens when I try to do two things at once.. post AND pay attention to C-box... never again >.> XD*

[Hirosame]

Hiro sighed as the monster disappeared just as kittygrey walked over to the water once again. She had placed her hand back in the stream, seeming to be relaxing a bit more as the battle had just settled. There wasn't much else for them to do while here, since they had killed the Kappa in the designated area. Despite the urgency of their mission, Hiro figured that the duo could take the time to relax a little before continuing. Hiro sat back down on the rock he sat on before, and watched Kitty for a few moments. She seemed so calm and at peace with the environment around her, as he was once again perplexed by the presence of her tails. He forgot about them shortly after, and turned his attention skyward once more. The leaves shifted slowly and gracefully in the breeze, giving him calming and soothing thoughts. Letting out another long sigh of relaxation, he turned back to his comrade, and then at the water. It looked so nice and calm, and he couldn't resist. Sure, it wasn't super warm outside today, but he still had something that he wanted to do.

Hiro stood back up and walked over to the stream, kneeling down before it. He waited a few moments, making it look as if he was praying. Giving off that message, or at least, he hoped he did, he put his hands on the ground just before the water's edge. Hiro plunged his head into the water, all the way to the nape of his neck. The water gently brushed his face and hair, which felt even more amazing than he thought it would. Having had a trouble holding his breath in the real world, and the utter dislike of having his head submerged, he pulled back and up for air. He took a deep gasp for air, and started to rub his eyes with his hands, which he then after dipped into the water. The cuffs of his shirt got wet, sure, but whatever. It felt great to get all washed over like that. He stood back up, shaking his hands to dry them off. He made a few punching motions before turning to Kitty, who was probably confused by his actions. He gave a large smile, and nodded to her. "Shall we get moving?" He asked, pleased with what had just happened. Not a moment later he began to walk along downstream.

His hands had dried off, and he was letting his hair drip-dry along the way. He placed his hands in his pockets again, as he moved forward. For now, it was just moving down the river to see what else there was to see. If they got to the end of the forest, they'd turn back and stay within it, but that was if they were taken out of the forest's coverage. This was probably not going to be the case, since this was a rather large forest, after all. He had no idea if the river ran all the way trough, either, or if it was just contained inside, like the village was. All he knew from the villagers was that the village was off on the East side of the forest, and the river's base was about the halfway mark. The river shifted towards the West side, and he forgot to ask if it moved out of the forest from the villagers, which was pretty dumb on his part. But, he wouldn't tell Kitty about that. Hopefully, she'd just go along with him wherever he goes. It's just a theory, but she'd probably follow him, since he's the higher level of the two, not to mention being the tank. Logic would say to follow him. Probably. He just hoped that the fact that she had fox tails was, really, just for show.

[642 Words]

((OOC: Yeah, don't worry about post length. I'm typing this up while in class, so I don't have an excuse XD I'll think up a new mob in the next post, but for now, I'm kinda just trying to get things moving for you, while I'm in class. Sorry about my lame-ass post, but I feel that this makes us even for the short posts XD))

[kittygrey]

Ame let a sigh release her lips as she removed her hands from the water and patted her cheeks with them. She loved the feeling of cold water on her face, making her feel refreshed above all else. She was about to stand, but she remained in a kneeling position, watching as Hiro neared the river. She tilted her to the side as it looked as though he was praying to it. Perhaps he believe there was some sort of river god here? The villagers had spoken an awful lot about spirits, not that she wouldn't say she didn't believe. Back home, she had had her own beliefs, so really, who was she to judge. It was when he shoved his head into the water that her brow rose and she felt her body shift closer, wondering if he was alright. She felt herself jolt back though, as Hiro took himself up out of the water and stood, waving some of the water off of his hands. She nodded and quickly jumped to her feet, putting her hands behind her back.

She was rather confused of his actions, though she just pegged it off as being him wanting some sort of refreshment. She herself had even put the water on her face. She began to follow him, hoping that he knew where he was going. She anticipated what they would see next, or, fight, next, probably would have been a better way to put it. She began to hum a light tune as they walked on, looking around the forest, watching to see if anything was there and sometimes she would glance back to the water, wishing she could go in. She was a definite water baby, never wanting to leave it back home. She took baths that were hours long, would get completely sun burnt at the beach because she would never leave the water, not even to put on sunscreen and she would kick up a fuss whenever her mother said that it was time to go. She had started her journey off with nothing and some how became a slightly spoiled child, though she never actually acted spoiled. The only time she would even throw tantrums was when she was being dragged out of the ocean, or the local pool or even the bath. Something about the water calmed her, gentled her soul, yet, made her feel alive all at the same time.

"So, uhm, you, do know where we are heading, right? Or, at least how to get back?" She felt rude for asking the question, but she had honestly not been paying attention at all, she had been caught up in the sights all around her. She tilted her head towards him and continued, "because, I have no clue." She let out a small, nervous laugh, really hoping that he at least knew the way back, but, what harm could a night in the woods do? If anything killed them, they would just respawn in the cathedral in Londinium anyways, though, she hoped that didn't happen. She had yet to be killed and didn't want to waste it because they had gotten lost. She should have been paying attention, but, like a cat, she was distracted by shiny things, such as water.

After a few moments, she decided she would try her luck at sparking up a conversation, before the next set of monsters had arrived. "So, uhm, Hirosame, are you apart of a guild or anything?" Okay, so, she was really bad at starting conversations, but she hoped that she could possibly hold one if he had answered. She was curious about all the adventurers, but she was also curious to learn more about guilds, and the mechanics behind them. 'Perhaps if he's in one, he might be able to answer some of my questions?' Mainly, she was just curious about the guild houses, even more so, the deluxe kitchens they were said to have. She thought it would be nice to be able tot have a large kitchen and many utensils and things to use for her cooking. She planned on becoming a master chef, and wanted nothing more, as one, to make the best food for her guild member's. With that thought, she thought about her new subclass animal training, and how she possibly wanted to try to research making pet food. She wondered if that was even a possibility, but would soon stop her thought whether Hirosame had began to speak, or a monster showed itself.

*Words: 755*
*Tags: Hirosame*

[Hirosame]

Hiro felt a cold bead of sweat drop down the back of his neck, which he hoped was fairly well covered up by this point, thanks to his long hair. His eyes widened a bit as Kitty made her question about him knowing where he's going. If one had read the post before this one, they would know that he knew about as much of this forest as he did what sex was like: Nothing at all. "Well, I know that the forest goes on for a bit more, and the river will probably take us as far as the Western edge of the forest, so that's about all I know." He said, regretfully. He wasn't going to lie to the female, since she deserved to know the truth. However, his sense of direction carried over into this world from the other one, so he had a pretty good idea as to how they can get back home. "I should be able to get us back, though, if we need to." It was still light out, and probably would be for a while. At least, that was what he hoped. The sun was still up, but it was covered by a lot of the trees in the area. Well, it is a forest, after all.

However, the next question seemed to be from nowhere. Kitty had asked about guilds, and whether or not he was in a guild. This seemed strange to him, since he was probably well known as the leader, if only by namesake, of Apocrypha. Perhaps the name hadn't gotten far enough out by now, and some people didn't know, or just didn't care to find out. He turned a bit to face her, and responded. "Yeah, I'm actually the leader of one: Apocrypha." Facing forward again, he continued. "My friend, Midori, and myself both lead, but she wanted me to be the official leader. I still don't see why we couldn't both be the leader, and share the responsibility and such, but hey, I'm not one to argue with a woman. Also, you don't have to call me Hirosame." He threw a thumbs up back at his companion. "Hiro's just fine, Kitty." Retracting his arm, and placing his hands behind his head, they both continued to walk on. The river glistened next to them as the followed the water's edge, trying to find their way towards the next group of enemies.

Not too long after this, though, they had come up to a small clearing. It looked pretty calm and peaceful, and the trees had cleared out, letting sunlight rain down completely. It was a beautiful little spot, except for one thing. There were monsters here. At first, they didn't look very powerful or dangerous, but there were definitely two different types of monsters. Both were foxes, and one type was brighter than the other. Those ones with brighter colors stayed back away from the monk and cleric combo, and just watched. However, the other type, which were growling and flourishing their fangs, were darker, and seemed more likely to attack the two instead of hang back and watch what they were doing. Hiro got into a battle pose, hopefully making the mentality for Kitty to follow up. The darker colored ones seemed to be a higher level. "Kitty, I'll handle the dark pelted ones. If the other ones attack, I'll leave a few of them for you." This seemed to be a reasonable deal, since the stronger enemies would be cake for Hiro, and less so for Kitty. Hiro steeled himself for battle.

[598 Words]

Nogitsune
Level 20-25
Type: Beast
Rank: Normal
Nature: Aggressive
Found in: Moon Dance Forest
Weakness/Resistances: Resist: Fire. Weak: Water.
Skills:
- Burning Fang: The Nogitsune flourish their fangs for a moment, followed by the opening of their jaw. Small cloaks of fire spread around their front teeth, and deal extra fire damage upon impact.
- Spirit Fire: The Nogitsune summons a few vengeful spirits around them in the form of fire, and they head directly towards the Nogitsune's target.
Description: One of two Kitsune spirits that inhabit Moon Dance Forest. The Nogitsune represent Yin, the dark element. The Nogitsune are quick to attack, and have the strength and speed to fight ably. These restless spirits guard their Yang counterparts.

Myobu
Level 15-20
Type: Beast
Rank: Normal
Nature: Wary
Found in: Moon Dance Forest
Weakness/Resistances: Resist: Fire. Weak: Water.
Skills:
- Soothing Fires: Myobu tend to heal their allies using a soft fire. The Myobu summons a light cloak of fire around their target, which heals for a small percentage of the target's health.
- Spirit Fire: The Myobu summons a few vengeful spirits around them in the form of fire, and they head directly towards the Myobu's target.
Description: One of the two Kitsune spirits that inhabit Moon Dance Forest. The Myobu represent Yang, the light element. Myobu are not very aggressive, and tend to stay away from humans as much as they can. These peaceful spirits are often guarded by their Yin counterparts.

[kittygrey]

Myobu Friends

Ame nodded her head to Hiro as he said that he could find the way. She was happy to hear as much as she had been far too much attention to the river and the surrounding scenery to keep up. She felt sort of bad, but even if she had been paying attention, she probably would have needed to drop bread crumbs like Hansel and Gretel in order to get back, without anyone, or anything eating them as she did so. She was naturally bad with directions, sometimes having to hold her hands up in 'L' shapes to figure out which way was left and which was right, a curse that had been put upon her at a young age. She wouldn't know which parent she had learned to be so directionally challenged from, as she didn't have a clue who either were. She shrugged to herself mentally as she let the thought skid from her mind as quickly as it had come.

She felt her eyes widen as Hiro spoke about himself, in fact, being a leader in a guild. She thought it was so cool and looked up to him even more because of it. She sort of pegged him for being a natural leader though, so it didn't surprise her as much as it would have if she hadn't had time to get to know him. "Oh cool!" She smiled widely and then let out a laugh. "Smart man you are!" She let out another laugh and then stopped as he spoke again. Right, she should call him Hiro, rather than Hirosame. She supposed that some where along the line she had just begun to call him by his full name as she had called him Hiro up until actually seeing Moon Dance Village. She smiled and nodded and continued to journey after him.

As they came into a clearing in the woods, she stopped as Hiro did. She saw the monsters grazing in the distance and tilted her head gently to the side with be wonderment. She was astonished with the sight of the two different creatures and as soon as she heard Hiro speak about himself going after the dark ones, she thought it might be time for her to try out her luck with her animal training skills. She hadn't caught a creature since Spoticus, and figured he might be getting lonely, hanging out all by himself, but these creatures, what kind of foods did they like. She looked over at Hiro. "I'm leaving it up to you to distract the big ones, I'm going to try and snag me one of the smaller ones." As she watched him ready himself for battle, she backed up in the woods and decided she would follow it until she found one of the creatures by themselves. Hopefully it wouldn't be too hard of a task. She equip her nature's tongue skill as she found her target and slowly moved towards it, making sure she didn't startle the creature before she had the chance to speak with it. She had chosen this one specifically, not because it was alone, but because it matched her golden hair, tail and ears. They were seemingly perfect for one another, she just hoped the Myobu would think that as well.

"Myobu, gaurdian of the forest, I come to give you gifts so that we may make a pact with one another." The lone Myobu looked over at her and tilted it's head. Taking a step forward, the golden Kitsune spirit spoke to her. "What is it you have brought me, strange kitsune?" Ame was a bit thrown off by the Myobu calling her Kitsune as well, but it was true, as she was a fox. She opened her inventory and brought out the half of the sandwich her rival adventurer had not taken. "How does, roasted beef sound?" The Myobu took a few more steps forward and sniffed the sandwich. She looked up at Ame and took a few more steps forward. Her pink tongue licked some of the beef and she felt her stomach growl. "I will accept this generous offer, sister Kitsune." Ame smiled to her and held it out so that she could take it. "What is your name, sister?" She figured it best to use the same name the Myobu had referred to her as. "I am Mamori, Myobu Kistune, protector." Ame nodded her head, waiting patiently for Mamori to take the sandwich from her. While waiting, she introduced herself. "I am Amaretsu, Myobu Kitsune, healer." Though she wasn't actually known as a Myobu, she was very close to what they considered, and as far as she could tell, the myobu spirits were healers, which would be good to have on her own team.

After a few moments of Mamori staring the cleric down, she took a bite of the sandwich. Instantly, as she had been taught, Ame grasped onto the Myobu's ears and rubbed them gently. Like her mentor had done to her, Mamori's leg began to twitch and soon after, the familiar message popped up in front of her, asking whether she wished to accept or decline the friendship of the Myobu. She clicked accept, and looked at Mamori. "Are you happy here, Mamori? Will you come with me on my adventures, and see the world, or would you rather stay here with your brother's and sister's?" Though she had clicked accept, she could let the fox go whenever she please, but Mamori bowed her head low and said "I will follow you, Healer Amaretsu, as I have longed to leave this place." Ame bowed her head as well and smiled, patting Mamori on the head. "I am pleased to have you apart of my team, protector, but from now on, call me Ame, as I will call you Mamori, if you'll allow it." The Kitsune spirit bowed her head and Ame stood, looking around the field for Hiro. She hoped he was alright, but she would find him soon enough.

- Words -
1006

- Tags -
Hirosame

- Skills Used -
Tongue of Nature

- Notes -
Jumped right on that Myobu XD Sorry I took so long!!!
Mamori

Coded By Saber of L33T T3@M
Modified by KittyGrey

[Hirosame]

Hiro ignored the sense of praise that kittygrey had given him, and wrote it off as a sort of a distraction. Being the leader of a guild didn't necessarily mean much of anything to someone like him, especially since the guild itself was rather quiet lately. He can't complain, though, since he knew that Saeko wasn't that much into the whole guild scene. She was mostly there for Hiro's sake, since she had an apparent crush on him, which was very swiftly written off as a lie. The thought remained, though, that it was possible, but that probably wasn't the time to be thinking anything along those lines. There was a good number of monsters in front of the monk, and Kitty had abandoned him out of nowhere. It seems she was going to chase after some small animals in search of... God knows what. She could possibly be going off to play with herself, which can be taken in a multitude of directions, should the reader decide to do so. But, that's up to their discretion, just like the writer for this character is slightly breaking the fourth wall in just a casual manner.

But, that's beside the point. The situation at hand required the monk to go ahead and focus on beating up the harmful animals just before himself. That being said, it was time to start kicking the proverbial ass. Literally, in this case. Hiro was already in a stable battle pose, so it wouldn't be much of a problem to start the fight any time. But, letting the enemy make the first move is almost always a good thing in his book, since it lets him react accordingly to their moves. But, it wouldn't take much longer, since the first of the group of five charged right at him. It launched out a few spirit fires, which were sent flying towards him. Hiro nimbly dodged from side to side, avoiding the straight-line fires and wound his leg back to obliterate the monster as it reached him. The Nogitsune's head was smashed into oblivion by a highly powerful kick on Hiro's part, sending its body back a few meters, before exploding to data. The others didn't seem to take this all that well, and decided to rush him all at once. This wouldn't be so much of a problem, except they all started to launch spirit fires.

This was going to be a bit more difficult. Hiro knew that he couldn't dodge them all by standing in place, so he began to perform upper leveled dodging style martial arts maneuvers, such as flips and slides, while making slow progress towards the group, which was still proceeding incredibly fast at him. Hiro's body was literally a blur as he bobbed, weaved, dipped, ducked, dived, and dodged. His fist was brought back a little ways, and after slipping underneath the final fire, planted the fist into the chest of the closest fox, after which he performed a backhand spring to get back up onto his feet. The three remaining Nogitsune leaped up at him, one of which was bearing flaming fangs. Hiro moved out of the way of the other two in front, and grabbed the torso of the skill using monster, before throwing it onto the ground. He stomped down on its body, literally crushing it into smithereens, before bringing his leg up for a roundhouse kick into the closest monster. The last one, staggering a little bit, let out a loud howl, but was swiftly silenced by Hiro's powerful elbow slam. The Nogitsune were defeated, and the Myobu had all but retreated.

However, that wasn't the last thing to appear for the time being. Hiro could hear the something approaching him. When he stood up, Hiro spun around towards the sound, and saw some behemoth looking monster, in the same shape of the Myobu and Nogitsune, but taller, and much more powerful. An Amaterasu: a giant fox-like spirit responded to the call of the dying Nogitsune as it howled, just before Hiro delivered the final blow. Hiro clicked his tongue in his mouth audibly. "Tch...!" This monster was certainly something that they hadn't been informed of. How was he supposed to know that an Elite-ranked monster was going to be here in the woods? He wasn't back in his fighting stance quite yet, but he could tell that the monster was certainly powerful enough to give him a moment to collect himself, before making a motion to fight him. It stood there, watching him. Hiro looked at the Sun Goddess demon for a few moments, as wisps of spirit fire fluttered beneath its feet calmly. While it would probably be a wonderful ally to have by his side in a battle, he figured that this kind of a monster couldn't be tamed. Hiro and the burning Spirit stared each other down, waiting for the moment to strike. However, he could sense that he and the Amaterasu were something of a kindred spirit: The speed and strength of fires, and a burning soul to match. It was like... Hiro was staring down his reflection.

[856 Words]

Amaterasu
Level 25-40
Type: Beast, Spirit
Rank: Elite
Nature: Wary
Found in: Moon Dance Forest
Weakness/Resistances: Resist: Light, Darkness, Fire. Weak: Water
Skills:
- Feral Howl: Amaterasu releases a terrifying blast of sound from its mouth, scaring away all animal companions in the area. Has no effect on summoner summons.
- Swift Blaze: Amaterasu moves with lightning speed, and strikes the enemy twice in rapid succession. The trick here is that the attack itself cannot be seen: It happens in a millisecond.
- Rampant Fires: The hair atop Amaterasu's back stand up, and spirit fires launch out, targetting multiple enemies, or a single target. Deals Fire damage.
- Hellfire Drive: Amaterasu's ultimate technique isn't so much an attack, but more a transformation. The body of the beast turns into a representation of itself carved in flames, white, yellow, and red. Its normal attacks deal light damage, its skills deal greater fire damage, and its movement speed is drastically increased. This form is provoked when it reaches 40% health.
Description: The sun, in physical form, is a fox beast. This 2 meter tall monster strikes swiftly and powerfully. Its radiant white body is accented by yellow and red streaks leading along it, and those colors are the only things you see when it attacks. The sun can do more than provide light. Amaterasu's normal attacks deal slight Light damage, so dark-dwellers, beware: The Sun Rises. Cannot be tamed.

[kittygrey]

A Healers Duty

Ame found herself and her new companion walking through the high grass. As she neared it, the sounds of a battle ensuing made her stop for a moment and she turned her head, patting her leg. "Come Mamori!" She picked up her feet and raced towards to sound of battle. She hoped Hiro was not in danger, as she hadn't heard him cry out, but she needed to get there and fast. Luckily, she was a lean, fit body and could run as quickly, if not more quick than some assassins could. As she pulled her feet to a stop, pushing them into the ground, she looked back at Mamori. "Stay here, Mamori, it'll be too dangerous for you.." She crept up on the Monk, watching the great beast before him, watching their eyes locked on each other. All of the Nogitsune were gone, flashes of gold drops left in their place, but instead, stood a larger fox that any she had seen before. She licked her lips, her mouth feeling dry. She flashed her gaze to the name above. 'Amaterasu..' She should have expected a beast like the sun goddess to appear, though it had tossed itself back into her mind, only coming out now that the vision was directly in front of her.

She looked over to Hiro, he had fought an intense battle it seemed. She noticed his health was down and she felt quite horrible for leaving, though really, she hadn't expected the Monk to take on all of the Nogitsune himself! She was going to try to tame one, but, she would come back another time perhaps to do so, because what they faced now, she the scariest monster she had ever seen. She took on her staff and pointed it onto Hiro. She hoped her healing abilities wouldn't grab the attention of the Sun beast, but she knew that it would. Still, if they were going to fight, he had to be at his very best, since it was going to prove a hard task to bring the monster down. 'Reactive heal.' The buff, though unheard, would allow him to heal upon damage dealt to him, but it wouldn't help his wounds now. So she gripped her staff and pointed her left hand at him, casting [Healing Light] on him. White lines of dark air came from her finger tips and moved across his body, allowing his wounds to heal and his HP to return to full. She ran up behind him, a little closer now, and quietly, but loud enough for him to hear her, she said, "sorry I'm late." Her breathing was heavy as she looked at the beast. They had been staring each other down when she had arrived on the scene, but with her presence now, she doubted the beast would continue to stand still. She tightened the grip on her staff and stood in her battle position. She was prepared to fight should the creature attack them now but she would more so focus on healing Hiro, since this was a tough monster, and he would probably need her healing abilities, more than her attacking abilities.

- Words -
527

- Tags -
Hirosame

- Skills Used -
Tongue of Nature

- Notes -
Boo, I wanted to tame it as a mount for Hiro XD Also, sorry for the word count..

Coded By Saber of L33T T3@M
Modified by KittyGrey

[Hirosame]

Hiro ignored Kitty's entrance, in an attempt to keep his eyes fixed on the burning beast before himself. Amaterasu, the Sun Goddess, was just before him, looking directly at him in return to his own gaze. The monster didn't seem to be moving much at all, only keeping the deadlock stare. Eventually, she sat down on her hind legs, and Hiro could hear a voice, as if coming from the monster. You are not an enemy. I sense that you are a kindred spirit, and that you wish not to harm me. The voice spoke, in a soft female tone. Hiro only nodded slightly, just enough for the monster to recognize that she and he could reach some kind of conclusion. Hiro knew that this interaction had activated his Tongue of Nature skill that he had learned not too long ago. While he could understand the monster, it likely couldn't understand him. So, he would keep his answers to nods or shakes of his head. The soothing light from kittygrey's spell seemed to give a calming effect onto the monster as well, as it showed the symbiotic relationship between the two adventurers. Perhaps Amaterasu thought it pleasant to see two working together.

Without being able to communicate to the monster, Hiro only kept his distance. But, he had relaxed himself a bit, to the point where he wasn't tense. Maybe this also calmed Amaterasu, seeing a mutual lowering of their guards. The beast was classified as Wary, but it was also sentient to a degree. It looked as though it were some kind of AI, more so than the other mobs that were just around. Although Amaterasu wasn't pleased with the dispatching of its kin, it didn't seem like Hiro was going to randomly attack her. Lifting up his arm a bit to signal to his companion, Hiro finally stepped out of his battle stance. He wasn't sure if Kitty could understand the monster as well, but it is entirely possible that Kitty could understand it as well. Amaterasu stood up, and walked slowly over to the two adventurers, before noticing one of her own was in the back, having followed the Fox-Tail. It seems my little friend has taken to you. Amaterasu spoke. Perhaps you are not bad at all, adventurers. With that, she walked over slowly to the Myobu nearby, and sat. She looked down at the kitsune spirit, but her attention was swiftly shifted to ahead of Hiro.

Amaterasu sprung up onto her feet, a soft rumbling shaking the ground constantly. Be wary! She shouted. Enemies approach! As she said this, five dark shadows appeared from the forest. Hiro turned his attention to the new monsters, observing their numbers. Lesser Oni: Something that the village elder had told him about not too long ago. Lesser Oni were something that was common in this area, in that they are the most common higher-leveled enemies. Hiro struck a battle pose, just as Amaterasu did. Hiro nodded to the creature, before speaking. "Looks like we've got an ally in this fight, Kitty." He turned his gaze to the cleric. "I'll protect you both, so just focus on healing, and keeping yourself alive." Amaterasu turned to the adventurers. Oni are the natural enemy of my kind, as they thrive in the darkness. Cowards, too scared to face the sun! I shall pass judgement upon you! Amaterasu dashed ahead in a preemptive strike to catch them off balance, mostly because the trio were outnumbered in a sense. However, the Oni were clearly out matched by the sheer power that the adventurers and Amaterasu would have. Punching his right hand into his left palm, Hiro lunged after the Sun Goddess, making sure to keep close enough to Kitty to protect her as needed.

[630 Words]

Lesser Oni
Level 20-35
Type: Beast, Spirit
Rank: Strong
Nature: Aggressive
Found in: Moon Dance Forest
Weakness/Resistances: Resist: Darkness, Fire. Weak: Water, Light.
Skills:
- Cursed Sake: The Oni drinks from its flask, healing for a small amount of health, but goes into a drunken rage afterwards, attacking foes rampantly.
- Feral Howl: The Oni releases a terrifying blast of sound from its mouth, scaring away all animal companions in the area. Has no effect on summoner summons.
- Hell Hammer: A lightning fast motion that slams the hammer of the Oni into the ground, sending a shockwave out 10 meters around, dealing Fire damage. Being hit directly by the hammer will deal physical damage.
- Oni Technique: Asura's Wrath: The Oni will drop its hammer onto the ground, and begin punching rapidly at a single target, dealing medium damage over many strikes. Cooldown: 4 minutes.
Description: A demon of nightmares and fear for all people. This monster, although a lesser version, is still incredibly powerful. Its face represents that of a demon, grimly smiling at the fool who challenges it. It weilds a mighty hammer, which can pierce into the ground with ease. Cannot be tamed.

[kittygrey]

It's Go Time!

Ame stared at the beast, and then looked to Hiro. She still had her Tongue of Nature ability on and listened to the conversation that was happening between them. So, Amaterasu was a friend, not a foe. They seemed to have a connection with one another and it made her smile. She looked down with wide eyes as Mamori nudged her leg with Amateraau's words to her. She smiled and nodded at the beast, bowing her head to her. So, this was the sun goddess, a beautiful unattainable creature of light. Once her bow was finished, Ame sensed a dark power coming towards them. It was a power that she had never felt before and it gave her a feeling of stress. As Amaterasu spoke of the beings approached, Ame looked in their direction, awaiting the monsters. She listened to the divine beasts words and waited, anticipating the approaching creatures. The smelt of chaos and disaster, the smell made her nose twitch back and forth and her tail wagged low behind her, meaning that she should be cautious of the creatures. She gripped onto her staff and stared, until one of the beings finally showed its self.

At Hiro's word she nodded her head and simply said, "right!" She then looked to him, focusing her eyes and silently cast [Reactive Heal] as a precautionary measure. If any damage would come to him, it would heal him automatically and she would watch his health. She couldn't heal either of the creatures, but with Mamori having her own healing abilities, should Amaterasu need any health, the kitsune could do the job in her place. The Oni were approaching and fast and it was the groups time to take them out and leave the forest in it's previous state of peace. Once they had finished, she wondered if they would head further into the forest and wonder what other creatures they could find. The whole place was crawling with mesmerizing beasts and she didn't want to miss any chance of not finding other creatures like Mamori, or even Amaterasu. She shook her head mentally. 'It's time to focus on the fight, Ame! Let's protect these amazing creatures!" She smiled and gripped her staff, waiting for Hiro and the sun goddess to take their battle stance and begin.

- Words -
384

- Tags -
Hirosame

- Skills Used -
Tongue of Nature

- Notes -
---

Coded By Saber of L33T T3@M
Modified by KittyGrey

[Hirosame]

Hiro's hand was drawn back, as his body surged forward toward the first of the Lesser Oni in his field of vision. His fist crashed into its head, allowing a point of leverage for Hiro to vault over the enemy, and place a well-timed bicycle kick into the back of the foe, knocking it directly into Amaterasu, his temporary ally. kittygrey was probably going to focus on healing for the most part, but perhaps she would heal the Amaterasu at some point, should she decide to keep everybody alive. He was more than certain that the Sun Goddess would appreciate it. Just as he thought this, Amaterasu latched her powerful burning fangs into the body of the Oni that Hiro had hit, and whipped it around a few times, before throwing it aside. She then chased after it, delivered the killing blow, and turned to face the Monk. Hiro nodded to her, and turned around, only in time to see the dark weapon cruising directly towards his body. Without enough time or warning, Hiro took the full blow to his body, and was sent tumbling back. Amaterasu followed up after the Oni, biting the hand that hit him.

Hiro landed a few meters back, stumbling to his feet. Without so much as a grunt, he ran back into the fray of the fight. One hit wasn't going to keep him down! The monk jumped up onto the back of Amaterasu, followed by another jump, delivering a flying knee into the head of the Oni. Rocketing his body like the lash of a whip, Hiro plunged his other leg fully onto the same target's head, and used the force of his kick to flip himself over the monster. Hiro landed on the other side, held his right palm open for a moment, and charged up some energy in his fist. A second later, Hiro forced his hand into its back, and let out a powerful Aura Dragon Punch bullet through the monster, which flew up into the sky, as the monster disappeared. Turning around in time with Amaterasu, Hiro saw that there were more and more Lesser Oni showing up at the scene as time went on. Hiro grunted. "There's even more showing up now!" He shouted after a moment. "This is gonna be tricky..." He ran back towards Kitty, hoping to defend his ally, and struck his battle position. Amaterasu followed suit, standing before the small Myobu, when something flashed from behind them.

A bullet, the size of a marble, flew through the air, and into one of the Oni before the group. Hiro was shocked to see such a thing, and turned around to see the source of the bullet, but there was nothing there. He heard the flourish of a blade from its sheath, and turned back to the Oni. The first of the group was slashed completely in half, a few Sakura petals fluttering around the area of the cut. Not a moment later, the other Oni in the area were all equally sliced in half, and the petals danced in the wind as the monsters disappeared. Hiro looked around, but couldn't see the source of the amazing swordsmanship. Eventually, though, a voice from behind them rang up. "Are you all unharmed?" The voice asked, in an old, masculine form. Hiro turned around, as did Amaterasu, and she breathed a sigh of relief. An aged swordsman began to walk up to the party, smiling. He had a katana sheathed on his side, and what looked like flintlock pistol on his side. The old man walked closer to the group, posing no threat. He wasn't as old as his voice recommended he was. Hiro figured the man was probably 40 years old. Or, the equivalence of, in this world.

The man stopped and placed a hand on the side of the Amaterasu. "So, I see you were being protected, were you?" He asked the fox, who nodded to him. The swordsman turned to the two adventurers, a kind smile on his face. "I would like to thank you both for your assistance in helping Amaterasu and her kind. Most would have fled, after seeing the Oni, which are regarded as quite dangerous, around these parts." He smiled brightly once again, and bowed to the two. "You have my thanks, young adventurers." Hiro was at a loss for words, but couldn't refuse to bow back to the man. "No no, it was nothing." Hiro responded. "Were you the one to take care of those monsters just now?" The old man smiled. "Why, yes. I may look old, but I am not incompetent enough to leave my friends alone when they're in danger." He suddenly looked very surprised, and smiled again. "Ah! Where are my manners? Here I am, talking to you, without having even given you my name!" The man placed a hand on his katana, before a slight forward bow. "I am known as the Great Ex-Shogun, Oda Nobunaga. A pleasure to meet you both." Hiro, now officially at a loss for words, only stared blankly at the man. He'd react soon enough.

[855 Words]